Rescue

Many orangutans get caught in a forest that is about to or being cut down, or find their way into a palm plantation and get lost. Trained rescuers find and dart the orangutans to rescue them. After the orangutan is drugged it will fall out of the trees and rescuers can obtain and remove them. In many cases the orangutan will find or fall into a crotch of a tree or onto a limb, and the rescuer is required to climb the tree.  Technical tree climbing techniques using ropes, harnesses and equipment allows rescuers to retrieve the orangutans safely and in cases bring the orangutan down from the trees gently.

Research

Orangutans and many of the animals in the rainforest are arboreal and live the majority of their lives in the trees. Tree climbing is used for tracking released orangutans and other animals, capturing collared animals to retrieve collars, and retrieving animals for health checks.  

Rehabilitation

Many rescued orangutans are orphaned babies that no longer have their mothers carrying them and training them to climb trees. Local Indonesian "babysitters" take them to wooden jungle gyms in the forest that are built to about 12-14ft tall. Yet orangutans normally spend 70% of their lives in the high tree canopy.  Trained climbers will use their skills to create ways of encouraging baby orangutans to explore higher in the canopy and reconnect with their natural ability to climb.