Assist with unique primate research in the Sumatran rainforest

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Program Overview
Life on the Program
Project Details
Volunteer Testimonials

Program Overview

Travel to the remote wilds of North Sumatra and join our international team of volunteers to work alongside passionate conservationists in the amazing Leuser Ecosystem. The area is home to abundance of wildlife such as the giant flying squirrel, Sumatran Elephant, white-handed gibbons and of course the graceful orangutan.

During this 12-day program you will perform a variety of research tasks, including jungle-based fieldwork, to help improve understanding and conservation of orangutans. The work you perform will contribute towards increasing knowledge of orangutans in the areas of science, public health and the management of wildlife conservation into the future.

You will be trekking into the forest to observe these fascinating creatures in the wild and may have the opportunity to camp out and experience the mysterious sights and sounds of the jungle at night.

Life on the Program

During the first few days you will undergo training, visiting the feeding platforms and taking an exploratory practice trek into the forest. Days 5-10 are usually fieldwork with overnight stays in the forest carrying out project research. Towards the end of the program you will be involved in data entry. It is important to be aware that activities and schedules change for a variety of reasons and the above is just an example.

The project base is located approximately 80 km from Medan, in the village of Timbang Lawan. Accommodation is simple but clean, consisting of a local style building in the rice paddies. Amenities are limited, with long drop toilets, no hot water and shared rooms. During treks the camping conditions are even more basic.

Project Details

The primary focus of this research is to investigate how wild orang-utans combat parasitic infections, which can affect everything, from health to reproduction and fertility and ultimately survival. Orang-utans eat certain plants to treat specific illnesses and you will be assisting with this fascinating research by carrying out some of the following tasks:

- Recording behavioural data

- Organising samples of orang-utan foodstuffs

- Organising faecal samples

- Preparing equipment for field assistants

- Preparing behavioural data sheets

- Keeping temperature, weather and humidity data records updated

- Nest counting

- Fruit trail transects to record the range of foodstuffs available

- Locating areas with a significant wild orang-utan population

- Finding and following orang-utans to collect behavioural data and faecal samples.

How this project makes a difference:

This project, the first of its kind for orangutans, investigates which special behaviours and ecological conditions are necessary to maintain health in wild orang-utans. It is the only ongoing, long-term research project studying orang-utan health anywhere in the world. This understanding will help rehabilitation programs teach orang-utans how to keep themselves healthy, so they are more likely to survive in the wild after reintroduction.

Volunteer Testimonials

I woke up in the rainforest less than 30 metres away from a semi-wild orangutan called Sasa. We saw Thomas Leaf Monkeys swinging in the trees above us and later we found a group of White-Handed...

Gemma Tilack, Australia

I woke up in the rainforest less than 30 metres away from a semi-wild orangutan called Sasa. We saw Thomas Leaf Monkeys swinging in the trees above us and later we found a group of White-Handed gibbons calling to each other. Incredible! We continued uphill and heard the echoing calls of the jet-black Siamangs. What a day!

We then walked amongst giant resin trees, through cool fresh rivers and found ourselves using all four limbs to make our way back to camp where we were greeted by a cup of coffee and our jungle dinner before sleeping under the stars.

Rosey Gurr, United Kingdom

I had a lot of good moments whilst volunteering. One of my favourites, was the camaraderie of sitting at night, in the jungle, with all the jungle noises, the river roaring nearby, in candle light (with all the attendant moths) playing cards with the other volunteers, the project staff and the Indonesian guides and marking people’s faces with charcoal when they lost a game and watching the guides laughing so much they couldn’t speak.

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