Orangutan
Indonesia’s orangutans are in crisis. All three species are critically endangered, threatened by hunting and the loss of their forests to palm oil and industrial agriculture.
Project Summary
Gunung Tarak is a 24,000-hectare protected forest in West Kalimantan, and one of the few remaining landscapes large and intact enough to support a viable wild orangutan population. Since 2012, YIARI has run a conservation programme that combines forest patrols, biodiversity monitoring, habitat restoration, and the release of rehabilitated orangutans back into the wild.
Local Partner: YIARI
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hectares patrolled
YIARI protects and patrols 24,000 hectares of forest, home to one of the last remaining populations of Bornean orangutans.
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wild orangutans
estimated number of wild of organutans in Gunung Tarak (2017 survey), one of the few remaining landscapes large and intact enough to support a viable wild orangutan population.
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rescued and released orangutans
These orangutans have been rehabilitated and successfully released into the wild, two of which have since bred.
The Full Story
A Rare Wild Orangutan Population
A 2017 survey estimated Gunung Tarak’s wild orangutan population at approximately 280 individuals, at a density of 1.7 individuals per square kilometre, a figure that marks this forest as an important refuge as habitat elsewhere on Borneo continues to fragment.
A Second Chance for Rehabilitated Orangutans
Alongside protecting this wild population, YIARI’s work at Gunung Tarak gives rescued and rehabilitated orangutans somewhere to go. Five rehabilitated orangutans have been successfully released back into the forest here, and two of them have gone on to breed in the wild, evidence that the habitat is healthy enough to support a new generation.
How the Forest Is Protected
YIARI’s conservation programme at Gunung Tarak runs on three main strands of work:
- Biodiversity monitoring: phenology surveys and a network of camera traps track the health of the forest and the species living in it, from fruiting cycles to the movements of wildlife that rarely shows itself to people.
- SMART patrols: regular patrols using the SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) system cover the protected forest, deterring illegal activity and recording threats to habitat and wildlife as they happen.
- Restoration: restoration activities help rebuild degraded areas of the forest, strengthening the habitat that both the resident wild population and released orangutans depend on.
What the Cameras Saw
Between August and October 2024, Gunung Tarak’s camera trap network captured 1,885 images, identifying 77 bird species and 25 mammal species – helping to show just how many species live in this forest.
Your Support Can Make a Difference – DONATE TODAY
Every donation helps fund the patrols, monitoring, and restoration work that keep Gunung Tarak, and the orangutans that depend on it, protected.
Or, if you would like to know more about this project contact our philanthropy team. Contact Freya Macintyre, [email protected]
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