Unleash your inner ape this April and help the endangered Sumatran orangutans.

The Sumatran orangutan is in danger of being the first great ape to become extinct, but you and your fantastic face can help to stop that from happening. The Sumatran Orangutan Society, SOS for short, are running their Ape-ril campaign for the third year in a row and all you have to do to take part is grow a glorious beard or sport some flaming red hair for the entire month of April.

You might be thinking, ok this sounds like a great fashion statement but how does it help? Well, SOS use the campaign to generate both awareness of orangutan conservation and to raise vital funds, for example you would ask your friends and family to sponsor your hairy Ape-ril efforts. There are now only 6,600 Sumatran orangutans left in the wild and SOS are dedicated to helping protect them, but they can't do it without supporters helping them to fundraise.

Some of the ways in which the SOS team help orangutans is by educating local communities about how to protect their rainforests, which is the orangutan's natural habitat, and they also have a tree planting programme. Plus, they campaign and raise general awareness about just how great orangutans are, for example did you know that we share 96.4% of our DNA with the Sumatran orangutans?

Ape-ril is being supported by lots of your favourite celebrities, from Lord of the Rings star Dominic Monaghan to Brian Blessed, who is also a patron for the society. So if you want to join the campaign and help our hairy orangutan cousins, then simply visit the official site here. Once you've signed up you can also fundraise through Charity Choice.