What you can do
Language lesson
You can help us protect rainforest animals by raising money.
Your money will be spent on buying and planting young trees
to replace the trees that have been chopped down. Twenty
pounds is enough to buy forty trees. These trees will provide
homes for all kinds of endangered animals.
People in Sumatra greet each other
in different ways at different times
of the day. It all depends on where
the sun is in the sky. This is how and
when to say “hello” in Indonesian
(the main language on Sumatra).
There are many ways you could fundraise. Why not do a sponsored
swim, or a sponsored silence? You could also organise a jumble
sale, a toy sale, or make cakes and sell them. Get your friends,
family, class or group together to come up with some ideas and
pledge their support. Together, we can protect Harapan Rainforest
and the animals that live there.
Great ideas
for fundraising >
Selamat pagi
(slam-at pa-gee*)
This is like our “Good morning”.
Use this from when it gets light until
the sun is overhead (roughly 11 am).
* This is a hard g, said like the g in the name Maggie
Selamat siang
(slam-at see-ang)
Say this when the sun is overhead
(11 am until 3 pm).
Selamat sore
(slam-at saw-ray)
Used when the sun is starting to head
towards the horizon (from 3 pm until sunset).
Selamat malam
(slam-at mal-am)
This is the same as our “Good evening”,
but only use it when it is dark outside.
How to take part
YOU CAN
HELP ANIMALS
REBUILD THEIR
HOMES!
Please use the sponsor form that came with this
leaflet and photocopy it if you need further copies.
Alternatively, download it from www.rspb.org.uk/youth,
write to RSPB Wildlife Explorers, The Lodge, Sandy,
Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, ring 01767 680551 or e-mail
[email protected] and we’ll send you one.
If you raise money for the appeal, we’ll send you
a certificate, as well as a sticker sheet for each child.
Good luck, and thank you!
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076,
Scotland no. SC037654 465-1134-08-09 Cartoons by Andy Hamilton, front cover photo by Clare Kendall,
restoration photo by Corbis, rainforest aerial view by Marco Lambertini (BirdLife), Sumatran tiger by
Dave Watts (NHPA), sun bear by Eric Baccega (naturepl.com), agile gibbon by Anup Shah (naturepl.com)
and rhinoceros hornbill by Terry Whittaker (FLPA), Sumatran children by Owen Franken (Corbis)
Find out more about
saving rainforest
animals at:
www.rspb.org.uk/
youth
RSPB Wildlife Explorers
is the junior membership
of the Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds
INFO
PACK
B
ursting with life, rainforests play a vital role in providing homes for an enormous number of
wildlife. Rainforests cover only 6% of the land, but are home to over two-thirds of all our planet’s
plants and animals. They are also hugely important for our climate, acting as giant sponges
that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Fascinating creatures live in the Harapan rainforest…
Sumatran tigers
Unfortunately, rainforests are
disappearing fast. People are
cutting down the trees to sell for
timber, and clearing the land for
farming. When the rainforests
disappear, so does the wildlife
within them, as creatures lose
their homes and cannot survive.
Sumatra is an Indonesian
island close to Malaysia. It is
home to Harapan Rainforest
(see map). People used to
cut down trees here. However,
two years ago, the Indonesian
Government gave the RSPB
and partners the chance to
rebuild the rainforest, creating
both wildlife habitats and jobs
for local people.
We need to plant young trees
now, which will grow and
eventually replace the tallest
trees that were cut down. It is
very important to have tall trees
as they form a thick canopy,
providing homes for a wide
range of creatures, including
bats, birds, butterflies and
monkeys – not to mention
millions of minibeasts!
There are
up to 15
Sumatran
tigers in
Harapan
rainforest.
This map shows Harapan Rainforest in Indonesia, close to the Equator.
THE
RAINFOREST
a bird’s-eye
view
Tropical rainforests grow close to the
Equator. They are sunny all year and
it rains almost every day. This means
that rainforests are very hot and wet
– just right for all kinds of plants to
grow. Different birds, insects and
animals rely on these plants for
food, shelter and places to nest.
The lowest level is the
rainforest floor. Very little sunshine
filters through the trees to the forest
floor. This means that it is dark and
damp – the perfect conditions for
fungi and bacteria to grow.
A few metres above the floor is
the understorey. It’s still quite dark
here, but shrubs and young trees,
called saplings, grow. They make
good food for animals such as
tapirs and elephants.
Fact:
sadly, due to hunting and the loss of rainforests, only
a small number of Sumatran tigers is left in the wild.
Rhinoceros hornbills
Sun bears
lounge on tree
branches –
they are great
climbers.
These birds need the tallest, oldest
trees. They nest in holes in the tree
trunks, plucking food from the highest
branches with their long beaks.
What do they eat?
Fruit, especially figs.
Fact:
they are the smallest bears in the world. A sun bear
is about the same height as a five-year-old child. Each
bear has a sandy-yellow coloured patch of fur on its
chest, resembling the rising sun. That might be why
it’s called a sun bear.
With your help we can plant trees to
create homes for endangered animals
and jobs for people.
Birds, boars and other animals. Sumatran tigers
are brilliant hunters. Their beautiful stripes keep
them camouflaged among the leaves and branches,
so they can hide and look out for prey.
Sun bears
What do they eat?
Lizards, birds and mammals, as well as fruits, berries
and roots. Sun bears have very long tongues for licking
the honey out of bees’ nests.
There are
four different
levels in tropical
rainforests.
What do they eat?
Fact:
above their beaks are
strange horn-like shapes
called casques. We don’t
know what they are used for.
Either they are for attracting
a mate, or they amplify the
hornbills’ impressive calls
through the dense forest.
Agile gibbons
The third level of the rainforest is the
canopy. It is a big tangle of leaves, tree
branches and vines. The canopy is a busy,
noisy part of the rainforest, because this
is where many animals live, from birds
and bats to monkeys and leopards.
The fourth and highest level is the
emergent level, where the tallest
trees loom over the canopy.
These gibbons
live the high
life, up in the
rainforest canopy.
They swing from
tree to tree.
What do they eat?
Fruit, leaves and insects.
Fact:
agile gibbons defend their
territory from intruders with
loud songs and ghostly howls.