Dr. Galdikas presents at the Segundo Congreso La Bioética y los Animales
Mexico City, Mexico – April 20, 2016
Dr. Galdikas, OFI President and Founder, gave a presentation at the Segundo Congreso La Bioética y los Animales (Second Congress of Bioethics and Animals) on her over 40 years’ experience studying the Bornean orangutan.
The Congreso was organized by the Proyecto Gran Simio México (The Great Ape Project) and Programa Universitario de Bioética (Program of Bioethics at UNAM) and was held at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) or the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Faculty from the Department of Philosophy and Letters, Gloria Villegas and Dr. Paulina Rivero Weber, led the congress which featured speeches by other wildlife conservationists and philosophers such as Jorge Linares and Lizbeth Sagols.
Dr. Galdikas spoke for two hours to a packed auditorium that included students, professors, and the general public. Her presentation included a history of orangutan study and conservation and OFI’s work in Indonesia, rehabilitating orangutans for re-release and protecting orangutan habitat. She also discussed the threats facing wild orangutan populations and the rehabilitated individuals in Indonesia, the main threat being palm oil production.
While in Mexico City, Dr. Galdikas also visited Toto, an adult male cheek-padder at the Chapultepec Zoo. During this visit, she was able to lend her experience in orangutan rehabilitation and well-being to suggest less isolation and more enrichment to improve Toto’s life at the zoo.
