One of the most rewarding aspects of The Orangutan Project's work is when an orphan we have supported is able to be released back into the wild, where they belong. Even better is when we see that orphan become the proud parent of the jungle's next generation of wild-born orangutans.
Rimbani is one such orphan. She came to us after being confiscated along with another orangutan, Mona, arriving the quarantine centre in North Sumatra on the 23rd December 2005. After doing well, it wasn't long before Rimbani was able to be released back into the forest, making her return on the 20th October 2006, as a 5 year old.
Rimbani adapted well to jungle life and gave us the greatest gift of all in late 2015 – a baby boy, Raja (King in Indonesian). Raja is wild-born, a tremendous achievement for Rimbani, demonstrating the success of orangutan reintroduction in growing the wild population numbers.
Raja represents the future of Bukit Tigapuluh jungle, an area that is constantly under the threat of destruction from logging companies in the paper and pulp, rubber and palm oil industries. However, recently, we obtained a lease for 38,000 hectares of this precious ecosystem. We now desperately need funds to help populate the area with wildlife protections units, who will patrol the area for poachers and illegal loggers.
Little Raja is growing well and taking to life in the wild wonderfully. He is learning important life skills from his Mum, including eating lots of fruit during the rainy season to put on body fat, as well as find a variety of food sources when high calorie fruit is scarce. These alternative food sources include leaves, flowers, termites, tree bark and the cambium layer of trees.
The diversity of food eaten by Rimbani and Raja is part of the reason why protecting the rainforest is so vital.
Will you help us protect one hectare of the precious Thirty Hills ecosystem?
Every donation we receive helps us with the acquisition costs of the 38,000 hectare lease we have secured for Rimbani, baby Raja and the wild orangutan population. It also helps us rehabilitate and release more orangutans like Rimbani.
View more videos of Rimbani and Raja together in the jungle
