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To understand, discover, and protect
With a team of researchers and caretakers, WRC Jogja works at the intersection of science and rehabilitation — studying animal behavior, refining our care protocols, and turning what we learn into conservation strategies that actually hold up in the field.
It's slow, detailed work, much of it happening quietly behind the scenes. But every study here is aimed at the same thing: giving some of Indonesia's most vulnerable species a better shot at survival.
One of our core missions is filling the knowledge gap around Indonesian wildlife — and research is how we get there. Over the years we've welcomed students and researchers to work in our facility, and we plan to keep doing so. Here's what we can currently accommodate:
We welcome anyone — especially Indonesian researchers — who wants to contribute to conservation through research at our facility.
→ Research guidelines (Bahasa Indonesia)Five projects, five different questions — spanning genetics, hematology, and species-specific conservation strategy.
This program aims to build an assurance colony of Orlitia borneensis to reinforce its population in the wild. Not an easy task — we started by learning the species' ecology in our own facility, while creating the right conditions for breeding. In parallel, we're scouting potential release sites for the future.
Same goal as above — the original write-up repeats this section verbatim: build an assurance colony of Orlitia borneensis that can reinforce wild populations, starting with captive ecology and breeding before moving toward release.
We received a grant from the IUCN ASAP Conservation Grant to kick off this program for the Malayan Giant Turtle — critically endangered, yet still an overlooked species. We sourced relevant ecological knowledge to inform pool design and husbandry on site, then ran health and genetic assessments to identify the best breeding pairs. We collaborated with Gembira Loka Zoo, Yayasan Kolaborasi Inklusi Konservasi, and the Indonesia Herpetofauna Foundation, staying in close contact with BKSDA Yogyakarta as the relevant authority.
Finished.
The binturong is a mesocarnivore protected under Indonesian law and listed as Vulnerable by IUCN — and a vital seed disperser, especially for strangler fig trees that in turn shelter countless forest species. Despite that role, it's still understudied: until recently, only three publications existed on binturong in Indonesia.
Confiscated binturongs rarely come with clear information about geographic origin, which makes reintroduction difficult. Of the nine known subspecies, four are found in Indonesia — Arctictis binturong pageli (Kalimantan), A. b. niasensis and A. b. kerkhoveni (Sumatra), and A. b. penicillatus (Java) — and keeping their genetic lines distinct matters for conservation. Morphology-based identification alone is too biased to rely on.
Our project aims to generate genetic markers for Indonesian binturongs, giving researchers and conservationists a reliable way to determine an individual's origin — and a tool to strengthen rehabilitation, captive breeding, and release programs going forward.
The project involved at least 40 binturongs from across Indonesia, in partnership with multiple rescue centres and zoos. We collected blood and hair samples under proper immobilization, then amplified DNA across the Cytochrome B and COX-3 gene regions for sequencing and bioinformatics analysis — working with the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Universitas Gadjah Mada. Financial support came from Revive & Restore's Catalyst Science Fund, part of the Wild Genome Project.
Finished.
Hematology — examining blood — is one of the fastest ways to spot a physical health problem before it becomes a crisis: inflammation, oedema, vasodilation, and more all show up in the blood first. Eagles, especially Changeable Hawk-Eagles and Crested Serpent Eagles, are our most commonly rehabilitated species, usually arriving as a result of illegal trade, hunting, or ownership.
The problem: there was no solid hematology reference for these species — no established blood cell morphology or normal reference ranges. Vets had been relying on data from overseas eagle species, which risks biasing diagnostic results. This project set out to fill that gap for two species we see often.
Blood collection, complete blood count and biochemistry analysis, and statistical work — done in partnership with the Department of Clinical Pathology at Universitas Gadjah Mada, the Pathology Department at Universitas Brawijaya, the Animal Clinic at Gembira Loka Zoo, and the Fauna and Flora Station of BKSDA Yogyakarta.
Finished.
Knowing an animal's sex matters a lot in ex-situ conservation, but it's genuinely hard for monomorphic birds — species that look the same regardless of sex. Vent sexing, size comparison, and plumage color all carry a real risk of operator bias. Molecular sexing, which reads the sex chromosomes directly, is far more reliable.
Blood and feather sample collection, DNA extraction, PCR, and DNA electrophoresis. This covered eagles, owls, buzzards, cassowary, Yellow-crested Cockatoos, and Goffin's Cockatoos — done in collaboration with the Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Universitas Gadjah Mada.
Finished.
Molecular sexing held up as a gold-standard method using blood and/or feather samples. Gel electrophoresis showed a clear pattern — one DNA band for male (ZZ), two for female (ZW) — and we've since used these results to update our animal database.
Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease Virus (PBFDV) is one of the biggest threats to Indonesia's endemic parrots, largely because it's chronic and often latent — infected birds can show clinical signs, subclinical signs, or none at all. We still don't know where the virus originated, which makes diagnosis, treatment decisions, and broader eradication efforts harder than they should be. Characterizing the strains circulating in Indonesia is a necessary first step.
We're using a molecular approach targeting the ORF1 genetic region, with samples drawn from birds at several ex-situ conservation institutions across Java and eastern Indonesia. This work is done in collaboration with the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).
Ongoing.
Still in progress — results are currently being written up as a manuscript.
Interested in conducting research at WRC Jogja, or supporting our ongoing studies?
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From all of us at the Wildlife Rescue Center,
may the new year bring hope, healing, and protection
for wildlife and the forests they call home.
Tojeiro volunteered at WRC in 2018 and instantly fell in love. He decided to leave his job in the Netherlands to work alongside our keepers, managing projects and making sure all the animals get the best care possible. During the relocation period, Tojeiro studied animal health management to increase his capacity in the field of animal welfare.