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Orangutan knowledge exchange

Tracking wild orangutans in the Danum Valley Conservation Area to learn new skills and share knowledge.

29/05/2024

Collaborative exchange

The opportunity to collaborate with other organisations working in orangutan conservation is always an exciting opportunity and, on this occasion, our team at Sepilok were invited to join the Japan Orangutan Research Centre (JORC) in Danum Valley.

This collaboration enabled an exchange of knowledge and skills between two very experienced teams working in the field of orangutan conservation. We were invited to send two members of our team at a time to spend 5 days tracking and monitoring wild orangutans and identifying orangutan food sources. In return, our staff would share their experience of working with and caring for orangutans at Sepilok, as well as insights into the Post-Release Monitoring Project that many of them were an integral part of.

Team photo of JORC and Orangutan Appeal UK
Fruit partly eaten by wild animal
Danum Valley - team track wild orangutans

The Danum Valley Conservation Area is a 438-square-kilometer ancient rainforest, recognised as one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems, home to lush flora and fauna, including the critically endangered Bornean orangutan.

Whilst there, our team trekked with JORC staff for several kilometres a day, carefully navigating their way through the dense foliage with keen eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of wild orangutans.

  • Sepilok team in Danum Valley tracking orangutans
    Danum Valley orangutan tracking

Finding evidence of orangutans in the dense and humid rainforest can be an exhausting job and requires a great deal of patience. One such sighting occurred, after many hours of searching, of a female orangutan high up in the tree canopy eating figs. After gathering some valuable data about the orangutan’s location and diet they followed her as she moved through the rainforest.

Even though they are the largest arboreal mammal in the world, it is surprisingly easy to lose sight of an orangutan when looking up from the floor to the forest canopy. When the bright sun shines down through the treetops their reddish hair helps to camouflage them from any potential predators below.

We split into teams to cover more ground & started our search at 0700hrs. We walked about 8km through the forest searching for signs of orangutans and then, at 17:30, we spotted a male orangutan building a nest for the night in the tree canopy.

— Journal entry from the team

During their time in the forest, many samples of leaves, bark, seeds and fruit were collected and recorded for future reference.

Understanding what orangutans eat in the wild can help to provide insights that might benefit the orangutans at Sepilok and ensure that they are adequately prepared for release into the wild.

These samples are now also being used in our education and outreach programmes to help teach schools and local communities about the rainforest’s diverse range of plant species and its importance in supporting the animals that inhabit it.

School children examining some of the orangutan food samples collected from Danum Valley

JORC’s ultimate goal is to increase the number of Malaysian personnel who have the outdoor skills and orangutan-specific knowledge to monitor and protect the species.

Supporting our staff at Sepilok is extremely important to us and we are grateful to JORC for allowing us this opportunity. It is crucial that we accommodate this progress and encourage learning in order to be at the forefront of successful orangutan conservation in Borneo.

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