Durrell's conservation work in Sumatra

Sumatra, the largest of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia, is home to many of the world’s most threatened species.

Sumatra’s tropical rainforests are some of the most biodiverse habitats in the world, but they are at risk from deforestation for commercial and illegal logging, and oil palm plantations. The illegal wildlife trade also threatens Sumatra’s most iconic inhabitants, with songbirds and orangutans being kept as pets and rhinos and tigers hunted for their horns and skins.

We work in partnership with Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) to protect the island's wildlife, by providing our expertise in captive husbandry and conservation knowledge, and helping with the design of the ‘Haven’, SOCP's centre for conservation and education.

473,481km²

island size

850+

bird species across the Greater Sunda Islands

key Sumatra staff trained so far

What we're doing to help in Sumatra

A breeding programme for threatened songbirds

Many of the songbirds poached from the wild to be sold in the illegal wildlife trade are now housed in the Haven where they can live safely.

What we're doing to help

We’ve housed songbirds at Jersey Zoo for many years. We aid the team in Sumatra with our expertise in caring for songbirds in captivity by providing husbandry guidelines and captive management plans for many of the species they look after at the Haven.

Providing training for staff in Sumatra

The team in Sumatra are working to protect many different species, some of which they may never have worked with before.

What we're doing to help

At our academy in Jersey, we've been training conservationists from around the world for decades, giving them the knowledge and skills they need to save endangered species. Key staff from SOCP continue to take part in our DESMAN course, which gives them in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience at Jersey Zoo with the species they work with in Sumatra.

Our partners

Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) | Threatened Asian Songbird Specialist Group

Species we're helping

Threatened songbirds

White-winged duck

Threatened primates

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Sumatra

Sumatra, the largest of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia, is home to many of the world’s most threatened species.

What we're doing to help in Sumatra

A breeding programme for threatened songbirds

Many of the songbirds poached from the wild to be sold in the illegal wildlife trade are now housed in the Haven where they can live safely.

What we're doing to help

We’ve housed songbirds at Jersey Zoo for many years. We aid the team in Sumatra with our expertise in caring for songbirds in captivity by providing husbandry guidelines and captive management plans for many of the species they look after at the Haven.

Providing training for staff in Sumatra

The team in Sumatra are working to protect many different species, some of which they may never have worked with before.

What we're doing to help

Our partners

Species we're helping

Where we work

Latest news from Sumatra