BOS Foundation — Borneo Orangutan Survival

The Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation was started in 1991 in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, by Willie Smits and colleagues, gained legal status as a charity in Indonesia in 1998 and took its current name in 2003. It works with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and the regional conservation agencies (BKSDA) to rescue orangutans displaced by deforestation, forest fires and the illegal pet trade, and to take in orphans repatriated after being smuggled abroad. Its head office is in Bogor, West Java.

Rescued orangutans go to one of its two rehabilitation centres: Nyaru Menteng, near Palangka Raya in Central Kalimantan, and Samboja Lestari, near Balikpapan in East Kalimantan. New arrivals are checked by the vet team and quarantined, then the youngest join the nursery while juveniles attend “forest school” with human surrogate mothers, learning to find food and build nests. They move on to socialisation complexes and forested pre-release islands before being released into protected forests such as Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park, Bukit Batikap and Kehje Sewen, where post-release teams keep monitoring them. Orangutans that can never return to the wild live on sanctuary islands, and Samboja Lestari also has a sanctuary for rescued sun bears.

Marking World Orangutan Day in August 2026, BOS said it was caring for more than 300 orangutans across its two centres (RRI, 20 August 2026). Its recent work includes rescuing a baby orangutan trapped in a burning tree in Central Kalimantan (September 2026), caring for a weakened young sun bear at Samboja Lestari and using sprinkler systems at Nyaru Menteng to protect orangutans from haze during the fire season. Alongside rehabilitation it restores forest habitat, runs community development and education programmes and offers places for volunteers and researchers.

You can support BOS by adopting an orangutan, giving to a current appeal, buying from its shop or donating directly through its website.