‘Falling For Orangutans’, by Jonathan Stark. 27th November 2012
Earlier this year, a group of Durrell staff took part in a
sponsored skydive over Jersey to raise money for “The Tripa
Campaign”, an initiative led by our esteemed ex colleague Dr Ian
Singleton who is now the Conservation Director for The Sumatran
Orang-utan Conservation Programme. The idea to support this
campaign was born during a visit I made to Sumatra in May of
this year when I had the opportunity to meet with Ian and see
the devastation of the Tripa peat land forest for myself. Tripa
is one of just 3 remaining peat swamp forests on the west coast
of Aceh province, Sumatra. In terms of area, these peat forests
make up just 10% of the viable remaining Sumatran orang-utan
habitat yet they are home to 30% of the population making them
vital for the survival of this species. As a peat swamp, the
protection of Tripa is also incredibly important for the
regulation of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate
change. Estimates of the amount of ca