The image features the words "RAIN FOREST" with "RAIN" in white and "FOREST" in green, set against a black background.

International Orangutan Day

To celebrate and bring attention to the plight of critically endangered orangutans, we are sharing a special story from Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, one of the pioneering primatologist ‘Trimates,’ who dedicated her life to studying orangutans.

Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas wearing glasses and a wide-brimmed hat holds a young orangutan on her shoulder in a lush, green jungle environment with text reading "A Life's Work."
Three men sitting on a wooden walkway in a rural area, facing a man sitting cross-legged, with buildings and a cloudy sky in the background.
Three young men sitting on the floor in a room with wooden walls, listening to a man seated against the wall. The man is wearing a black t-shirt with text and an image, and the young men are facing him. A smartphone on a stabilizer records the scene, capturing everyone in the frame.

Our Orangutan Story

Meeting the people of Tanjung Puting

When we decided to visit Tanjung Puting National Park to encounter orangutans in the wild, we determined that we didn’t want to simply look and leave.  We wanted to understand the apes better, to see if there was more to their story beyond the documentaries, to try to connect more deeply.

To do so, we wanted to hear the perspectives of local people: the indigenous Dayak and those from the community whose lives are intertwined with orangutans and the forest.   Had they had memorable encounters?  Did their traditional beliefs shape how they viewed the animals and nature as a whole? Could translating and sharing those stories bring more depth to our own understanding?

From those we met, we encountered nothing but enthusiasm, warmth and hospitality.  We were charmed by their kindness, inspired by their dedication, and shaken by the dark reality underpinning so much of what is unfolding there. 

We heard many remarkable stories. The challenge, we learned, is finding a way to bring them to the world.  This first chapter of “Story Animals” is our small contribution to making that happen.

Latest Stories

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 “It takes passion to dedicate your life to a species most people never think about, to fight seemingly impossible battles, and to keep hope alive when the odds are against you.”
 “It takes passion to dedicate your life to a species most people never think about, to fight seemingly impossible battles, and to keep hope alive when the odds are against you.”

In those early days, I followed wild orangutans, learning their ways, observing their behavior. They are the true indigenous inhabitants of Borneo.

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“Together, we can share these stories with the world and inspire the next generation to protect the wildlife and the places we all love.”
“Together, we can share these stories with the world and inspire the next generation to protect the wildlife and the places we all love.”

Conservation is about more than just teaching people what to do or not do, but about reaching their hearts through storytelling.

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“When I was a child, we Dayak people hunted orangutans to eat.  Our lives depended on nature and we didn't see orangutans as particularly important creatures.”  
“When I was a child, we Dayak people hunted orangutans to eat.  Our lives depended on nature and we didn't see orangutans as particularly important creatures.”  

People were afraid of the very old orangutans, which the elders would call "Ladangan", or "Kandar". I remember hearing an old story about people from the village going hunting, and while they were out in the forest they saw unusual rustling movements in the trees. 

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“Most injuries are indirectly caused by humans, like starvation due to habitat loss.” 
“Most injuries are indirectly caused by humans, like starvation due to habitat loss.” 

Orangutans can’t tell us what's wrong, and they don’t understand that we’re trying to help them, or worse, they think that we’re trying to kill them.  This makes the work dangerous...

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“We mustn’t allow ourselves to be duped or succumb to a cognitive dissonance whereby we just switch off from it.  We have to care because ultimately it will all come back to us.” 
“We mustn’t allow ourselves to be duped or succumb to a cognitive dissonance whereby we just switch off from it.  We have to care because ultimately it will all come back to us.” 

I’m in Indonesia conducting PhD research into whether we can improve the methods for counting orangutans in the wild.  Counting them by sighting alone is extremely difficult since they're semi-solitary and just really hard to find, so the way it’s done currently is by counting the nests orangutans make almost every night. 

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“Donny became part of the family… eating human food, drinking tea, my grandma even dressed him in kids clothes so he wouldn’t get cold.  We all slept in the same bed, huddled together…” 
“Donny became part of the family… eating human food, drinking tea, my grandma even dressed him in kids clothes so he wouldn’t get cold.  We all slept in the same bed, huddled together…” 

The area sold its land to the palm oil companies and the village was devastated by the river mining nearby… It’s so sad to see that I don’t want to even stay one night there.  

