Entries Tagged ‘Endangered Sumatra Orangutans’:

Saturday, December 13^th 2014, just another date in many ways, people going about their lives, shopping for Christmas. Many people today will visit their supermarkets, watching what they spend and getting the best deal for themselves and their families unaware of a ruling that comes into place on this day. That new law has taken years to come into effect and it finally bears wings and flies today.

Over 500 million consumers in Europe from today will become aware that palm oil is in their food they eat. Ingredients will have to be clearly labelled, saying exactly what it says on the tin with two clear winners. Sustainable palm oil and more importantly the wildlife that live in the places where palm oil is devastating their homes in the shape of their rainforests. Click here to see the EU law which comes into effect today.

One such place is Sumatra, a place I have visited several times now to be among an animal I find such beauty in, they have brought a smile to my face since childhood, the Orangutan. Being around them brings me such joy and comfort, it’s like being alongside a human being. Peaceful, caring, intelligent, beautiful are a few words that come to mind when I think of these great apes.

Until this day palm oil in our food was hidden, often labelled as vegetable oil misleading the consumers and the true origins of its beginning.  Giving people informed choices to buy food items from today is a great result and a small step in the right direction to saving what’s left of the worlds rainforests and in turn some of the most endangered animals anywhere on the planet. Click here to see a very simple guide and what it means.

In 2011, SOS led a coalition of conservation groups, including Elephant Family, Orangutan Foundation, Save the Rhino, the Jane Goodall Institute, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), and the Ape Alliance, in a joint campaign to tackle the problem.

Following their “Clear Labels, Not Forests “campaign, the EU adopted a new law which requires the labelling of specific vegetable oils, including palm oil, on food products throughout Europe. Companies were given three years to comply, and the new legislation comes into force today.

Mandatory labeling will support vital changes in the palm oil industry by allowing shoppers to make informed choices about what they buy. Responsible companies that make or sell products containing palm oil will want to reassure their customers that their products are not contributing to deforestation and loss of wildlife. Retailers and manufacturers now have the incentive to play their part in transforming the palm oil industry and breaking the link between palm oil and deforestation.

Its amazing news and one I wanted to share with the many followers of my blog, the best Christmas for those Orangutans that face a daily struggle to survive and live a peaceful life. I was there in March of this year working with another charity on the ground, shadowing the work of SOCP– Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme who have the only quarantine facility on the island.

I spent two days at that place in Medan the captal of Sumatra, this place is the very end of the line for those crucially endangered Sumatrta Orangutans that have been rescued and confiscated. At times what I saw I couldn’t really speak about or make senmse of, as I sat with baby Sumatran Orangutans looking at me, me looking at them. I cried, I sat and I cried and I really couldn’t understand why man was doing this and how we could inflict such cruelty on an animal that is us and we are them I like to say.

One of the shocking and direct consequences of poaching Orangutans is the death of the mother who is killed in the process of poaching the younger Orangutan. Shock for the baby is devastating and those that survive have a marked existence with so many crucial skills missing. Their lives of forests swapped for a life chained to a post or a cage that’s too small as they grow.

This situation is tolerated and considered normal in Sumatra and Borneo, keeping one of these guardians of the forest can elevate the social status of the person.When they are rescued the road back to the wild is hard without their mother, this makes their independent survival almost impossible. I witnessed many rescued Orangutans during my time in Sumatra. Most have forgotten the pain they went through and forgiven their jailers but just hearing their individual stories sent shivers down my spine and filled me with such sadness

This is my tribute to those Sumatran Orangutans, that are afforded the very highest protection in the world yet are killed every single day in Sumatra and the government does nothing.

I’m going back to Sumatra next year, shadowing the work of those teams once more, things are changing alittle and more interest and knowledge of the plight of those Orangutans and the other rare animals that live on Sumatra are becoming news which is good.

My aim as its always been from day one is to give those Sumatran Orangutans a voice through my work, and since my first visit in 2012 I have kept to that promise I made to those Orangutans I spent time with high in the tree tops. I will continue that promise for as long as I live simply because they are us and we are them and to let them go extinct on our watch would be truly shocking, many thanks.

Sumatra comes to London with a month long exhibition showing the wonderful wildlife this island has and what is happening there. Many of my images from that trip are being used for this exhibition which I’m very proud of. It’s called Spotlight Sumatra a name derived from my first trip there.  The Spotlight Sumatra exhibition opened on May 1st and runs throughout the month of May 2014 at More London Riverside, SE1 2DB. The nearest station (tube and overground) is London Bridge. You can find out how to get there here.The exhibition site is next door to the Scoop on the map, which is right beside City Hall.

The exhibition is outdoor and free and you can visit any time of day or in the evening, when it is lit up.

To accompany this amazing exhibition the prestigious  Wild Planet Magazine are running an article I wrote covering one of my visits there and also I have the front cover with one of my images called “Hope”. Some of my images are available to buy here with all proceeds going to SOS. I write about my trip in this article and t took me weeks to write and to read this go online here and download.

