ORANGUTAN FRANK: SPECIES PROTECTION FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION
SCHWALBE HAS SUPPORTED THE BORNEO ORANGUTAN SURVIVAL FOUNDATION FOR TWELVE YEARS
Frank is now four years old and has become quite independent. Although he still likes to be taken to the forest school by his surrogate mothers, he immediately starts climbing and looking for natural food in the trees. For young orangutans like Frank, the taste test in the forest is an important part on the way to independence.
Frank lives in Indonesia, where Schwalbe has been producing its tires since 1993. It was found there in the jungle and has since been cared for by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS). The foundation rescues homeless or orphaned orangutans and works against the destruction of their habitat. Schwalbe has been supporting the BOS for twelve years. Protecting the endangered great apes and the rainforest, their habitat, not only helps the animals, but also the people in the region and the climate.
Orangutans share 97 percent of their genes with humans and are sensitive and intelligent like no other animal. They recognize each other in photos, use tools and know what to do with more than a thousand plant species. A total of 409 of them live in the two rescue stations Nyaru Menteng and Samboja Lestari on Borneo, 25 were released in 2021. The orangutans learn how to forage, build nests and climb - everything their mothers would otherwise teach them. The stations follow a well-known pattern: forest kindergarten, forest school and forest university - there they live under almost natural conditions. After eight years, the training is complete and the orangutans are released back into the wild. First on a protected island, a year later in freedom.
Holistic approach
The protected areas in Indonesia are to be further expanded in the coming years. At the same time, local people are shown effective, new methods of using the rainforests, because they too must benefit from sustainable species protection. In this way they learn how they can earn their living through sustainable and natural management of the forest and not destroy it. The foundation supports development projects and the granting of microcredits, for example to promote sustainable agriculture or rattan and rubber production.
Schwalbe and responsibility
Biodiversity and the preservation of species richness are integral aspects of ecological responsibility. Schwalbe published its first CSR report in October. In this way, the topic of ecological and social responsibility is firmly anchored in the company. Go to the CSR report here.
Further information
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