Summary

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Southwest Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) are present in Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve.
The population size is unknown.
The orangutan population trend is unknown.
The total site area is 761.1 km².
The main reported threat is the human-orangutan conflicts.
The main conservation activities have focused on orangutan protection release & rehabilitation, in addition raising awareness in the community and restoring habitats.
The site is a Protected status since 1998.

Site characteristics

In 1998, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry established the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve (LRWR) on land previously used for logging. Today, it stands out as a key location identified in the latest Orangutan Population Habitat and Viability Assessment. Within the reserve, Camp Rasak—managed by the Orangutan Foundation—serves as a site for releasing and tracking orangutans. Many orangutans have been introduced there, with several females successfully giving birth and raising their young. Post-release monitoring is conducted to track their progress. The camp also hosts a nursery dedicated to reforestation efforts (The Orangutan Project 2025).

Table 1. Basic site information for Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve

Species	Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii
Area	761.1 km²
Coordinates	Lat: -2.777792 , Lon: 111.367627
Type of site	Protected area (Wildlife Reserve)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical swamp forest
Type of governance	Governance by government

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve

Species	Year	Occurrence	Encounter or vistation rate (nests/km; ind/day)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Analytical framework	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
5 Biological resource use	5.1.5 Persecution/human wildlife conflict	Present (unknown severity)	Conflicts between humans and orangutans have led to injuries or fatalities among the orangutans, primarily due to habitat destruction and the scarcity of food sources (The Orangutan Project 2025).	Ongoing (2025)

Threats

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve has had protected status since 1998 (Sherman et al. 2022). The reserve is a high priority site under the most recent Orangutan Population Habitat and Viability Assessment (The Orangutan Project 2025).		1998-Ongoing (2026)
5 Protection & restoration	5.6 Habitat restoration	Habitat management was reported, details are unknown (Sherman et al. 2022).		1998-Ongoing (2022)
6 Species management	6.7 Translocate (capture & release) wild apes from human impacted sites to natural habitat elsewhere	The site is renowned for Camp Rasak, one of six orangutan monitoring and release sites within the Lamandau Reserve. It has proven to be a highly successful and ideal location for releasing orangutans (The Orangutan Project 2025).	The Orangutan Project	Ongoing (2025)
4 Education & awareness	Other	Community outreach and capacity building (Sherman et al. 2022).		1998-Ongoing (2022)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Enablers

Research activities

Research activities have been reported in Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve (Sherman et al. 2022).

Documented behaviours

Exposure to climate change impacts

External links

References

Sherman, J., Voigt, M., Ancrenaz, M., Wich, S. A., Qomariah, I. N., Lyman, E., Massingham, E., & Meijaard, E. (2022). Orangutan killing and trade in Indonesia: Wildlife crime, enforcement, and deterrence patterns. Biological Conservation, 276, 109744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109744
The Orangutan Project. (2025). Orangutan Foundation. https://www.theorangutanproject.eu/project-summaries/orangutan-foundation/
The Orangutan Project. (2025). Orangutan Foundation [Project summary]. The Orangutan Project. Retrieved June 27, 2025, from https://www.theorangutanproject.org/project-summaries/orangutan-foundation/
The Orangutan Project. (2025). Camp Rasak orangutan release site: Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve [Webpage]. Retrieved June 27, 2025, from https://www.orangutan.org.au/projects-old/projects/camp-rasak-orangutan-release-site-lamandau-river-wildlife-reserve/

Page created by: Aime Mizero Date: 2025-05-27