August 2nd 2022
Construction starts for Balou's enclosure
Balou, the sun bear, originally comes from Sumatra. As a cub she was smuggled in to Bali by passenger bus where she was confiscated and cared for at the Bali rescue center, in a temporary facility. She has waited for years to be able to return to Sumatra, her homeland. As other enclosures from the wildlife smuggling attempt had taken priority, Balou's enclosure has finally begun. We aim to relocate Balou from Bali to Sumatra as soon as possible.
We have certainly achieved a lot in our first twelve months. We could not have done any of this without the wonderful support of our donors.
We started off with a large chunk of land, yet now, we not only have a beautiful wildlife sanctuary, but we also have a proper veterinary clinic, food storage, vegetable patches and a wonderful education center.
Thank you everyone.
June 2nd 2022
Hundreds of exotic parrots, finally get to fly
Our team once again worked around the clock, constructing a massive aviary for the hundreds of rescued, exotic parrots that were victim of the illegal wildlife smuggling attempt. With thanks to donations, the aviary was finally completed and the birds were relocated from their temporary cages into their new home. It was a bittersweet moment for us all, happy that they
can finally fly and spread their wings, but at the same time, knowing that the free and open sky is within their view, which they sadly cannot access. All birds are doing well and settled into their new home.
May 3rd 2022
The rescued Meerkats move into their new home
After a lot of back breaking work, we were able to complete the new Meerkat enclosure and move them from their temporary living quarters into their new forever home. This could not have been done without the support of our wonderful donors. Our team had to reinforce the base to ensure that none of them could burrow their way out, and we covered with tons of sand which the team manually shoveled, so they can forage and play. The meerkats really settled in and spent the entire day exploring their new surroundings and at night, slept in their purposely built burrow.
April 27th 2022
New enclosure constructed for the Marmosets
With thanks to donations, we were able to move the two Colombian Marmosets out of the crates they were smuggled in, and into a newly constructed temporary enclosure. We have named these little monkeys Pablo and Rosa. Both are now doing well and enjoying their newfound space to move about.
April 24th 2022
Illegal pet trade victim number 1,301 discovered
Six days after the illegal wildlife smuggling attempt was intercepted. Our team were checking on the meerkats at night, when a little African Hedgehog was discovered who was watching the meerkats. It is believed that the hedgehog had escaped from one of the crates when the animals were being unloaded from the police truck. We named this little fellow Rio Junior, after Femke's son Rio, who built a special enclosure for the hedgehog. It turns out that Rio Junior is quite the escape artist, and we would often find his enclosure empty, only to later find him wandering the grounds of our sanctuary. Rio Junior's enclosure is now secure and he enjoys exploring and eating insects at night. Maybe he should have been named Houdini.
April 18th 2022
Crisis occurs due to illegal wildlife smuggling attempt
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A crisis emerged, which placed extreme pressure on our team and facilities, as an illegal wildlife smuggling attempt was intercepted at the Sumatran border. A black transit van attempted to flee the checkpoint and authorities gave chase. It was discovered to be carrying 1,300 animals packed into small crates. To everyone's horror, these animals were not endemic to Indonesia and were a long way from their homeland. Many of the animals were in extremely poor condition, some of which were already deceased, and some had died soon after rescue. All animals required urgent veterinary care. Our team worked around the clock, without sleep, to care and treat these animals. We had a situation where we needed to house meerkats, marmosets and hundreds of exotic birds from Africa and Thailand.
At both Sumatra Wildlife Center and Ellis Park, we were shuffling our existing animals into various enclosures, to make temporary space to get the smuggled animals out of the tiny crates they were found in. An absolutely heartbreaking situation all round. Without the existence of Ellis Park, these animals would have had nowhere to go.
March 2022
Siamang gibbon enclosure constructed
We received information that five Siamang gibbons are in need of relocation from a government facility. These siamangs were in small holding cages in West Java and have been there for many years. One family of three and another two. As adult males are territorial, they cannot be placed in the same enclosure. With thanks to donations, in March 2022 we were able to build a large, eight meter high enclosure which is separated into two, so that the adult males can be kept apart.
