Orangutan Foundation

Orangutan Foundation Working to save the critically endangered orangutan and their tropical rainforest habitat.

Founded in 1990, Orangutan Foundation is the foremost orangutan conservation organisation working actively across the entire range of the orangutan species. Our mission is to save orangutans by protecting their tropical forest habitat, working with local communities and promoting research and education. Visit https://www.facebook.com/orangutanfndn.id/ for our Indonesian page. Visit http://www.orangutan.org.uk/blog/ for all the latest news from our team in Indonesian Borneo.

Infant orangutans Epeng and Gunawan are fast becoming the best of friends!Both infants were taken into our soft-release ...
20/09/2026

Infant orangutans Epeng and Gunawan are fast becoming the best of friends!

Both infants were taken into our soft-release programme at a similar time and age. This, in addition to them being roughly the same size, has made them ideal playmates for one another 🦧

Orangutans are a naturally semi-solitary species, and infants are raised exclusively by their mothers. Despite living alone for most of their adulthoods, young orangutans still retain a strong tendency to play.

For orphaned orangutan infants, deprived of the direct contact their mothers would have provided, having peers to play with can be a great source of comfort. Infants also have differing preferences for who they like to form these friendships with. Amongst the five young infants in our care, its Epeng and Gunawan who have formed a particularly close affinity for one another.

Beyond emotional comfort, social play also allows orphans to develop and practise essential forest survival skills such as tree climbing. Increasingly, we’ve seen Epeng and Gunawan playfighting and moving from tree to tree together, showing that their interaction is helping both of them refine this critical skill.

We cannot conserve what we don’t understand. That’s why monitoring the unique species found in Borneo’s varied habitats ...
17/09/2026

We cannot conserve what we don’t understand. That’s why monitoring the unique species found in Borneo’s varied habitats is so important 🌳

A recent survey of false gharial crocodiles in Tanjung Putting National Park has provided valuable insights into the population and age structure of this highly endangered reptile 🐊

Encouragingly, of the 24 individuals recorded across the survey area, more infants and juveniles were recorded than adults. This indicates that the population is reproducing successfully and expanding in size.

Our team also captured, measured and weighed eight false gharials, as well as tagging them with radio-frequency identification microchips. This gives each individual a unique identifier, providing useful baseline data for monitoring the long-term population trend of the species in Tanjung Puting National Park, and supporting conservation planning and management.

Since our photography book ‘The Orangutan’s World – A Photographic Celebration of Bornean Wildlife’ recently sold out, w...
15/09/2026

Since our photography book ‘The Orangutan’s World – A Photographic Celebration of Bornean Wildlife’ recently sold out, we’re reprinting it for all our orangutan lovers 🦧

Foreword by Chris Packham, The Orangutan’s World is a visually spectacular collection of images of the magnificent Bornean orangutan, as well as the beautiful forests they call home and the many other unique species that inhabit them too.

Visit https://www.orangutan.org.uk/shop to get yours today!

Orangutans aren’t the only apes in our soft-release programme … Meet Bobo the Bornean white-bearded gibbon, who was take...
13/09/2026

Orangutans aren’t the only apes in our soft-release programme … Meet Bobo the Bornean white-bearded gibbon, who was taken into our care having been kept as a pet.

Now that he’s soon turning three years old, Bobo is becoming increasingly agile and swift as he moves through the forest canopy. Gibbons are entirely arboreal, moving through the canopy at high speed via brachiation. This is a unique hand-over-hand swinging motion using only their arms, which requires total confidence in the canopy. Confidence that Bobo is growing in every day!

Bornean white-bearded gibbons are an endangered species found only in southern Borneo, so every individual is important to the survival of the species.

Whilst the fires that have devastated Borneo’s forests this year have caused significant damage to our forest restoratio...
10/09/2026

Whilst the fires that have devastated Borneo’s forests this year have caused significant damage to our forest restoration sites, they have also highlighted the importance of species selection for ensuring the resilience of our reforestation programme.

