{"id":13846,"date":"2024-03-30T22:10:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-31T05:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orangutan.com\/?post_type=project&#038;p=13846"},"modified":"2025-10-06T09:50:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T16:50:09","slug":"building-wild-skills-supporting-orangutan-rehabilitation-and-release","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/orangutan.com\/project\/building-wild-skills-supporting-orangutan-rehabilitation-and-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Wild Skills: Supporting Orangutan Rehabilitation and Release"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Rehabilitating orangutans is a complex task. Young orangutans must develop the skills, strength, and behaviors they would normally learn from their mothers over 8\u201310 years in the wild. Achieving this \u201cwild-type behavioral profile\u201d is essential for their welfare and post-release success\u2014but it\u2019s challenging under typical rehabilitation centre conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The University of Birmingham, led by Dr. Jackie Chappell with co-investigators Prof. Susannah Thorpe and Dr. Nadine Sugianto, is implementing the project <strong>\u201cBuilding Strength and Expertise\u201d<\/strong> to support orangutan rehabilitation centres. Orangutan Conservancy is proud to <strong>support this initiative<\/strong>, which equips centers with evidence-based tools, training, and practical guidance to improve welfare and post-release outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Goals and Objectives:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Improve welfare and skills development:<\/strong> Develop innovative, practical, and affordable enclosure modifications\u2014especially for night cages\u2014and husbandry practices that help rehabilitant orangutans acquire the behaviours they need in the wild.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Train staff in skill-building:<\/strong> Teach centre staff how to foster strength, stamina, and wild-type behaviours in orangutans throughout all stages of rehabilitation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Build data-driven decision-making:<\/strong> Train staff in collecting data and using the <strong>Enclosure Design and Husbandry Tool (EDHT)<\/strong> and <strong>Monitoring and Release Assessment Tool (MRAT)<\/strong>, supporting evidence-based management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Support community culture change:<\/strong> Nurture \u201ccommunity champions\u201d at each centre to motivate colleagues, share best practices, and sustain long-term improvements in orangutan care.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Methodology and Activities:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Conduct research at <strong>Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Centre<\/strong> to design and test innovative enclosure modifications and husbandry interventions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collect pre- and post-release data to assess which skills rehabilitant orangutans acquire\u2014or fail to acquire\u2014after release.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Translate scientific knowledge on wild orangutan behaviour into accessible training resources for the community in <strong>English and Bahasa Indonesia<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Deliver hands-on training, webinars, and one-on-one support to build staff capacity and create a sustainable <strong>Community Training Programme<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Produce detailed construction guides, instructional videos, and practical materials for easy replication at other centres.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Impact:<\/strong><br>By the end of this project, rehabilitation centres will have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Evidence-based methods to <strong>develop wild-type skills<\/strong> in orangutans.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Practical tools to <strong>assess enclosures and release readiness<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Trained staff and community champions to <strong>sustain best practices<\/strong> across the region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This initiative strengthens orangutan welfare and supports long-term success in rehabilitation, ensuring rescued orangutans are prepared to return to the wild with the behaviors and skills they need to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With support from the Orangutan Conservancy, researchers from the University of Birmingham are helping orangutan rehabilitation centres improve welfare and post-release success. Through new evidence-based tools, enclosure innovations, and staff training, this project gives caregivers the skills to nurture wild-type behaviors and ensure rehabilitant orangutans are better prepared for life in the forest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13848,"template":"","tags":[345,346,347,323],"project_category":[289,290],"project_status":[294],"class_list":["post-13846","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-enclosure-design-tool","tag-rehabilitation","tag-release","tag-research","project_category-rehabilitation","project_category-research","project_status-in-progress"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Building Wild Skills: Supporting Orangutan Rehabilitation and Release - Orangutan Conservancy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orangutan.com\/project\/building-wild-skills-supporting-orangutan-rehabilitation-and-release\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Building Wild Skills: Supporting Orangutan Rehabilitation and Release - Orangutan Conservancy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With support from the Orangutan Conservancy, researchers from the University of Birmingham are helping orangutan rehabilitation centres improve welfare and post-release success. 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