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Photo Courtesy of
Perry van Duijnhoven
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Great Ape Trust contributes to orangutan conservation in Sumatra and Borneo. Over the past decade, illegal logging and the establishment of plantation concessions in the rain forests of Borneo have dramatically reduced the number of Bornean orangutans, which are of a different species than those of Sumatra. In 2003 after almost 20 years of long-term ecological research, the cabangng Panti field research station inside the Gunung Palung National Park was forced to close because of the dangers that illegal logging presented to the researchers and their field assistants. Since then, illegal logging has decreased and Gunung Palung has recovered due in part to grassroots work with local communities and lobbying at the national level.
Drs. Andrew Marshall and Cheryl Knott plan to reopen the cabangng Panti field station, which serves as the primary hub of orangutan research and conservation activities in Gunung Palung. The pristine rain forest habitat is one of the few remaining examples in Indonesia and as such inspires conservation efforts. Researchers at the site play a vital role by providing new scientific insights and information for the conservation activities. cabangng Panti, one of only five active orangutan field sites, has the most extensive data set of intercorrelated records of tree phenology, and orangutan nutrition, hormones and behavior. The re-opening of the site is crucial for the continued orangutan conservation actions in the whole region, and gibbons, sun bears, proboscis monkeys and slow loris will be protected along with the orangutans. Great Ape Trust provided $5,000 in 2007 to help re-open cabangng Panti. |
Great Ape Trust is certified by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums
