Craig Jones: Eyewitness
Wildlife Photographer and Conservationist
Bio: Craig Jones
One of Britain’s finest wildlife photographers, Craig Jones is also one of the most humble and down-to-earth guys you will ever meet. His photography and stories capture the lives of endangered rainforest animals that we hold so dearly to our hearts: Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran tigers, Sumatran elephants, Siamangs and more. His work has featured in BBC News, BBC Wildlife Magazine and National Geographic magazine. He has also appeared for Nat Geo WILD discussing Sumatra as part of the “Paradise Islands & Photo Ark” Nat Geo series. He has spoken at the UK Green Party Conference about the disastrous effects of palm oil in South East Asia, that he seen with his own eyes.
In this story, Craig uses his own words to bear witness to the awesome love and intelligence of orangutans, and also shares stories of the immense suffering of orangutans and other species within RSPO member palm oil plantations. Craig is an absolute inspiration to photographers, animal lovers and conservationists. It is an honour to showcase his work and stories on Palm Oil Detectives.
His work appears in:
My name is Craig Jones @CraigJones17 Here is my eyewitness account of rescuing an orangutan mother and baby from an @RSPOtweets member “sustainable” #palmoil plantation in #Sumatra. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife
Tweet
“The most beautiful rainforest in the world is turned into a souless landscape of palm oil within weeks, with brutal efficiency. Anything in its way gets crushed, killed and discarded.” #Wildlife #photographer Craig Jones @CraigJones17 #Boycott4Wildlife
Tweet
“That scream I can still hear now, the tone went through me, the pitch could have broken a glass, it was so high and shocking to hear.“ @CraigJones17 recalls rescuing a mum and baby #orangutan from an @RSPOtweets #palmoil plantation
Tweet
#Wildlife #photographer Craig Jones @CraigJones17 uses his heart and camera to capture spectacular animals of Asia even in settings of absolute cruelty and #palmoil #deforestation he tells his story! #Boycott4Wildlife #Boycottpalmoil
Tweet
“Sustainable palm oil is a con. #Palmoil is all about #wealth and it’s killing us and the planet. So mother nature will have the last laugh. It’s all corruption. #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife” #Wildlife photographer @CraigJones17
Tweet
“I kept hearing from locals that the government fails to protect national parks and #endangered species. The same government hands out #palmoil licences letting these companies play god” #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @CraigJones17
Tweet
“Those with a vested interest in sustainable #palmoil are linked in some way. How can anyone say sustainable is OK when it is grow in the ashes of the dead wildlife and burnt forests?” #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife” #Wildlife photographer @CraigJones17
Tweet
A mother and baby are rescued from an RSPO certified palm oil plantation
From the moment we received the rescue call, the days plans changed instantly. I really didn’t know what was waiting for me, as we drove north to the providence of Ache. All I knew was that a mother and her baby were trapped, and we were heading in that direction as fast as will could. When we arrived all I saw was mile upon mile of this horrific landscape.
When we arrived all I saw was mile upon mile of this horrific landscape…
“Walking through a tattered landscape of barren red earth and alien palm oil trees, where once one of the finest rain forests in the world stood, is just impossible for me to describe.
“They take the best rain forest in the world and change it into a souless landscape of palm oil within a matter of weeks, with brutal efficiency. Anything in its way gets crushed, killed and discarded.”
Spotlight Sumatra – The Final Chapter by Craig Jones
We started desperately searching for the mother and her baby orangutan and eventually we found them. Once we managed to tranquilise the mother, her basic instinct was to protect her child, fueling her to just hang on and not give into the tranquilizer.
It was heartbreaking. I was praying she’d just let go so they could receive help. She had a strong will and this went on for around fifteen minutes. By this time it was almost too hard to watch, the team was moving below her and watching them both, just to make sure the net was in the right place, as she could fall at any time.
After a while, you could see she was becoming slightly clumsy, missing branches that she was trying to hold onto. Then she went to just one arm, and then she just fell into the waiting net below.
The team scrambled up the steep hillside. They try to take the baby away from the unconscious mother at the first available chance. I managed to capture that incredibly moving moment with this image, as the mother is carried off in the net she fell into, while one of the team give the signal to where they have to go.
As I took images of the mother, the baby was being held by one of the team, as it’s safer for the baby this way. While mother and baby were apart, the baby struggled, trying to bite and screaming.
“That scream I can still hear now, the tone went through me, the pitch could have broken a glass, it was so high and shocking to hear.“
Craig Jones
We had about 40 minutes before the sedative wore off. A good chunk of that time the orangutan had fought, hanging in the tree. Time was tight. The vet took blood, checked her teeth, bum area and general health. It was so sad to see but I knew these guys were helping her.
I carried on taking images so that I could capture this story no matter what.
The mother looking straight at me with an indescribable emotional stare, and in the background the little baby was screaming.
Craig Jones
The mother was slightly underweight but she was fine otherwise. The vet gave her the antidote which brings the Orangutan around by counter-acting the tranquilizer. At that point fresh leaves were put in the cage we’d brought for her. She was placed inside the cage and the baby was reunited with his mother. We loaded the mother and baby into the back of our vehicle then drove to the release site which is part of the national park. After this we released them and within a few minutes they had vanished into the dense forest.
“The team named the baby ‘Craig’ after me, which was a great honour and very touching.
craig jones
“I hope he keeps that fight in his belly that he displayed when he was separated from his mother as this will stand him in good stead for the uncertain future that awaits these Sumatran Orangutans.”
Orangutans are us and we are them in so many ways…
Palm oil companies play god and play with fire in Sumatra…
“One of the main things I kept hearing from locals was that the government fails to protect national parks, areas that contain so many endangered flagship species of wildlife. The same government that hands out licensees to palm oil companies letting them play god with some of the richest forests on earth.”
Craig jones
Sustainable palm oil is a con…
“@RSPOtweets #sustainable #palmoil is a con. How can anyone say sustainable is OK when it’s grown in the ashes of dead #wildlife #ecocide #deforestation?” @craigjones17 #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
Tweet
“Sustainable palm oil is a con. Palm oil is all about wealth and it’s killing us and the planet. So mother nature will have the last laugh. It’s all corruption. Those with a vested interest in this sustainable nonsense are linked in someway you mark my words because how could anyone say sustainable is OK when it’s grow in the ashes of the dead wildlife and burnt forests. This saddens me”. ~ Craig Jones
I have loved these enduring animals since childhood and now as an adult helping them is a blessing for me…
I witnessed so much in Sumatra, it has been an emotional roller coaster. I feel there is so much we still don’t know about these great apes. For as long as I walk this earth I will do my best to help them, alongside every other creature we share this planet with, by using my camera and my own voice to help them. Without direct intervention in the national parks the Orangutans along with other forest-dependant wildlife- like the Sumatran Tigers and Elephants will become progressively scarcer until their populations are no longer viable.
Their peaceful mannerisms and intelligence is just remarkable…
Photography: Craig Jones
Words: Craig Jones
Palm Oil Detectives 
8 thoughts on “Eyewitness by Craig Jones: A mother and baby orangutan are rescued from an RSPO palm oil plantation in Sumatra”