Help us guarantee a future for orangutans

Dear Friend, Imagine a baby orangutan sitting alone on the rainforest floor.  Too scared to even move.  Her mother nowhere in sight.  She's alive, but she's severely traumatized from watching as her mother was killed with a machete.   This poor orphaned orangutan and countless others cannot survive on their own.   They need a safe place to call home where they can receive the care they need to one day return to the wild.  The Nyaru Menteng Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Borneo, Indonesia, provides a lifeline for these many orphaned, injured, and abused orangutans.  But now this place of refuge needs saving, and we need your help. A growing crisis Orangutans are one of the most critically endangered species on the planet, as a result of both poaching and habitat loss.  These gentle and intelligent apes are found only in Sumatra and Borneo, and over the past two decades 90% of their natural habitat in Borneo has disappeared. Why are orangutans under threat?  The answer is simple - they're in the way.  As the growing palm oil industry expands, it encroaches on the orangutans' natural habitat, cutting down trees and burning the land.  Orangutans are either left to wander through burnt areas of deforested land or are caught and killed by poachers as they try to escape.  Often mother orangutans are killed as their young still cling to them.  Many orphans die from falling out of trees when their mothers are attacked or from the trauma of seeing their mothers get killed.  A permanent solution The Nyaru Menteng Sanctuary, run by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS), is the largest primate sanctuary in the world.  The center rescues endangered, injured, and orphaned orangutans from the wild and from illegal captivity, and rehabilitates them when possible. Last year when the sanctuary's main source of funding ended, our supporters around the world stepped in to provide emergency assistance. Now, we are making an even bigger commitment, as we embark on an ambitious project to secure the long-term sustainability and independence of the sanctuary.  I am appealing to you as one of our most dedicated supporters to help support WSPA's work for orangutans and other animals in need around the world.  We know that we have a lot of work ahead of us, but with your support we can make a difference. Thank you for all you have done, and all you can do now! Yours sincerely, Dave Eastham WSPA Head of Wildlife © Photos credited to Sam Gracey and Steve Leonard for Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation

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