2020 has been a year of ups and downs, but among the stories of isolation and quarantine, there are those of freedom. Freedom well-earned by two orangutans, Natalie and Cantik! Cantik is an Indonesian word which in English means “pretty”. All orangutans are beautiful in their own way. It is a close contest between Natalie… Continue reading Orangutans of the Month June and July 2020
NATALIE AND CANTIK: THE ROAD HOME
Category: Stories
Orangutans of the Month June and July 2020
The four Bears from Pontianak: Bears of May 2020
It is hard to believe that on a glorious hot day in May 2018, in amongst a quiet forest, the almost soundless patter of bear paws on leaves actually represented the culmination of months of hard work. From their arrival at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) in Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) on Christmas… Continue reading The four Bears from Pontianak: Bears of May 2020
Orangutan of the month May 2020
POPPY, Strong and Independent
There are three identified species of orangutan – the Sumatran, Tapanuli and Bornean. Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) are the third heaviest living primate after two gorilla species. Studies have indicated that there are three subspecies on Borneo. The orangutans of Southwest Borneo (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) are the largest and most populous of the three Bornean… Continue reading Orangutan of the month May 2020
POPPY, Strong and Independent
Orangutan of the month April 2020
LORI BELLE: Quiet and Reflective
A new baby orangutan at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) is sometimes the last link in a great chain. Lori Belle was reportedly found by some villagers in their “garden” and she was presented to the Taman Nasional (National Park office of the Indonesian Forestry), who passed her along to the KSDA (Nature… Continue reading Orangutan of the month April 2020
LORI BELLE: Quiet and Reflective
Wild Orangutan Translocations
The daily commute back and forth to work is something we can all conjure up in our mind’s eye. Imagine one day if you were on your normal route but found, to your dismay, that it had been destroyed, replaced by something else, and you were forbidden to enter on pain of death. This is… Continue reading Wild Orangutan Translocations
Orangutan of the Month March 2020: LADY GILBERT – PORTRAIT OF A LADY
The complex of buildings known as the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) may be one nerve center of OFI’s (Orangutan Foundation International) operations in Borneo but stretching forth like branches from a tree are a network of camps, facilities, and posts. Extending from these are projects ranging from reforestation to orangutan rehabilitation. Camp Rendell… Continue reading Orangutan of the Month March 2020: LADY GILBERT – PORTRAIT OF A LADY
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: THE DRIVERS OF OFI
It is the middle of the night on the middle of a dirt road intersection somewhere in the middle of Borneo. On occasions like this you need someone with encyclopaedic knowledge to get you from A to B. Enter the drivers of the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI). These individuals know the roads of Central Borneo… Continue reading EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: THE DRIVERS OF OFI
Herbarium Photo Essay: Shoots, Seedlings, and Saplings of Hope
OFI’s Herbarium is an incubator for hope. In the plant nurseries, thousands of healthy shoots aim skywards. OFI staff are raising these native plant species in order to reforest crucial Bornean forests, re-creating a home for the unique flora and fauna of this island.
Orangutan of the Month for February 2020:
MARSHA, Magic in the Canopy
It is amazing to think that just over 50 years ago we knew so much less about these orange apes, orangutans, the only great apes native to Asia, than we do now. Over the last decades Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas and others have contributed much to our knowledge of these enigmatic pongids. Through observation and… Continue reading Orangutan of the Month for February 2020:
MARSHA, Magic in the Canopy
Orangutan of the Month for January 2020:
LEVY, Mr. Can-Do
Male orangutan infants are lightning bolts packed with energy and if there is one orangutan who can be guaranteed to be in the thick of it, that is Levy. Some infants immediately stand out. Levy is not initially as obvious or as eye catching as some of the other infants at Camp Danielle but over… Continue reading Orangutan of the Month for January 2020:
LEVY, Mr. Can-Do