For a small amount each month, you can help support an orphaned or injured orangutan through rehabilitation in one of our care centres.
Only 1 out of 6 orphans are lucky enough to be rescued - over 1,000 orphaned orangutans are living in rescue and rehabilitation centres. Care of these infants is costly and requires 24hr staff, veterinary, and nurse care to ensure they are in a healthy condition and have the best chance of returning to life in the wild.
All adoption money goes directly to helping orphans at the care centres we support and providing opportunities for a safe return to protected forests.
We are in regular contact with the staff at the centres and our team visits regularly to get updates on the orphaned infants to see how they are progressing. For a small monthly sum you can make a real difference and help these orphaned orangutans survive.
Orangutan adoptions are tax deductible in Australia and the USA.
Adoption Updates
We will email you quarterly updates, which will also be available on our website, and you can check out their Jungle School progress through our regular social media posts.
Orangutans for Adoption
Sudin
Little Sudin was confiscated by the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) in Lampung Province, Sumatra in May 2021, along with a female infant orangutan named Siti. They were rescued from the illegal wildlife trade when they were about to be loaded onto a ferry at Bakauhuni Harbor in Lampung. Estimated to be only 18 months of age, these tiny babies would have still been fully dependent on their mothers.
Siti
Siti was confiscated by the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) in Lampung Province, Sumatra in May 2021, along with a male infant orangutan named Sudin. They were rescued from the illegal wildlife trade when they were about to be loaded onto a ferry at Bakauhuni Harbor in Lampung. Estimated to be only 18 months of age, these tiny babies would have still been fully dependent on their mothers.
Harapi
Little Harapi was rescued by our Bornean Orangutan Rescue Alliance (BORA) and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in June 2023. He was being held illegally in Long Gie Village in Berau Regency, East Kalimantan. The BORA team received information about Harapi in the morning of 12 June 2023 and immediately set off to investigate. Upon arrival, they discovered that Harapi had been kept as a family pet for approximately one month. He was dressed in baby clothes and was wearing a necklace.
Arto
Baby Arto was being kept illegally as a pet. The family claimed they found him abandoned by his mother, who had been chased away by dogs. Dressed in baby clothes and a bracelet, Arto was treated like a human child. He was bathed three times a week, destroying his skin's ability to fight infection. And he was fed a diet of human foods. The suffering and fear Arto endured is unthinkable.
Asto and Asih
Asto and Asih were rescued by our Sumatran Rescue Alliance (SRA) and local BKSDA (Nature Conservation Agency) in April 2021. They were being held illegally at a suburban home on the Indonesian island of Java. After their confiscation, medical checks and rest, they were flown to Sumatra with members of the SRA and then driven to the SRA centre in North Sumatra.
By adopting an orangutan you are providing:
- Health care for orphaned orangutans
- A nurturing and loving environment
- Enrichment and stimulation to develop skills
- Nutritious and healthy food
- Bedding and play materials
- Medical and veterinarian care
- Forest school training and skills
- Resources for orangutan rescues, releases and habitat protection
Our Orangutan Adoption Program
The Orangutan Project supports our ground partners to rescue stolen, displaced and injured orangutans and provide them with care and rehabilitation at our funded rescue centres across Indonesia.
Most of these orangutans are very young, and have often witnessed the brutal killings of their mothers before being sold on by the illegal pet trade.
These young orangutans are usually kept in horrific conditions and when they are found, are often highly traumatised, malnourished, and sick. Once they’re rescued, these vulnerable orphans undergo a full medical check and quarantine period. Many of the orangutans are very young and require 24-hour care, nurturing, and regular milk feeds.
After the orangutans have completed their quarantine period, they can take part in forest school where they develop the skills they need for release into the forest. Young orangutans would normally spend many years learning these skills from their mothers in the forest, so this rehabilitation journey is a slow process.
Caring for these orphaned orangutans for many years is expensive; however, nothing is more heart-warming than seeing an orangutan return to their true jungle home after having overcome so much. When you join our Adoption Program you’ll be helping orphaned orangutans regain their strength, hope, and freedom.
Once you adopt an orangutan, we will email you adoption updates and photographs in April and October. Our adopters love to see how their adopted orangutan is progressing on their rehabilitation journey.
Due to the extensive costs involved with the care, rehabilitation, and post-release monitoring, these orangutans are available for adoption by multiple people. This ensures that the orangutans and others at the care centres receive the best possible care and forest school training to help them once again live free as wild orangutans. Our adopters embrace this and love being part of our adoption family to help these youngsters on their journey back to the forest.
The Dora Success Story
Thank you so much to all of Dora's adopters for helping her to find her jungle freedom.
The 6th October 2016 marked the day when seven-year-old-Dora and her good friend nine-year-old-Suna left their night enclosure for good. Dora has been at Bukit Tigapuluh forest school for five years and has developed her forest survival skills by learning from other orangutans such as Jeky Chan and also exploring on her own. We are so pleased to share with you the news that Dora and Suna have been released into the Bukit Tigapuluh jungle in Sumatra. TOP has funded this release site and its protection for many years.
Our adoption facilities
We need people like you to help us achieve our goals. Join us by adopting, donating and campaigning for action.
International Animal Rescue Orangutan Centre, Borneo
International Animal Rescue (IAR) established a rescue and rehabilitation centre for orangutans in the province of West Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo in 2013. It is located in a village called ...
Bornean Orangutan Rescue Alliance (BORA), Borneo
The Orangutan Project and our partners at the Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP) joined forces to create the Bornean Orangutan Rescue Alliance (BORA). We run an orangutan rescue and rehabilitation ...
Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme Orangutan Quarantine Centre, Sumatra
The Orangutan Project and our partners at the Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP) joined forces to create the Bornean Orangutan Rescue Alliance (BORA). We run an orangutan rescue and rehabilitation ...
Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, Borneo
The Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre is located in Central Kalimantan and is run by the BOS Foundation. It opened in 1999 and is now the largest orangutan ...
Sumatran Orangutan Reintroduction Centre, Sumatra
The Sumatran Orangutan Reintroduction Centre (SORC) is located in the Bukit Tigapuluh (BTP) ecosystem, in the province of Jambi in Sumatra. It is one of only two reintroduction sites in ...