News - BOS International

The first releases…

This week Astrid, Monic, Tantri and Tarzan will be released back to their long awaited home in the forest, the Betikap region in  Central Kalimantan.

The first of many. The latest updates on the release can be found here.

Meet the team who are working on the release program.



Orangutans Rescue and Release Operation 17-27 Jan 2012

A mother and baby orangutan, facing certain death, were rescued from hunters armed with machetes, knives and ropes. 

When the Rescue team arrived, the mother gave no resistance, which is extraordinary behavior for a wild orangutan, suggesting she was totally exhausted from being chased all night.

Hunters can be paid up to A$150 for each orangutan they kill.

The good news is that the release site was the Kehje Sewen site which was funded by Australian BOS donors including a significant contribution by John Cochrane.

View the Release video or

Update about Himba


You may recall the note we sent around in October about baby Himba, who was rescued by a wood collector in Central Kalimantan. He had brought baby Himba to Nyaru Menteng in a small cardboard box.

We now bring you an update on his wellbeing.






Orangutan rehab slow but thorough

Since the 1990s, BOSF has worked to rehabilitate captive orangutans and reintroduce them back into the wild. It now has a total 850 orangutans in rehabilitation — 650 at a facility in Nyaru Menteng, Central Kalimantan, and 200 in Samboja Lestari.

A recent Jakarta Globe article highlights the various stages and challenges of orangutan rehabilitation.

Photo: A baby orangutan at a Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation rehabilitation center in East Kalimantan on Jan. 11. (JG Photo/Fidelis E. Satriastanti)


A sanctuary of sun bears

2 August 2011
Around five o'clock in the afternoon in the Samboja Lestari project area in East Kalimantan usually means happy time for the sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) living in the area's sanctuary - it is feeding time.

Wild at Heart

July 2009
Separated from land by rivers, the large red orangutans of Samboja Lestari forest park, East Kalimantan, are completely off-limits to humans.

Orangutan doctor – Dr David Irons

24 February 2009
WHEN he's in Scotland, GP Dr David Irons runs an accident and emergency unit in Stranraer, but when he's in Borneo his patients are much hairier, and more orange. That's because he's Medical Director of Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS), and at their rehabilitation centre at Nyaru Menteng, he heads a team meeting the medical needs of around 650 orangutans and 200 staff. About 150 of his young, hairy charges are playing around him as we chat.

A sad goodbye

14 December 2008
A sad and tearful farewell to another Nyaru Menteng orphan. Michelle Desilets asks that some good come out of the loss of Ucon. You can do this by donating to support the many orphan orangutans in our care.  And tell the government and manufacturers that the cost of products containing palm oil is unacceptably high. 

An update on Kerry

28 October 2008
In July, we reported on the rescue of Kerry by Centre for Orangutan Protection from the illegal pet trade. Kerry found a new home at the Nyaru Menteng rescue and rehabilitation centre.

A successful release

4 August 2008
At BOS, our ultimate goal is the release of healthy orangutans back into the wild - so it’s always gratifying to be able to give our supporters good news about just such an event - the first translocation programme of 2008.