Many of the trees used in our reforestation programme are species of ubar tree, belonging to the genus Syzygium. One advantage of using these native species is that many of them have fire-resistant qualities. During July’s fires, which reached our planting out areas, this proved to be crucial. Following the assessment of damaged restoration sites, ubar trees were found to be producing new shoots from their lower trunks, showing encouraging signs of recovery.

An additional benefit of ubar trees is their fast growth, with Ubar species producing new shoots faster than any other seedlings in the tree nurseries. This, combined with their fire-resistance, makes ubar species amongst the most successful nursery trees, making up the largest proportion of the restoration stock.

Forest fires present a huge challenge to our reforestation efforts, but with careful planning and selection, these restoration sites can continue to withstand an ever-changing climate.

To support our forest restoration programme, click here https://www.orangutan.org.uk/donate

One of our soft-release orangutans, Sinta, resting in a nest she built herself! Along with climbing and foraging, nest-b...
08/09/2026

One of our soft-release orangutans, Sinta, resting in a nest she built herself!

Along with climbing and foraging, nest-building is one of the most important skills a young orangutan must acquire in order to live an independent life in the forest. This is because orangutans, like all great apes, need to build dedicated, comfortable sleeping structures for physical safety, to support their large bodies and guarantee a good sleep 😴

Whilst gorillas build simple ground nests, and chimpanzees make basic tree platforms, orangutans take this a step further. Using their refined engineering skills, they use branches to construct a nest and leaves to make a mattress 🌿

Of all survival skills, nest-building is also one of the hardest to perfect. That’s why we are delighted that it’s a skill that Sinta has developed so masterfully ahead of her release back into the wild. The fact that Sinta has reached this huge milestone in her development proves that she has the knowledge and skills to survive and thrive in the forest canopy 🦧

Click here to adopt Sinta and support her journey back to the wild https://www.orangutan.org.uk/shop?category=Adoptions

Borneo is home to animals found nowhere else on Earth 🌏Besides the iconic Bornean orangutan, many other animals are uniq...
06/09/2026

Borneo is home to animals found nowhere else on Earth 🌏

Besides the iconic Bornean orangutan, many other animals are unique to Borneo’s forests too, including primates such as the proboscis monkey and white-bearded gibbon.

When you help us protect the forest homes of orangutans, you’re also helping us protect the one and only home of many other unique species too.

Visit orangutan.org.uk/donate to see the difference you can make.

04/09/2026

Borneo's devastating forest fires have now reached our guard posts in Tanjung Puting National Park, home to one of the largest orangutan populations on the island.

Our dedicated fire-fighting staff can only keep up their frontline defence of this globally-critical orangutan stronghold with your ongoing support.

Visit https://www.orangutan.org.uk/donate to help us maintain this defence.

04/09/2026

Borneo's devastating forest fires have now reached our guard posts in Tanjung Puting National Park, home to one of the largest orangutan populations on the entire island.

Our dedicated fire-fighting staff can only keep up their frontline defence of this globally-critical orangutan stronghold with your ongoing support.

Visit https://www.orangutan.org.uk/donate to help us maintain this defence.

Logos, one of our soft-release youngsters, is reaching new heights 🦧Increasingly, he’s spending more time climbing high ...
03/09/2026

Logos, one of our soft-release youngsters, is reaching new heights 🦧

Increasingly, he’s spending more time climbing high up in the canopy, and importantly, learning to forage for wild forest fruits 🍎

Wild orangutans have been recorded eating more than 250 species of wild fruit, so knowing what to look for, where to find it and when it is ripe is an essential part of forest life. For Logos, every fruit he finds for himself is another step towards becoming a wild orangutan.

Whilst he is still building the confidence to venture further from his human carers, his growing agility in the canopy and increasing focus on natural foraging are very encouraging signs of progress.

Address

London

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+442077242912

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Orangutan Foundation posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to Orangutan Foundation:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category