My words, my images, my thoughts put together for an article for the latest edition of Wild Planet Magazine covering my self-funded trip to Sumatra for SOS/OIC.

Small steps lead to big things, small doors open into large rooms two saying I was taught by my late mum growing up. Things are changing, interest is growing, people want to no more, and the Tigers, Orangutans, Rhinos, Elephants through the hard work by amazing people here, around the world and on Sumatra are giving those animals a voice. I hope all those involved come together, work together to save these animals and this island because what the alternative is doesn’t bear thinking about. Thank you to the editor Keith Wilson for your help and publishing this article you don’t know how hard it was to write not having the best take on writing.

Thank to you Ian Singleton Panut Hadisiswoyo who over the last two years I have had the pleasure of working with your teams in Sumatra and to the many, many people on Sumatra who are standing up against those massive companies that are intent on flattering Sumatra before anyone knows of its plight, often at their own risk as the Indonesian government are all about saving face and these guys on the ground continue to rattle that face and expose the corruption there to help these animals.

One of the many slideshows I did when I came back from Sumatra this one conveys my thoughts and honors those Sumatran Orangutans I left behind.

When you’re stopping rich companies making money things get dangerous, when you expose whats happening behind closed doors those with the most to hide become a threat. Knowledge, photography, fund rasing, court cases, world-wide exposure is bringing those companies to book and in time..small steps, and small doors are and do work.

Just over four weeks ago I was in Sumatra and not a moment has passed since that I haven’t thought of those Orangutans. Watching and photographing the amazing Bengal Tiger recently in India, hanging onto dear life just unlines just how many animals are in danger and suffering at the hands of man and by doing little things the big things happen. Time Out review here

I hope you take the time to read this article and enjoy it, and manage to visit this wonderful exhibition I’m proud to be part of and head up the lead image its great those Orangutans voices are being heard around the world and the fight goes on and will never stop until they are all safe, many thanks.

There are surely few more endearing creatures in the world than the gentle giant of the rainforest, the Orangutan. With around 97% of an Orangutans genetic makeup being the same as a human’s, where such a close affinity to Homo sapiens is obvious upon gazing into their beautiful faces and watching their behavior.

I have just had two amazing days presenting my talks from my recent trip to Sumatra alongside Panut the founder of OIC from Sumatra. A big thank you to everyone that attended the Spotlight Sumatra talks in the Natural History Museum, London and Chester Zoo. I’ve only been back from Sumatra a few weeks and my trip is still so raw, with every image I process and publish taking me back there. I had amazing access over the two weeks and the images formed the basis of my talks. To speak at two such amazing and well respected places was a great honour for me.

I’ve made many visits to both places since childhood, Chester Zoo is an hour away from where I live and has an amazing successful breeding programme with all its animals but more so the very rare wildlife entrusted into its keeping. Sumatran animals are doing so well at the zoo. The Sumatran Tiger and the Sumatran Orangutans all giving birth to babies there. I met some amazing, passionate people during our time there all doing amazing work. The zoo does so much for wildlife conservation around the world. I have visited many places being a wildlife photographer from Madagascar to India and very often the locals in the countries I visit always mention Chester Zoo somewhere in our talks, that just shows you how respected this place is.

Helen Director of SOS, Panut and I had a guided tour of the zoo by vet Steve Unwin. I had sat in on a meeting he’d being having earlier with Panut and Helen and other important staff from the zoo. I was amazed at his knowledge and passion for the Orangutans. His no-nonsense approach really struck a chord with me and afterwards I told him. Time is running out for many animals throughout the world, but the problem is so acute now for the Sumatran Orangutan that everybody using all their knowledge and expertise needs to come together to help save this first great ape that may become extinct should current trends of de-forestation in Sumatra be allowed to continue. These words were echoed throughout Steve’s conversions.

During our visit we witnessed the new baby Sumatran Orangutan that was born there last week. His proud mum, Emma who was showing off here new baby boy to the public. Holding the baby so close reminded me of their wild counterparts in Sumatra. I have never witnessed such a close bond between mum and baby outside of humans during those encounters I saw in Sumatra and the same bond was clear to see here in Chester Zoo. Click here to read this amazing news.

Both talks were full houses and again I cannot thank everyone enough for attending and showing their support for the problems facing the Orangutans and their rainforest habitat. I met some wonderful, lovely people during those two days. I met some of the Sumatran Orangutan Society trustees who were all very nice, thank you all for helping Helen and SOS each of you. Thank you to the guys at the Natural History Museum for all your help in setting up the talks and slideshow. Special thanks to our host who helped Panut and me through it all, Ana Rita and kind lady.

