Matang Wildlife Centre in Borneo

The plight of wild orangutans runs parallel with the destruction of Borneo’s rainforests. Deforestation driven by logging, mining and palm oil production has caused significant habitat loss. This is an animal that would naturally spend 80 percent of its time eating, travelling and nesting in trees. Without their natural rainforest environment orangutans are rendered homeless, vulnerable and in danger of extinction.

Kate Helliwell has worked as a volunteer coordinator in Borneo for the past five years:
“One of most current issues that Borneo’s wildlife faces is the yearly forest fires that swallow up huge areas of habitat during the dry seasons. These fires are set by humans in an attempt to destroy small or large plots of land for farming. However more often than not they get out of hand due to the unique peat soils and the lack of moisture around during dry season. These fires end up spreading across vast areas of rainforest and in those areas the damage is devastating.”

Building nests, searching for food and avoiding contact with humans are all essential tools for wild orangutans. The local members of staff working at Matang are experts in allowing this process to happen as naturally as possible. It can take up to five years for an orphaned orangutan to be ready for release and this can still only be achieved if there are suitable areas of rainforest in which to release them. Without the help of volunteers it would be nigh on impossible for the park’s staff to be able to do this, and carry out day-to-day tasks such as feeding, maintenance, cleaning and keeping animals’ lives enriched.

It takes a huge amount of labour, time and money for Matang to exist.

And that’s where you come in...

Matang Wildlife Centre urgently needs volunteers to join permanent members of the team as they rehabilitate and release animals back into protected pockets of Borneo. This is not your average holiday and does require hard work, dedication and a real team ethic. Durations can be anything from a week to a month with opportunities to try a variety of work depending on the length of stay. You need to be over 18, although 15-18 year olds are able to volunteer if accompanied by a parent.

“It was a highlight to see the orangutan Ganti and her baby come in from the forest – and the sun bears are truly awesome! But really it was the whole experience that I'll remember. It was a great group of volunteers and the team on the ground were terrific. Read all the information and understand that hard work in hot conditions is just what it says. Understand, also, that the focus is the animals, not your comfort.” – Kim Jordan volunteered at Matang Wildlife Centre

The centre employs as many local people as possible and actively promotes educational initiatives within the wider local community. Human-orangutan conflict often arises when animals are displaced from their natural habitat and stray onto land now inhabited by humans. Namely palm oil plantations. However, there are also other areas where orangutans are still hunted or killed for food. Outreach programmes are one way of changing local attitudes and explaining how conservation, when backed up by law enforcement, can aim to avoid further unnecessary killing in the future.

Getting to know more about the local culture of Sarawak is just as important as understanding more about the natural environment. Poverty is rife in rural areas of Borneo and researching the reasons behind the conflict between humans and animals will serve you well when it comes to committing to a successful and sustainable future for orangutans.

“I feel that the entire program benefits local people in providing employment and education. I think that the minimal impact we had on the local environment just by being there was balanced by the education and knowledge which we received about the rainforest and its inhabitants.” – Lynne Parish worked at Matang with our wildlife volunteer holiday experts The Great Projects

Basically, volunteers do everyday tasks so the permanent workforce can get animals ever closer to the release stage. Cleaning out enclosures, distributing fruit and arranging branches for nesting practise are all common jobs for volunteers. Maintenance and construction tasks, too, are vital for creating enclosed environments that allow the animals’ lives to be as enriched as possible. Matang is filled with animals and for more to be introduced more enclosures and feeding platforms need to be built.

Animal enrichment is an important element of volunteer life. Hessian sacks need to be filled with food like tapioca leaves, sunflower seeds, honey and peanuts before sewing the sack shut. Rather than simply chucking food over a fence, this gives an orangutan a puzzle to figure out. Enhancing the lives of individuals is essential for alleviating boredom and stimulating brains.

At no point will volunteers come into physical contact with animals but they will be able to observe them from close quarters. Face masks and gloves are often part of a volunteer’s outfit, as well as old clothes and protective boots brought from home. It’s a dirty, messy and sweaty job but, hey, someone’s got to do it.