With only 800 individuals left in the wild, the Tapanuli orangutan is the most endangered species of orangutan - and with recent floods in Sumatra many individuals have gone missing. Orangutan Foundation has sent emergency funding to Scorpion Foundation who work to conserve Tapanuli orangutans in Northern Sumatra, to help rebuild the facilities destroyed by the flood.
Orangutan Stories: Recent rescues and what they teach us
Each orangutan rescued or handed over to our care carries a story of struggle and recovery - and thankfully the chance for a new beginning.
Orangutan infants with carers
In the great rainforests of Kalimantan, the trees whisper tales, not only of wind and rain but of young lives interrupted and gently guided back home.
Throughout 2025, several orangutans crossed paths with humans outside of the forest, each carrying a different fate. What follows are their stories, told like forest fables about loss, hope and second chances.
Gunawan: The Little One Who Learned to Trust the Trees Again
Gunawan
Gunawan was still small when the forest went silent. Found alone with his mother nowhere to be seen, Gunawan was gently carried by human hands instead of clinging to hair.
At Camp JL in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, each day Gunawan climbs a little higher and explores a little further. Sometimes, a second chance grows slowly, leaf by leaf.
Amel: The Long Road Back to Being Wild
Amel
Amel once lived behind walls instead of trees. Kept as a pet since 2014 on a diet of milk and porridge, Amel was refused the chance to learn the fruits of the forest.
After 12 years, Amel was handed over by her owners to BKSDA (government conservation agency) and Foundation staff last June. The forest that welcomed her was far a world away from her captive life… Amel was frightened, refusing to leave her sleeping enclosure.
With patience (and the lure of fruit!), in January 2026 Amel finally climbed her first tree! This was a huge milestone in her long journey towards the wild.
Amel’s story reminds us that healing takes time, and that even after more than a decade, the forest ape can settle back into its home.
Ehoy: The Wanderer Who Finally Returned
Ehoy being rescued from deforested land near village
Ehoy was not lost - he was searching. Driven by hunger, he wandered too close to human homes where coconut trees replaced the wild forest canopy.
Strong, calm, and fully grown, Ehoy was not afraid of being rescued. When the door of his transport cage opened in the safety of Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, he climbed up a tree as if he had never left.
Ehoy’s tale is short but powerful: sometimes, all a wild soul needs is a clear path back home.
Released into Lamandau WIldlife Reserve
Epeng: A Curious Heart Finding Its Place
Epeng with Dr. Dimas at time of rescue
Epeng was found alone by humans working in the forest. Too young to survive by himself, he was taken in before the forest could claim him.
Epeng was handed over to the Foundation and brought to Camp JL, where he soon discovered play. He ate eagerly and learnt the intricacies of branches and balance. Each day, Epeng’s confidence has grown, proof that even fragile beginnings can become strong with care.
Epeng’s story teaches us that rescue is not an end - it is the start of learning how to be wild again.
Epeng
Roni: The Brave One Found at the Edge
Roni
Roni was discovered at the edge of danger; he was near a deep excavation meant for water, not for life. Tiny and weighing just 3 kilograms, Roni carried courage far bigger than his body!
After receiving the care he needed from the Foundation’s veterinarians, Roni began to shine. He has been playing, climbing and exploring with bold curiosity.
Roni’s story demonstrates even the smallest life can grow into something magnificent.
Roni with Dr. Dimas
Kiki: Hope with Curious Eyes
Kiki arrived weak and thirsty, carrying scars that spoke of hardship. Yet behind his injuries lived an unbreakable curiosity.
Kiki using his ‘every-which-way’ (hypermobille) hips in his enclosure
As days passed, receiving care and treatment, Kiki’s spirit emerged. At Camp JL, he became more active, more daring - and more Kiki.
Kiki teaches us that curiosity is hope in motion, and that healing is strongest when paired with patience.
Kiki learning to climb
Kacong: Back to Where the Forest Breathes Deepest
Kacong
Kacong was a seasoned forest traveler; as an adult he was strong and experienced. This meant his rescue was not an easy one... trees became escape routes, and rescuers had to think quickly.
Though carrying old injuries, Kacong moved with confidence. He was successfully returned to the safety of the forest and when released, he did not hesitate. Kacong walked into the forest with ease, like someone reuniting with an old, comforting friend.
Kacong’s story tells us that freedom, once returned, is never forgotten.
Kacong being released
A Journey for the Second Chance
These orangutans are not statistics. They are stories of forests interrupted and restored, of hands that choose protection over possession.
Every rescue is a promise: that we can choose coexistence, that the forest still matters and that orangutans deserve a future written in leaves - not cages.
Orangutan Stories: Fantastic Four
Four infants were recently handed over to our care to join the soft-release programme for orphaned orangutans. But one orangutan, Kiki, is very particular about who is friends with! Orangutans have personalities from a very young age - and can are very entertaining as they grow into themselves more and more.
Orangutan Stories: Sheila the river pirate
In Conversation: From bottles to new beginnings – the orangutan carers
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an orangutan carer? In the depths of Borneo’s forests, our camps support orphaned orangutans on their journeys back into the wild - and it is the carers that are there for every step of the way. In this ‘In Conversation’, we catch up with the carers of latest release Mona.