Thank you to everyone from Chester Zoo for caring so much about the wildlife within your zoo and around the world. We had two lovely ladies helping us through the talks, comparing and doing the raffle. So a massive thanks you to Penny and Andrea for your help. Both have worked for many years at the zoo doing wonderful work, I hope we can see you all again in the future doing something along the same lines.

Lastly a huge thank you to everyone who attended both talks, what’s happening in Sumatra cannot go on any longer unchecked. With firm and loyal support small things will lead to change on the ground there and in turn a safer world for the Orangutans. I’d like to finish this blog with one of the presentations I showed. Just processing these images brought every emotion I went through in Sumatra flooding back to me. It’s a mixture of what I saw during my time there. It upsets me just watching this clip such was the effect this place and trip had on me. For best results watch in HD on YouTube full screen here.

The Spotlight Sumatra talks have been hugely successful already, raising money for SOS from prints, and many other items. Showing through powerful presentations what is happening out there. If you are a school. Trust, Zoo, Camera Club or anything like that who would like to host this series of talks then please get in touch with Helen Buckland, UK Director SOS here. Alternative contact me through email here many thanks.

Spotlight Sumatra is a celebration of the breathtaking array of life found in the island’s unique rainforests, and a call to action to collectively do all that we can to save this fragile ecosystem, the last stronghold for many critically endangered species. I will be travelling to Sumatra in September 2012  for two weeks. Alongside my guides, we will venture deep into the jungles for up to three or four days at a time, even longer if we are lucky, to track and photograph wild Sumatran orangutans.

Jungle life will be basic but great, trekking by day and sleeping in hammocks by night. I have many ideas and plans for different images and photographs that SOS can use to help raise awareness of the plight of this Great Ape – maybe the first Great Ape to become extinct should current trends continue in the destruction of their forest homes. With many tour operators, photographers and members of the public venturing to the island of Borneo to see and photograph orangutans, I was shocked that very few people go to Sumatra. I hope to show the world Sumatra needs help just as much in saving its rainforests as the neighboring island of Borneo.

Only 6600 critically endangered Sumatran orangutans remain in the wild. Most of these depend on the rainforest habitat provided by the Gunung Leuser National Park in northern Sumatra for their survival. Removal of illegal palm oil plantations, replanting and guarding the orangutans’ home territory along with education and public information campaigns are carried out by the Sumatran Orangutan Society and their partners in Sumatra, the Orangutan Information Centre.

SOS is dedicated to the conservation of Sumatran orangutans and their forest home and their work is helping to protect and conserve this area for the future. I first saw one of these amazing animals in the year 2000 in a rehabilitation centre in Thailand, where I saw a male orangutan, an experience that touched deep into my soul, as I watched and looked into the eyes of one of our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom.

This has stayed with me until the present day and now I am trying to help in my own way by using my photography to help SOS, in turn helping this animal. The principal focus of my trip will be the orangutan, capturing them within their natural habitat, looking for behaviors to capture and so on.

I will be capturing some beautiful photographs of these animals, alongside images showing their rainforest home. I will visit some of the most magnificent forests on Earth, which is also the domain of many other beautiful and stunning animals and birds, some of which only live in this part of the world and nowhere else on the planet. I will be using my tracking skills and fieldcraft, camouflage and jungle survival, having spent some time in these environments previously as a member of the armed forces.

I will be reporting back once I reach the few places where there is internet access, and you’ll be able to read my updates from the field on this SOS blog. I will be capturing images of SOS and OIC’s different projects but on the whole my time will be spent in the jungle, listening and watching for clues of what wildlife is around us. I am looking forward to meeting and working with the locals there, whose knowledge of these jungles is second to none and without whose skills it would take me much longer to navigate this landscape.

I cannot wait to wake up to hear the sights and sounds of the jungle, the calls, the noise, the smells. It’s going to be an amazing two week adventure where I hope to capture the beauty of this animal with my lens, which is controlled with my heart and eyes. I will be getting involved also helping the locals, I will be presenting some short films and slideshows showing them wildlife outside of Sumatra. A lot of people will not have ventured outside of their native country but it’s my aim to bring wildlife to them during the time I am there using a small bicycle-powered cinema which is used for educational talks and film screenings.

The sole aim of this trip is to highlight the plight of this most beautiful of apes. I will be showing you the kit I’m taking, clothing and equipment, posting live updates and hopefully transporting you to this rarely visited part of the world.

I visited the UK headquarters of SOS in Oxford this week to finalise my two week trip there soon with the UK director, Helen Buckland. Going through some projects and work the charity want me to visit once I’m on the ground. Capturing the whole story of Sumatra the best way I can. While I was there these two orangutans where really keen for me to see where they originally came from and gladly posed for me in front of a map of Sumatra.

There will be more news and updates soon before my departure and to keep up to date with this amazing trip please visit SOS’s website here and view the projects, alternatively click on their blog. Its going to be an amazing trip, never been done like this before with a complete view to highlighting the plight of this great ape. I look forward to showing you this island and its amazing wildlife very soon.