Arthropods of the Forest: Spiders

Ibu Evi, coordinator of the Pondok Dua nursery facility and caregiver for many of the young orangutans at the OFI Care Center, is an exceptional photographer of some of the smaller, mesmerizing creatures she comes into contact with during daily releases of the orangutans under her care. Continuing her stunning photo series, we would like… Continue reading Arthropods of the Forest: Spiders

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Insects of the Bornean Rainforest Part 1: Caterpillars

If you spend ten minutes in the forests of Borneo, you might not see the thousands of insects that surround you, but you will hear them. Life bursts from every inch of this biologically rich environment, from the branches that provide highways for ants, to the sheltering cracks and crevices in the trees, to the… Continue reading Insects of the Bornean Rainforest Part 1: Caterpillars

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What are Carbon Offset Schemes?

In the midst of an escalating global climate crisis, many people and corporations are looking for ways to reduce their own carbon footprint. One means of doing this is through the use of carbon offset systems, designed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The earth’s climate is the result of multiple heating and cooling factors. The… Continue reading What are Carbon Offset Schemes?

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Orangutan Genome (part 2): Unexpected Genetic Diversity

Planet earth is currently home to seven billion people . In comparison, the approximately 60,000 orangutans remaining in the wild represent an exceedingly small number. Despite this 140,000-fold difference in current population size, analysis of the orangutan genome yields a surprising discovery: orangutans are much more genetically diverse than humans.

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Orangutan genome (part 1): The quest for Leakey’s ancestral great ape

Louis Leakey was a Kenyan paleoanthropologist who devoted his life to uncovering the early phases of human evolution. Using the scientific tools available at the time, he set out to study hominid fossils in Olduvai Gorge, a ravine in the Great Rift Valley in eastern Africa. His discoveries proved that humans originally evolved in Africa,… Continue reading Orangutan genome (part 1): The quest for Leakey’s ancestral great ape

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