Our volunteer scheme is open to anyone with passion for animal welfare and enthusiasm for wildlife.  Please refer to the volunteer FAQ for details of how to apply.

Tasikoki works together with a number of other local organizations in North Sulawesi such as Koffas, the Masarang Foundation, the ITM University from Tomohon, the local nature conservation office of the Ministry of Forestry, etc.

These macaques, from the family of cheek-pouch monkeys, which are endemic to Sulawesi, have been confiscated from animal traders and taken into care at Tasikoki.  Usually the macaques are quite young if poached for the illegal pet or zoo trade, but there is also a domestic bushmeat trade and those animals are typically older (have more meat than babies).  Hence we have some macaques with regular social and survival skills learnt from several years in the wild, and some that never got a chance to develop these skills before they were snatched from their dead mother’s body.

Macaques live in large social groups, with a very complex social interaction and system of hierarchy.  Part of the rehabilitation process is to establish normal patterns of social behaviour, and in any case the macaques will be released together as a group to ensure better chances of survival in the wild.  Monkeys that have been kept in captivity from an early age sometimes find it challenging to integrate with a group, particularly males, so this process can be slow and difficult.

Other aspects of rehabilitation include establishing normal health condition, nutrition, as well as natural behaviours such as social interaction and foraging.

Sadly, not all rescued monkeys can be successfully rehabilitated, or due to lack of viable release sites cannot (yet) go back to the wild.

Currently Tasikoki is working together with partners towards readying different release sites and macaque groups of Macaca nigra (black crested macaques) and Macaca heckii (heck’s macaque).

Volunteer duties involve a certain amount of cleaning enclosures and feeding, but mainly the tasks are focussed on enrichments and upgrading enclosures.  Volunteers are absolutely essential for maintaining the standards of animal welfare we aim to achieve. There may also be potential for volunteers to assist in the field with monitoring the release groups, depending upon requirements at the time of your participation.