The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) Orangutan Quarantine Centre, is located in the province of North Sumatra and opened in 2002. This is the only orangutan quarantine and care centre in Sumatra. Many young orangutans that arrive at the centre have been kept illegally as pets in deplorable conditions. Orangutans are given a full medical check upon arrival and treated for any illnesses and parasites. Many confiscated orangutans are very young and require regular milk feeds. These youngsters have full time carers during the day and night so they receive the care that they would have had from their own mothers.
New arrivals undergo a quarantine period before being introduced to other compatible orangutans. Once they are with other orangutans, they can begin forming social bonds and learn skills from each other. There is a small forested area at the SOCP Orangutan Quarantine Centre that young orangutans can visit with the staff to develop their forest skills during their rehabilitation. These skills include nest building, traveling in the canopy and being able to identify and access various forest food sources including fruits, leaves, bark, cambium and insects. Young orangutans spend many years learning all of these skills from their mother in the forest, so the rehabilitation journey is a slow process. Orangutans develop at different rates depending on their age, temperament and how long they spent with their mother in the forest.
When orangutans are deemed suitable for more intensive release training, they are sent to either the Sumatran Orangutan Reintroduction Centre in the Bukit Tigapuluh ecosystem in the province of Jambi or to the Jantho Reintroduction centre in the province of Aceh.
Funds from our orangutan adoption program go towards the care of these precious orphaned orangutans including food and medical supplies at the SOCP Orangutan Quarantine Centre.