February 15th 2022
Anton the Siamang Gibbon
Baby siamang gibbon Anton was rescued from the illegal pet trade, and brought to Ellis Park. Within a few days, our team managed to build a beautiful high enclosure for him to learn how to climb and be more independent. As he is a release candidate, he will be rehabilitated at a specialised center in Sumatra with other gibbons. At Ellis Park we managed to give him that first much needed boost of intensive care after his rescue. We look forward to the day that Anton is released back into the Jungle, so he can live his life wild and free.
January 26th 2022
Rina, Koja, Anna and Elsa move in
With thanks to donations, we were able to purchase materials to build three new enclosures at Ellis Park. On the 26th January 2022, we were finally able to move Rina and her foster baby Dede, Koja, plus Anna and Elsa from the Sumatra Wildlife Center to their new forever homes at Ellis Park.
All responded beautifully to their new environment. Hyperactive Rina, jumped on everything and ran from one branch to the next, looking at every single thing in her new home, with Dede not far behind. Anna and Elsa played chasey with each other then headed straight for a swim. Whilst Koja took things slow, like she always does and went straight to her heart shaped swimming pool to watch the fish swimming. It was beautiful to witness all four macaques exploring and enjoying their new home.
January 2022
Becoming self sufficient
Ellis Park land that keeps on giving. In January 2022, the team managed to dig a well on our land which now gives a never ending supply of water. In the same month we also started a massive vegetable patch on our banana plantation land. As the soil is beautiful and rich, we are managing to harvest a huge variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, which helps feed our team and residents. Due to the tropical climate, our vegetables grow incredibly fast.
January 2022
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The Goliath Veterinary Clinic was completed January 2022 and is situated at the entrance of Ellis Park. Construction was funded by Warren Ellis and Nick Cave. This clinic is a dream come true for our veterinary team, as they were previously using an old container at the Sumatra Wildlife Center as a temporary solution. Our Goliath Veterinary Clinic consists of four rooms, allowing us to treat, care for and operate on rescued animals. This clinic has made so much possible, and we are so grateful for its existence. We also now have a mobile x-ray, which is used to check rescued wildlife, especially infant primates who are often shot with air rifles and have pellets inside their bodies.
Goliath Veterinary Clinic
December 2021
Goliath Education Center
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This beautiful old antique wood Joglo (traditional Java house), was transferred to Ellis Park in December 2021 and reconstructed on site, and was funded by Warren Ellis and Nick Cave. From all around the village, we can see this breathtaking structure at Ellis Park. Our Goliath Education Center will be a true change maker, educating the young and old about the need to protect the forests and its animals within, plus teach about compassion and kindness. We held our first class in April 2022.
It's an amazing place to gather, learn and share.
November 2021
More land secured for Ellis Park
Ellis Park wildlife sanctuary initially began with a plot of land consisting of 5798 square meters. This is where it all began and is the hub location of our sanctuary. It is an extension of the existing Sumatra Wildlife Center. September 2021, Warren Ellis purchased the second plot of land for Ellis Park, consisting of 2500 square meters. We call this area the Hill and it bounds onto the the rear of the Sumatra Wildlife Center. November 2021, Warren purchased our third plot of land consisting of another 3710 square meters which bounds onto the left hand side of our sanctuary. This land was previously a banana plantation and is mostly surrounded by the river. Ellis Park land area now consists of three acres.
November 1st 2021
Trinity, our first resident moves in
November 1st 2021. Trinity, our disabled gibbon who had been in captivity for 23 years, and was rescued from deplorable conditions, began her long journey (25 hours) from East Java to Ellis Park Sumatra. With thanks to donations, we were able to build a beautiful large enclosure for Trinity. After being vet checked and groomed, Trinity was released into her new forever home. It was a day of great joy for the entire team, who had worked day and night to prepare for her arrival. Seeing Trinity's reaction to her new surroundings was extremely emotional. For the first time in her life, she was able to move freely, climb and explore. She then hobbled across the ground and sat in front of Femke (who was watching from the exterior), and displayed an approval of thanks.
October 2021
Fruit and Vegetable storage room
With thanks to donations, we managed to build our fruit and vegetable storage room, which was completed in October 2021 and ready for use. Complete with refrigeration, storage shelving and a wash area. A vital structure for Ellis Park, where we can store fresh produce and prepare meals for our staff and residents. In April 2022, we also purchased a deep freezer, so that we can also freeze excess foods and make fruit icicle treats for our residents.