M.O.M. – Missing Orangutan Mothers

The 2025 M.O.M. banner (coming soon) features orphaned orangutan Selfie. She is cared for by Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation at their Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Center in Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo).

On August 12, 2024 the Nyaru Menteng Center received a report about a baby orangutan in a local village. The 10 month old female was found by a resident and had been kept as a pet for about a month. The following day a joint wildlife rescue team traveled to retrieve the baby orangutan. Upon arrival at the rehabilitation center, the little one was given the name Selfie and immediately underwent a thorough health examination to assess her condition.

As a baby orangutan who had been in close contact with humans, Selfie was placed under a three-month quarantine period. After completing quarantine, Selfie was introduced to the nursery group, where she began interacting with other baby orangutans. The dedicated surrogate mothers at Nyaru Menteng know exactly how to care for a vulnerable orangutan like Selfie, ensuring she receives the love and attention needed to grow and adapt.

Selfie’s story highlights the challenges faced by orphaned orangutans due to human-wildlife conflicts. It also underscores the importance of rescue and rehabilitation efforts in giving these animals a second chance at life in the wild. We know Selfie will continue to grow stronger and more independent, paving the way for her eventual return to her natural home in the forest.

PLEASE MAKE A DONATION TO SUPPORT ORPHANS LIKE SELFIE

*All donations made from this page will be allocated to the BOS Foundation to support their ongoing orangutan conservation work in Borneo, Indonesia

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What is the M.O.M. Campaign?

Mother's Day is the perfect day to celebrate and pay tribute to orangutan mothers. The M.O.M. – Missing Orangutan Mothers Campaign is our way of doing precisely that! The M.O.M. Campaign is a positive way to bring attention to the crisis facing these beautiful red apes by encouraging people to help protect them.

Orangutan mothers and babies have an incredibly close relationship. Baby orangutans don't have a support network around to give them the many lessons of finding food, building nests and other survival skills. Their mothers teach them everything about survival in the forest before they set out on their own. However, more and more orangutan mothers are being killed every year on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.

The orangutans' rainforest home is literally being wiped out — leaving hundreds of helpless orangutans with nowhere to go. Some of the lucky ones end up at rescue and rehabilitation centers and are cared for by a trained, professional staff. Orangutan Outreach works with professional organizations such as the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation and International Animal Rescue (IAR) to care for nearly 1,000 orphaned and displaced orangutans until they can be returned to the forest! That's a lot of missing orangutan mothers!

This Mother's Day, we are asking zoos, sanctuaries, animal facilities, groups and INDIVIDUALS WHO LOVE ORANGUTANS all around the world to participate in our M.O.M. Campaign and hold their own events to raise awareness of the increasing number of orphaned orangutans in need of support.

Join the M.O.M. Campaign!

If you'd like to join the campaign, please let us know. We will do our best to help you in every way possible!

We want to stress that this is not specifically a fundraising campaign. The goal is to raise awareness that orangutans have been pushed to the brink of extinction in the wild and that if we don't act now to save them, they will be extinct in less than a decade. HOWEVER, if you choose to include a fundraiser in order to make a donation or adopt an orphaned orangutan through Orangutan Outreach, we would, of course, be thrilled. (We are a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. EIN: 26-0521285)

Why not raise funds to adopt an orangutan for your own institution or group? This is a great way to follow the life of an orangutan & stay involved with the tireless work being carried out at the rescue centers!

Guidelines - If you have a M.O.M. event, we ask that you please mention Orangutan Outreach and encourage your visitors to go to our website to learn more about orangutans and what can be done to help them.

Ways to Participate

Spread awareness
- Create social media posts in the week prior to Mother's Day, and blanket social media with posts on Mother’s Day Weekend
- Hold a FaceBook Live event!
- Feel free to download and post our MOM2025 Graphics
- Include these hashtags: #MOM #MOM2025 #MissingOrangutanMothers
- PLEASE direct people to redapes.org/mom to learn more or make a donation if they wish
Fundraise
- We realize it is a very challenging time to fundraise, but if you would like to hold a MOM2025 fundraiser during the month of May, you can set it up here: https://www.facebook.com/fund/OrangutanOutreach/
Information to share in posts or fundraiser
- Orangutans are solitary except for mothers with their offspring
- The orangutan mother-child relationship is very special and important
- Orangutan babies stay with their mother 8-10 years to learn all necessary survival skills
- Orangutan mothers are killed so that babies can be taken to be sold as illegal pets
- There are thousands of orphaned orangutans who have been rescued from the illegal pet trade
- The centers caring for the orphaned orangutans need support!
- PLEASE MENTION THAT M.O.M. IS A CAMPAIGN ORGANIZED BY ORANGUTAN OUTREACH!
- Please direct people to redapes.org/mom for more information
- Use hashtags: #MOM #MOM2025 #MissingOrangutanMothers

Share the MOM Campaign Banners on Social Media

Please feel free to download the MOM banner and add it to your social media pages. All we ask in return is that you link back to our M.O.M. campaign page in your posts so viewers can learn more about the campaign. If you would like the images in higher resolution or different sizes, please contact us.

Questions or Comments?

If you have any questions about the M.O.M. Campaign, please email our Community Engagement Manager Debbie Clemens.

Reach Out

Orangutan Outreach Facebook Page
Orangutan Outreach Facebook Group
Orangutan Outreach Social Media

Orangutan Action Packs (Free Downloadable Materials!)

Great for home schooling! We have photos, flyers, info sheets, posters, games, quizzes, pictures and adoption leaflets all at your disposal. The pictures alone will tell the whole story! Everything is yours to use as you see fit! All of these full color documents and banners are yours to download and use to help raise awareness of the crisis facing wild orangutans. We will be constantly updating this section, so keep checking back. Check out the ORANGUTAN ACTION PACKS
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MOM Tattoos

These amazing drawings by our artist-in-residence Alina Bachmann are designed to be tattoos.
They can be temporary or permanent. Contact us if you'd like high resolution files.