Orangutan Rescue: Saving Borneo's Orangutans

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Orangutan Rescue
gives readers a unique insight into the highs and lows of rescuing and rehabilitating this species against all the odds in a remote part of Borneo. With the aid of 145-150 superb photographs, all generously donated, we aim to explain and illustrate why orangutans need our help and to document the creation in 2009 and the development over the next five years of a world-class orangutan rescue and rehabilitation centre in Borneo.

We look at the rapid growth of the centre from a mere dream to a reality. We provide an insight into the work of those dedicated people who rescue orangutans from palm oil plantations and from private homes and the skilled veterinary staff who are called upon to treat them and nurse them back to health.

The orangutans themselves feature in most photographs. Readers will relish the great many glorious photographs of these great apes , mostly babies and juveniles. We use photos to take readers with us on a journey from the time an orangutan is rescued, treated for any injuries and illnesses at the clinic, then introduced to other baby orangutans, and finally released into protected forest bought especially for them by International Animal Rescue.

With ten years' experience rescuing animals in Indonesia, in 2009 British charity International Animal Rescue embarked on its most ambitious project yet. Following numerous reports of mostly baby orangutans being either killed or captured, IAR decided to start from scratch the construction of a dedicated orangutan rescue centre near the small, remote town of Ketapang in West Kalimantan . This was a monumental challenge to undertake, both financially and physically. When IAR rose to the challenge in 2009 they thought they might one day be caring for twenty orangutans. Five years later they had 82 in their care with no sign of the numbers decreasing. By that time the IAR team had also rescued and released 38 orangutans that found themselves in conflict with humans.

Orangutan Rescue
enables readers to see what it really takes to 'save the orangutans'. The personal, unselfish commitment made by so many individuals, the sheer hard work involved, the teamwork, the many and varied skills required.

A book for all ages. Nothing like it has been published previously.