Welcome to our website!
The foundation
Orangutans in Peril was founded in 2007 by members of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. They had experienced the catastrophic destruction of the rainforest on Borneo and its consequences for the orangutans. Shocked by the suffering of the animals, they decided to found the organization.
Our vision
Orangutans are threatened by extinction. Our vision is to protect the last wild orangutans and their home, the tropical rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Orangutan protection is therefore also rainforest and climate protection.
What we do
The focus of our work is on protecting orangutans and the rainforest.
We co-finance an orangutan sanctuary in Borneo. It takes care of orphaned orangutans whose mothers were killed by poachers, as well as injured orangutans and orangutans captured on palm oil plantations.
We also support a project in Borneo to reforest areas that were logged or burnt down. These areas also serve as release site for orangutans from Borneo.
On Sumatra, we give financial support to a release site.
Both in Indonesia and Germany we offer programs of environmental education, mostly for children but also for adults. In Germany we focus on informing the public about the connection between what we consume and the destruction of the rainforest. In Indonesia we provide information on conserving the rainforest and great apes as well as on ecological agricultural practices.
We make a point of collaborating with other organizations. We are a small charity and are aware that other NGOs share our vision. Our goal can be reached faster by joining forces instead of competing.
