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Airdate: Orangutan Jungle School

Docu-series filmed in 4K  in Borneo, Indonesia, is coming to Stan.

Stan will screen natural history docu-series, Orangutan Jungle School, filmed in Borneo, Indonesia, in 4K.

“The individual storylines and overarching narrative of this series is comparable to anyone’s favourite long-running drama soap. The scope of material for our production team is a banquet of delights including edge-of-seat drama, tear-jerking moments and plenty of comic relief. The orangutans themselves take over the script development and come up with stories we would never even think of,” said Judith Curran, Writer and Executive Producer.

All 10 episodes will premiere on November 1.

This ten-part series, shot in 4K, follows the hilarious antics, triumphs and tragedies of a group of orphaned orangutans as they progress through a unique forest school system. The series is filmed at Nyaru Menteng, in Borneo, Indonesia, where the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) manages the largest primate rescue and rehabilitation project in the world.

Orangutan Jungle School introduces audiences to BOSF’s highly skilled team who rescue orangutans that have been displaced from their habitat because of forest destruction, separated from their mothers or kept illegally as pets, and teaches them the skills necessary to return to the wild. Once in the care of BOSF, they have the chance for a future of freedom – but the road back to the wild is long as they embark on the various stages of their education. The nursery, five stages of forest school and pre-release islands teach the orangutans essential lessons for survival. The charismatic and intelligent orangutans have distinct characters and viewers are guaranteed to become emotionally invested in their journey to freedom. The docu-series is an entertaining and fascinating insight into the world of orangutans, which will foster awareness for the plight of this endangered species and the fragile ecosystem in which these charismatic apes lead their lives.

In the jungle classroom, lessons range from cracking open a coconut to nest building, snake awareness and how to become an expert climber. The youngest students are less than one year old and the oldest are the equivalent of human teenagers. Adolescent and adult graduates wait their turn for wild release on special river islands.

The Orangutan Jungle School’s “cast” includes an all-star line-up of best mates, rivals and prima donnas, including:

Valentino: the class clown who BOSF carers hope will smarten up enough to graduate.
Mema: a picky eater who thinks snack time is gross.
Malika: the clumsy toddler who doesn’t know how to climb.
Big-bellied Beni: the glutton who has to go on a diet.
Kesi: the inspiring amputee victim whose hand was cut off by a machete as she clung to her mother’s back. Nothing stands in her way and she’s always at the top of her class, even in climbing!
Cinta: one of Jungle School’s cleverest, boldest and most resourceful students. She is full of surprises!

Orangutan Jungle School is created, executive produced and written by Judith Curran. Kyle Murdoch serves as Executive in Charge in Production and Anya Durling is Head of Development. Anna Sand is the Executive Producer for Blue Ant Media. NHNZ, Blue Ant Media’s New Zealand-based factual television production house were commissioned to create the series for Love Nature and the Smithsonian Networks, home to the largest 4K wildlife and nature library in the world.

Thursday November 1 on Stan.

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