Established in 1986 by Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, OFI supports the conservation, protection, and understanding of orangutans and their rainforest habitat in Borneo, while caring for and rehabilitating ex-captive orangutans for release back into the wild. Our work includes: orangutan rescue, rehabilitation, and repatriation; habitat protection, acquisition, and restoration; and conservation outreach, education, and scientific research. We have protected 1.5 million acres of rainforest habitat, and saved hundreds of captive and orphaned orangutans from death or a dire life in captivity-giving them a second in the wild.
OFI works in cooperation with the Indonesian government and communities in Borneo to expand national parks, establish reserves, buy and safeguard land, and replant degraded forest areas to create permanently-protected orangutan habitat. We raise awareness about the plight of orangutans and other wildlife species through local and global outreach and education programs.
Read more about OFI"Most of the orphaned orangutans who arrive at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) are at first shy and bewildered. It takes time for the caregivers to earn their trust and to give the newly arrived orangutan orphans their self-esteem back. Not so with Proudfoot. Despite the circumstances in which she arrived at the care center as a recently orphaned infant, Proudfoot was and is a healthy orangutan developing apace. The moment she was brought to the infant nursery, Camp Danielle, it was all the caregivers could do to contain her energy and enthusiasm for life. The caregivers were instantly taken with this precious, precocious baby. One cannot help but be transfixed by her dark liquid-pool eyes or admire her thick hair that glows in the sunlight with a fine russet hue"
By becoming an Orangutan Foster Parent, you will help care for the displaced and orphaned orangutans at the OFI Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ) facility, during their rehabilitation back to the wild. As a Foster Parent you will contribute to providing the medical, dietary and emotional care that the orangutans need to thrive. Your foster purchase is also tax-deductible and you will be sent an official tax acknowledgment letter from OFI.
December, 4 2024
Dear Friend of OFI, Until recently, orangutan rehabilitation programs were inundated with orphans whose mothers had been slaughtered because of massive deforestation. The number of orphans coming into orangutan rehabilitation in Borneo reflected the acceleration of forest clearing for industrial agriculture, illegal logging, settlement and road construction, and the opening of mining concessions. Remnant logged…
Read More
February, 1 2024
Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) is greatly saddened by the passing of Norman Lear, a legendary television and film producer and writer, as well as longtime friend of OFI. Norman was 101 years old when he died at home on December 5, 2023. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones. Several years…
Read More
December, 17 2023
Sometimes you encounter a person with a vision. While Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) President Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas was in Spain as the keynote speaker at the Congress for Social Communication of Science in Burgos in 2019, she and a representative of OFI Canada, Ruth Linsky, were approached by Jorge Extramiana for a collaboration with…
Read More
September, 24 2023
Dear Friends of OFI, The babies need our help! Each day, thousands of acres of tropical rain forests are clear‐cut, burned, and reduced to ash. The scorched earth, once home to variegated wildlife, becomes a deafeningly silent monoculture plantation. Wild orangutans who once roamed these now stricken ashen landscapes are starving, their deaths often carried…
Read More
November, 22 2022
For the last 51 years, Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) has been working to save orangutans and their endangered tropical rain forest habitat. Without forest, wild orangutans cannot survive. During the past years we have made tremendous progress protecting wild populations of orangutans and forests in Borneo. But it is not enough! Unfortunately, in many ways…
Read More
September, 26 2022
It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Siswi, arguably Orangutan Foundation International’s (OFI) most famous and beloved orangutan, passed away towards the end of 2021 after a short illness. Siswi was 43 years old and it was 43 years filled with as much drama, comedy and tragedy that any of…
Read MoreOrangutan Foundation International coordinates its programs with the support of the following Indonesian Government Agencies:
The Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry KLHK
The Directorate General of Nature Resources and Ecosystem Conservation (Ditjen KSDAE)
822 ½ Wellesley Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90049
Direct: (310) 820-4906
(800) ORANGUTAN Toll-Free (Inside the United States)
ofioffice@orangutan.org
