Select a region
Around 40 Standard Bank staff took time out from the office to help Jersey’s resident Orangutans at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.
The staff undertook maintenance in the Orangutan enclosure, donning safety harnesses and working on the 13 year old aerial walkway system to ensure it can be safely used by the Orangutans for many more years.
Gordon Hunt who is Deputy Head of Mammals and looks after the Orangutans, said the work is vital. ‘Maintaining the large indoor and outdoor enclosure is obviously very important for the welfare of the animals, and it’s also necessary to prolong the life of the equipment. Simple tasks such as painting metal work to prevent rusting need a tremendous amount of man-hours which we simply couldn’t do ourselves. Standard Bank’s support both in the staff time and in providing materials is very much appreciated.’
It is the third year that Standard Bank have supported the Orangutans and Durrell, helping to maintain the enclosure there. In 2012 they cleared the moat area, and last year they started the work on the aerial walkway system.
Claire Reid, Head of Marketing and Communications said it is something the staff look forward to, ‘It’s not often you get the chance to get out of the office and up close to such beautiful and rare animals. Durrell do such fantastic work globally so it’s a pleasure to be able to support them as a local charity and feel like we’re making a difference.’
Orangutans share 97.6% of their DNA with humans. The Sumatran Orangutan is the most threatened of the six great ape species. It is the world’s largest tree-dwelling animal, but if the rainforest destruction continues, there will very soon be no apes left in the wild. Durrell has kept Sumatran Orangutans since 1968, twelve babies have been born in that time including one last year.
