INITIATIVE - Covid-19 appeal

The orangutanG Clinic

At MAAC we believe in science when it comes to the loss of our planet's biodiversity. We protect iconic keystone endangered species on the verge of extinction. Our work fundamentally looks at the three main causes of global species extinction.

1. Wildlife Exploitation - poaching and trade, consumption.
2. Climate Change - a warming planet.
3. Land Use - habitat protection from farmland.

Today, Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutang are threatened by extinction due to habitat loss and hunting. It is estimated that the Bornean orangutang population has decreased by more than 80% within the last three generations. The World Conservation Union (IUCN Red Data List 2007) classifies both species of orangutang as Critically Endangered.

MAAC to construct and equip a new veterinarian clinic at Nyaru Menteng Orangutang Rehabilitation Centre
316 Orangutangs are currently in the care of a rehabilitation centre in Borneo. As per agreements with the Government of Indonesia, the centre is continuing to release those orangutang assessed to have completed their rehabilitation journey into the wild, to two sites in Central Kalimantan: the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park and the Bukit Batikap Protection Forest. Despite such efforts, the centre expects many orangutang to remain in the care for the rest of their lives and will need vital medical facilities.

These are Orangutangs that are sick (TB and chronic respiratory disease are among the conditions that effectively make them unrealisable), or have serious physical handicaps and behavioural/development issues (often the result of their age at the time they were rescued and time spent in captivity), which unfortunately means they are unequipped for life in the wild.

We are looking to build an Orangutang hospital that will be an essential component of the new infrastructure where adult Orangutang and babies are already located. The clinic is composed of a main building with space for examinations and treatment, surgery and X-ray rooms, laboratory and pharmacy, along with storage and staff space. Two separate annexes are required for two intensive care units (for cases that need to be isolated from the routine treatment area), as well as an autopsy room with incinerator and a microbiology lab.

The clinic will care for both, the Orangutangs that will remain in rehabilitation for the rest of their lives. Plus, Orangutangs that have lost their home through deforestation and need care before being released back into the wild.