Category: Stories

Employee Spotlight: Ibu Yeti

When walking along the boardwalk en route to Camp Danielle, a facility at OFI’s Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) in Borneo, you may hear what sounds like exasperated shouting followed by laughter. These are the sounds of the daily release of young orangutans in the Infant Playground and the Learning Forest. Chief among the… Continue reading Employee Spotlight: Ibu Yeti

Orangutan of The Month for Jan, 2019: Jono

Orangutan of the Month: Jono When migrants return to their motherland, are they more at home coming back to their land of origin or are they now more displaced? Humans all over the world grapple with this dissonance but in our search for belonging, we forget that we are not the only unsettled species. Today,… Continue reading Orangutan of The Month for Jan, 2019: Jono

Orangutan of the Month for Dec, 2018: Wendy

Four in the morning and dawn is barely breaking over the Bornean rainforest. All is quiet as the forest and the animals within begin to stir. The rising sun brings with it the caregivers from the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ). It is an exceedingly early start for them. The working day normally begins… Continue reading Orangutan of the Month for Dec, 2018: Wendy

Hockey’s Special Needs

Hockey’s Special Needs by Allison Leach “Special” is indeed the word that first comes to mind when thinking of the orangutan Hockey.  She came to the OFI Care Center as an orphan, like many other orangutans.  But unfortunately, her sensitive nature, in both spirit and body, left her vulnerable to a crippling stroke suffered before… Continue reading Hockey’s Special Needs

Orangutan of the Month for Nov, 2018: Caca

Caca by Emi Kusayanagi It’s another hot and sunny morning at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) in Central Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia. At Camp Danielle, the youngest orangutans under the care of Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) staff are out in the Infant Playground and Learning Forest. At the playground, the little orangutans are everywhere,… Continue reading Orangutan of the Month for Nov, 2018: Caca

Orangutan of the Month for Oct, 2018: Chewey

Chewey – is more than just an intergalactic icon Hermits, it seems, have gone out of vogue. These days socializing is what people are talking about. “It’s good for the brain” they say, “good for the heart.” Similarly to cloistered monks, Kalimantan’s orangutan males remain staunchly solitary. Time has been the best teacher. After thousands… Continue reading Orangutan of the Month for Oct, 2018: Chewey

Orangutan Awareness Week!

November 4-10 Orangutan Awareness Week (OAW) was first established by OFI in 1996 to honor the establishment of Camp Leakey during the first week of November in 1971. What began as a memorial to honor Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas’ research and orangutan conservation in Tanjung Puting National Park has become a world-wide celebration to spread… Continue reading Orangutan Awareness Week!

Caregiver Story: OFI Vets

Trust me, I’m a vet. Rescuing and caring for orangutans is serious business. However, it’s not all scrubs and surgeries around OFI’s Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ). OFI’s professionals also savor the unique challenges and triumphs of working in wildlife protection. Here, our four stellar medics reflect on the highlights of their careers, and… Continue reading Caregiver Story: OFI Vets

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Trust me, I’m a vet.

Rescuing and caring for orangutans is serious business. However, it’s not all scrubs and surgeries around OFI’s Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ). OFI’s professionals also savor the unique challenges and triumphs of working in wildlife protection. Here, our four stellar medics reflect on the highlights of their careers, and some of the best parts of working for OFI.

Dr. Popo OFI Veterinarian since 2004

Dr. Popo

OFI Veterinarian since 2004

“The best part of being here are the infants!" OFI cares for not only young orangutans, but now also has begun rehabilitating sun bears. "Bubu, [a now-released Malay sun bear] was the first bear I cared for, in 2017. She grew up right in front of me. I was with her all day for months and others looked after her at night.

This field is special. We see really sick captive baby orangutans coming in [to the OFI Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine]. We tend to their health and they grow well until finally they can be released into the wild. I am not at every release, but to see the wild born ex-captive orangutans go free after you take care of them for years, it feels good. “

Dr. Ketut OFI Veterinarian since 2008

Dr. Ketut

OFI Veterinarian since 2008

“The best part of working at OFI? That’s easy. Meeting my wife [OCCQ’s Deputy  Manager, Ibu Sumi]. I was engaged to be married before I met her, but fate brought me to OFI and to her.

Another moment that stands out is with Janu, a big male orangutan that OFI had released some years back. I was just starting work at OFI and part of a team releasing another wild born ex-captive male orangutan into the forest. When we were getting ready to release him, Janu was present at the site. When we let the newly rehabilitated ex-captive orangutan free, Janu jumped down from a tree, bit me, and then ran off! I don’t know if it was my favorite moment, but it was memorable!”

Jeremy, OFI Veterinary Nurse since 2017

Jeremy

OFI Veterinary Nurse since 2017

“One of our biggest achievements here was [infant orangutan] Jeffrey Junior’s treatment. He came in paralyzed from the waist down and suffering seizures. I lived with him in the quarantine area for 3 months straight. I remember one night, we were losing hope with him. He was laying stiff in my arms. He was having trouble breathing. He was taking massive doses of seizure medicine. If I was him, I would not have been able to withstand the sickness. Running out of options, we gave him seizure treatment for adult orangutans. We just thought it was going to be time to let him go. But he was a fighter, and he recovered. Seeing him reaching for branches and touching leaves for the first time, probably for the first time in his life, it was such a relief. All the effort that we put in, it paid off. I visit him once a week. His caregiver says that if I come too often, Jeffrey can’t sleep at night. He still remembers me and he gets really excited. So I have to keep a distance.”

Dr. Prima, OFI Veterinarian since 2004

Dr. Prima

OFI Veterinarian since 2004

“I like [the Orangutan Care Center]. In the mornings it is different. When I get to the Clinic, it feels fresh. When I first came to OFI, I lived at the Clinic for around three years. After I started a family, I moved to a house and now almost every day I come in around 7 am. At that time, there is quiet, serenity, and peace. I don’t feel the city.

For me, all our animals are special. Maybe I am different from other employees. There are one or two animals that stay in their hearts. I don’t have that. I am afraid that,  if I have special animals in my heart, if they are sick, I will make them my priority at the expense of others. I feel it is my job to be aware of that.  All the orangutans are special to me.”

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