JUNGLE SCHOOL

Rescued in 2021 by The Orangutan Project, orangutans Asto (three years old) and Asih (five years old) are taking steps to return to their rainforest home with the help of their carers Laras and Margaretha after their mother was killed by wildlife traders.

Like children, orangutans can’t survive in the wild on their own and are not born with survival instincts – they learn everything from their mothers. For the babies in care centres, carers like Laras and Margaretha step in to fill the void. The babies take part in daily ‘Jungle School’ – which teaches orphaned orangutans how to climb and swing through trees – because their future survival depends on it.

“Although their start in life was traumatic, these two little girls are on the path to freedom in the wild,” says Kylie Bullo, project manager with The Orangutan Project. theorangutanproject.org.au