MOM - Missing Orangutan Mothers - Orangutan Outreach

MOM – Missing Orangutan Mothers

The 2026 M.O.M. banner features orphaned orangutan Momo. She is cared for by Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation at their Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Center in Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo).

Sweet Momo was just one and a half years old when she was rescued in mid-2025. The resident who was keeping her reportedly found her alone, without her mother, in the forest near Dahian Tambuk Village. The man kept Momo for six months in a wooden chicken cage behind his house while searching for the proper wildlife authorities to hand her over.

During her time in captivity, Momo was fed rice, cakes, and powdered milk. Upon rescue and arrival to Nyaru Menteng, she refused to eat fruits, which are a vital part of a wild orangutan’s natural diet. This was just one hurdle Momo needed to overcome to return to strength and good health. With expert medical attention and loving care, Momo’s condition steadily improved and she soon began to enjoy eating fruits such as bananas, melons, and guavas, just as a young orangutan should.

Even more encouraging was Momo’s growing instinct to climb and hang from tree branches. These promising signs are crucial for rehabilitation and eventual return to the forest. Momo is now continuing her rehab journey in the Nursery Group, where young orangutans begin to learn essential life skills in a safe and supportive environment. Alongside her peers, Momo is slowly shaping her own personality which includes much curiosity and an eagerness to explore.

Momo’s story shows us the challenges faced by orphaned orangutans. It also underscores the importance of rescue and rehabilitation efforts in giving these precious babies a second chance at life in the wild. We know Momo will continue to grow stronger and more independent, paving the way for her eventual return to her natural home in the forest.

*All donations made to our M.O.M. campaign will be allocated to the BOS Foundation to support their ongoing orangutan conservation work in Borneo, Indonesia

Orangutans Like Momo Need Your Help!

Thank you for your generous support in these challenging times.
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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 Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI) 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 MOM2026 Graphics
- Include these hashtags: #MOM #MOM2026 #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 MOM2026 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 #MOM2026 #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.