Helping Borneo’s orphaned orangutans just became easier thanks to Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia’s brand new mobile app
SEPTEMBER 24th, 2013: Can a smartphone app save a life? It’s a question that is set to become a reality, as Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Australia gears up to launch its first mobile app just in time for the calendar week closest to its heart: Orangutan Caring Week (November 10 – 16), 2013.
Due to poaching, the highly illegal orangutan pet trade, trafficking and habitat destruction, Borneo’s orangutans are at risk of extinction in the wild within the next decade. A non-profit organisation, BOS Australia has been raising funds to rescue and rehabilitate the endangered orangutans of Borneo since 2001.
During Orangutan Caring Week, BOS needs your help in drawing attention to the plight of these endangered gentle giants, who share 98 per cent of our DNA.
Launching in early October, the free BOS Orangutan app will allow iPhone and Android users to make a secure contribution of $10 or more to assist the rehabilitation of orphaned orangutans in Indonesian Borneo. Users will also be able to check in to see pictures of baby orangutans (who can be “adopted” for as little as $12 per month), access video and text updates about the latest release of rehabilitated orangutans back into the wild, and find out more about why BOS ambassadors including Aussie personalities like Offspring’s Linda Cropper, The Project’s Gorgi Coghlan, and Triple J’s Lindsay McDougall lend their star power to this fantastic cause.
“As our dedicated team in Borneo work around the clock to care for orphaned orang-utans and prepare them for release back into the wild our new app will give animal lovers at home an opportunity to become even more involved in the progress of these beautiful animals in our rehabilitation centres and protected sanctuaries,” says BOS Australia President Tony Gilding.
Working closely with sister organisations and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, BOS pairs its rescued orangutans with surrogate human mothers for a period of up to six years to help them learn the life skills necessary to survive in the wild. On Valentine’s Day last year, the first two graduates of BOS’ Orangutan School were successfully released into Borneo’s protected Kehje Sewen forest, where their progress has been closely monitored.
BOS has helped to secure the freedom of a further 89 orangutans to date, and recently welcomed the birth of Atsuko, their first release baby, to Orangutan School graduates Astrid and Tarzan. With your help, BOS hopes their new app will help secure the funds to release a total of 170 orangutans back to their jungle homes by the end of 2013.
Reach out to a fellow primate during Orangutan Caring Week by visiting www.orangutans.com.au and downloading the BOS Orangutan app from the Apple App or via the Google Play store. All certificates and adoptions are tax deductible.