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“We try to encourage people to care about orangutans, but it’s very difficult when they’ve grown up in different environments and have a different awareness.”
“We try to encourage people to care about orangutans, but it’s very difficult when they’ve grown up in different environments and have a different awareness.”

Rica is also very sensitive toward my feelings, what I like, and what I don’t. Her child Ricardo would steal my clothes from the washing line and play with them, and even though I never scolded him or taught her to, Rica would always return them back to me.

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“You should absolutely never stand between an alpha male and his girlfriend.”
“You should absolutely never stand between an alpha male and his girlfriend.”

The wildlife stories I grew up with were often pretty scary. My grandfather was once savaged and nearly killed by a sun bear, for example.  He kept an orangutan as a pet, which was relatively common in the 1960s.

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“We came back to find the orangutan holding the saw, drawing it back and forth over the wood, just like we had been doing.” 
“We came back to find the orangutan holding the saw, drawing it back and forth over the wood, just like we had been doing.” 

Princess was probably the smartest of all.  When she was around, you couldn’t tie the canoe to the river bank because she would steal it and paddle it away.

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“We were all afraid of the mythical Kandar, a decrepit orangutan that has decayed into a soulless ghoul, like the walking dead.The elders warned us not to stray too far into the forest.”
“We were all afraid of the mythical Kandar, a decrepit orangutan that has decayed into a soulless ghoul, like the walking dead.The elders warned us not to stray too far into the forest.”

After high school I moved to a city in Java to study, but I found the noise and chaos overwhelming.  When I would come back to visit my home village, among the trees, birds and monkeys, I found serenity, which ultimately led me to return to guide tours and share my love for nature.

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“Orangutans are emotional creatures, you can see it in their eyes, but there is nothing we can do to soothe them. Only time can heal their pain.”
“Orangutans are emotional creatures, you can see it in their eyes, but there is nothing we can do to soothe them. Only time can heal their pain.”

My parents worked with orangutans and I’ve been fascinated by them since I was a kid.  Now I’m a Ranger and, for us, orangutans are family.  We’re here to protect them, their home and, ultimately, prevent them from going extinct.  

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“If we can attract tourists to see orangutans in their natural habitat, it can help raise awareness and get more people interested in protecting the forest.”
“If we can attract tourists to see orangutans in their natural habitat, it can help raise awareness and get more people interested in protecting the forest.”

It’s important that children feel connected to orangutans and understand their role in the ecosystem before learning why they need to protect them. We use storytelling, puppets, books, or even dress up in orangutan costumes.

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“It’s remarkable how similar they are to human babies. In the middle of the night, they cry out of hunger and we have to get up and feed them milk until they fall back asleep.”
“It’s remarkable how similar they are to human babies. In the middle of the night, they cry out of hunger and we have to get up and feed them milk until they fall back asleep.”

We sometimes rescue orangutans from villages, where people may not even realize that orangutans are a protected species.  Once rescued, we take them to our clinic to care for them before releasing them back into the wild.

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“I do this job because I am passionate about orangutans and their habitat. It would be difficult to do this kind of work without that feeling in your heart.”
“I do this job because I am passionate about orangutans and their habitat. It would be difficult to do this kind of work without that feeling in your heart.”

My parents never took me to artificial tourist attractions like Ancol, Taman Mini or other places like that.  They preferred to take us to the mountains, to the sea, to natural places.  So I was often out in nature, and I felt happy there, I felt comfortable.  

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Resources

  • Silhouette of a lemur hanging from a tree branch, with the text 'YAYORIN' below.

    Yayorin

    Yayorin is a local NGO that’s been active since 1991 in Pangkalan Bun.

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  • Orangutan Applause Sustainable Tourism Borneo, Kalimantan.

    Orangutan Applause

    We booked our visit to Tanjung Puting with Orangutan Applause, and cannot recommend them highly enough.

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  • An orangutan with reddish-brown fur and black face, roaring or yawning in a dense forest environment.

    Aku, Kahiyu

    Efan Ekananda wrote and directed Aku, Kahiyu, about Tanjung Puting National Park, told from an orangutan’s perspective.

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  • Logo of the Orangutan Foundation International featuring a realistic illustration of an orangutan's face.

    Orangutan Foundation International

    Established in 1986 by Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, OFI supports the conservation, protection, and understanding of orangutans and their rainforest habitat in Borneo, while caring for and rehabilitating ex-captive orangutans for release back into the wild.

    Learn More