Skip to main content

News

Independence for Canyon & Betty

Double success this month as 2 of our adoption scheme orphans embark on their new lives in the Sepilok Reserve.

This month we're celebrating a double success as Canyon and Betty graduate from our adoption scheme to embark on their new lives in the Sepilok Reserve as independent orangutans.

Canyon

Canyon has been at Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre since 2017 and in that time she has excelled at learning the skills required for an independent life in the Bornean rainforest.

Originally kept as a pet by a small village in the Imbak Canyon region, she was reported to the team at Sepilok and relocated to the centre which has been her home for the past 5 years. Being an orphan, she had much to learn from the team that she would otherwise have learnt from her mother.

Two photos of orangutans. One with all four limbs holding onto a rope that they are hanging from and the older is with their arm outstretched holding onto a branch.

Canyon's fuzzy hair has always been her most distinctive feature but her caring nature towards other orangutans has also shone through. She truly has become a role model for the current cohort of orangutans on the adoption scheme and we're hopeful that one day this trait will help to successfully raise her own young in the wild.

The team at Sepilok will certainly miss having her around the centre as much, but know that she is more than ready for full independence.

Two photos of an older orangutan. One sitting on a rope and the other sitting in a nest of leaves in the rainforest.

Betty

Betty's Malay name (Begia) originates from the word `bahagia’ which means 'happy'. She was found at the age of 2 on the banks of the Kinabatangan River in Sabah. Alone and vulnerable it was clear that her mother had gone and she was in need of rescuing.

Although timid on arrival, Betty soon settled in and made new friends at the Indoor Nursery in no time. A keen climber, she would use the ropes and jungle gym to get as high as possible into the trees.

Two photos of an infant orangutan. One is a close-up of its face as it eats leaves and the other is the orangutan holding onto a wooden pole as it climbs upward.

Now Betty is one of the largest females at Sepilok and has mastered the skills she will need for a successful life in the Sepilok Reserve that surrounds the centre.

Her nest-building has improved to the point where she will make a new one each day to ensure a good night sleep under the stars in the forest. Betty's ability to find her own food in the forest also indicate that she is self-sufficient and ready for a new life in the wild.

An older female orangutan in two photos. One is of her in the trees looking down at the camera and the other is a close-up of its face.

Thanks to the team at Sepilok and their rehabilitation program, orphaned orangutans are given a second chance at life in the wild which we couldn't do without your support. Thank you so much for adopting - we hope that you will consider continuing your sponsorship with another orangutan on the scheme.

Explore more articles

  • Orangutan Caring Week Logo

    News

    Orangutan Caring Week 2023

    Today marks the beginning of Orangutan Caring Week which takes place annually to raise awareness for the critically endangered orangutan.Here's our list of ways you can help this year.

  • Plastic being collected from Sandakan beach.

    News

    Plastic pollution

    Orangutans and other species face indirect consequences as plastic pollution disrupts ecosystems and contaminates their habitats.