About OFI

ABOUT OFI

Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of wild orangutans and their rainforest habitat. OFI also supports research on orangutans and forests, education initiatives, both local and international, and brings awareness concerning orangutans wherever it can. OFI is profoundly committed to the welfare of all orangutans, whether captive, ex-captive, or wild. Established by Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas and associates in 1986, OFI operates Camp Leakey, an orangutan research center, within Tanjung Puting National Park. OFI also runs the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) facility in the Dayak village of Pasir Panjang near Pangkalan Bun, which is home to 330 displaced orangutans, and helps manage the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, where rehabilitated wild born ex-captive orangutans were released into the wild. Through its field programs, OFI also provides employment at these facilities for over 200 local Indonesians. OFI also owns Rusti, an adult male orangutan rescued from a backyard zoo in New Jersey, now on permanent loan to the Honolulu Zoo in Hawaii. OFI built his magnificent enclosure which covers a good part of an acre.

OUR MISSION

Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) was established to help save orangutan populations from extinction in the wild, to protect orangutan habitat, tropical rainforest, and to rehabilitate and release wild-born ex-captive orangutans back to the wild. In addition, OFI works to educate people, whether school children, teachers or the “person on the street” in Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada, United States, UK, Australia, Lithuania and elsewhere, about orangutans and their tropical rainforest home. OFI helps orangutans where ever they might be in captivity or in the wild. OFI also promotes and conducts research on orangutan behavior and ecology. The wild orangutan research program at Camp Leakey is the longest wild orangutan study ever undertaken and has been called “monumental” by annomynous reviewers. OFI also rescued and owns Rusti, a captive-born “hybrid” adult male orangutan, who is now on permanent loan to the Honolulu Zoo in Hawaii.

OUR PROGRAMS

Rescue
OFI is frequently contacted by government officials and private individuals when orangutans are in danger. OFI’s Rescue Teams translocate wild orangutans to safer locations as necessary and provide immediate medical attention.

Rehabilitation
All orangutans at OFI’s Care Center (the OCCQ) receive one-on-one attention from dedicated care-givers who help teach foraging and nest-building skills in a nearby forest and who also supply orangutans with stimulating enrichment activities both in the forest and in the orangutan sleeping enclosures.

Release
All orangutans returned to the wild undergo thorough health checks before being released into the wild. OFI is committed to providing lifelong support to all orangutans who have been under our care. We only release wild born ex-captive orangutans at sites with permanent facilities and staff to guarantee safety and well-being.

Land Purchase & Protection
OFI purchases forest land before the palm oil companies can destroy it. OFI persuaded the Indonesian government to establish the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve in 1998 and is actively working to establish the Orangutan Legacy Forest (OLF) which will include the Rawa Kuno Legacy Forest (6,400 hectares) and link to the Pasir Panjang Village Protected Forest via a forested corridor of land.

Reseeding & Planting Projects
OFI works to restore degraded forest areas through a program of tree planting and promoting species diversity.

OUR PEOPLE

The Orangutan Foundation International Board of Directors consists of a diverse group of people drawn from many walks of life representing five different nationalities who are joined together in a passionate commitment to orangutans and the tropical rain forests that sustain them. Most board members have visited OFI’s facilities in Borneo. A few board members have visited multiple times.