Join us as we delve into some of Earth's oldest forests in the Gunung Lesuer ecosystem of Northern Sumatra. This jungle is credited with being the last extant habitat home to bears, tigers, rhinoceros, elephants, and great apes all in one place. This pristine evergreen dipterocarp forest is shrinking every day thanks to illicit logging, unchecked palm oil cultivation, and wildlife poachers. It is estimated that as much as 50% of this rainforest has been cleared in just the last 25 years with the rampant destruction continuing at an alarming rate.

Working with our local partners at Sumatra Eco Project, this itinerary will take us into the area near Bukit Lawang and neighboring Tengulun to search for one of the island's rarest mammals, the Sumatran tiger (P. tigris sondaica). Additional mammalian targets include the Sumatran elephant, Sumatran orangutan, sun bears, siamang gibbons, Thomas leaf nose monkeys, silver leaf langurs, Sunda pangolin, binturong, colugos, and slow loris. Reptilian targets include the Wagler's pit viper, king cobra, equatorial spitting cobra, Sumatran pit viper, red-headed krait, and more. Bird targets will mainly consist of hornbills with the distinct chance of spotting a wild argus pheasant.

This journey will be 10 days, as we work our way through several spots with respective targets. Proceeds of this trip directly benefit the Sumatra Eco Project and its animal rehabilitation center. The center has successfully re-wilded nearly 500 displaced animals ranging from orangutans to serpent eagles and basically everything in-between.