Leif Cocks

The best investment in orangutan conservation? The next generation. 🌿

In North Sumatra, 42 school students recently spent a day learning about nature, orangutan conservation, and why their rainforest home is worth protecting. They took part in storytelling, games, and a very special visit from Pongo, the orangutan mascot. 🦧

These kids aren't just learning facts. They're forming a bond with the forest they'll grow up in. And one day, they'll be the ones protecting it.

The rangers, the advocates, the decision-makers who will safeguard orangutans for generations to come: they might just be sitting in one of these classrooms right now. That future is being built today. And you're helping build it.

Which part of this program would your younger self have loved most? 👇

This program is a collaboration with our partners at Centre for Orangutan Protection and the Ministry of Forestry 🌳

In the Bukit Tigapuluh Ecosystem in Sumatra, human-elephant conflict is one of the biggest threats elephants face. As their forest habitat is destroyed, elephants are pushed closer to villages – putting people's safety at risk and damaging crops as elephants search for food.

Our teams work directly with local communities to prevent retaliation and build coexistence instead. One way we do this is by forming Working Groups along known and emerging conflict zones as elephant movement patterns shift.

Three new Working Groups have just been formed, bringing the total to 33 groups across seven villages. That's 414 community members now equipped with the knowledge to help protect elephants!

These photos capture recent training sessions with the three new groups, covering:
🔹 Mitigation equipment
🔹 Early warning systems
🔹 What to do when elephants enter village land
🔹 Safe practices for elephant encounters
🔹 Safe storage of fertilisers

None of this would be possible without you. Your support is giving these communities the tools and knowledge to protect elephants, now, and for years to come. 🩶 🐘

This program is a collaboration with our Frankfurt Zoological Society partners, and the Ministry of Forestry 🌳

Did you know that one of the best ways to protect nature is to inspire a child who grows up loving it? And thanks to you, that's exactly what's happening! 🌳

Your support is powering environmental education that reaches the young people who will grow up to defend rainforests. Our teams have been busy visiting schools and community spaces, running sessions designed to help students love, care for, and protect the environments they depend on. They've engaged students with:
🌱 National waste awareness day events
🌱 School visits
🌱 Field trips
🌱 Community learning sessions

These recent sessions have reached 269 participants! That’s 269 young people inspired, aware, and ready to take positive action! ✨

Program run by Yayasan International Animal Rescue Indonesia and the Ministry of Forestry 🌳

If you're looking for something to immerse yourself in over the weekend, I suggest the latest episode of Animals, Nature, and You!

Orangutans: More Noble Than Humans. A conversation with me, Leif C***s, founder of The Orangutan Project.

👀 Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luttg7e1MDM
👂 Listen: https://animalsnatureandyou.buzzsprout.com/

Animals, Nature, and You “Animals Nature and You” celebrates the curiosity around the connection we have with the natural world.In this podcast, we will be looking at the science and the personal experiences of experts, and everyday people. From conservationist and animal...

Did you know Sri Lankan elephants are the largest and darkest of all Asian elephants? 🐘

They're also born with beautiful patches of depigmentation – unique markings on their face, ears, belly, and trunk that are as individual as a fingerprint.

This little calf is just beginning to discover what makes them one of the most remarkable elephants on Earth.

Drop a 🐘 if this calf just made your day.

🌳 Did you know that rainforest communities and Critically Endangered wildlife share the same forests? Wildlife like orangutans, elephants and tigers all depend on the same ecosystems as people for survival.

When we destroy forests, we destroy their homes, and their lives. Families lose their culture, their way of life. They lose their livelihoods, natural medicine, and protection from extreme weather. Wildlife lose their safe habitat. Their chance to thrive in the wild, where they belong.

That's why protecting rainforests is so important. When we work together to keep rainforests standing, we save millions of lives – human and wild – that have relied on the rainforests for generations.

Find out how you can help protect families, wildlife, and their rainforest homes here: https://bit.ly/48zQFYR 💚🌿

🐘 Eyes in the sky, protection on the ground.

Our elephant patrol teams in Sumatra's Leuser Ecosystem just added a powerful new tool to their conservation toolkit: drones!

Teams recently completed drone training, learning to fly and operate drones for elephant monitoring in the field.

Why it matters:
✅ Drones help track elephant movements across dense forest and difficult terrain
✅ Teams can easily monitor herds without disturbing them
✅ And we can spot early signs of human-elephant conflict, so teams can step in before it escalates

More data. Faster response. Better protection for elephants and the forests they call home.

None of this is possible without you. Thank you for standing with elephants! 🩶

✨ We are so happy to share that thanks to the incredible generosity of people like you, construction on the new orangutan release camp in Borneo has officially begun! ✨

Because so many generous people donated to our June appeal, the very first stage is now underway, with the access road being built as we speak! Soon, orphaned orangutans like Jack will have a groundbreaking, all-in-one facility where they can complete their Jungle School training, take their first swings in the wild, and be watched over by rangers who will keep them, and their forest safe for years to come.

And it's all because our amazing community believes in a world where orangutans swing wild and free in the rainforest, where they belong! 🦧🌳

Thank you! 🙏🧡

🌱 Did you know your support is growing food for orangutans?

Thanks to your generosity, a brand new permaculture garden has been planted right alongside our BORA rescue centre in East Borneo.

And it's doing double the duty: providing fresh, natural food for the orangutans in our care, and feeding the dedicated team who look after them every day. So far, tree seedlings have been planted, with a mix of native forest fruits and everyday vegetables. 🍃

But here's what makes this extra special…local community members are getting involved too! They're learning new skills in farming and harvest management, and earning an income while they do it.

This garden isn't just food. It's a living classroom. A place where people and wildlife thrive together, long into the future.
None of this happens without you. Thank you. 💚

This program is a collaboration with our partners at Centre for Orangutan Protection and the Ministry of Forestry 🌳