Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) works to protect wild orangutans and their rainforest habitat, as well as to rehabilitate wildborn ex-captive orphan orangutans for life in the wild. OFI’s goal is, ultimately, to save orangutan populations from extinction and to better the lives of individual orangutans. To achieve this goal, OFI runs different programs which address these issues from different perspectives.

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  Forest Protection:

  OFI works in partnership with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry to ensure the protection of Tanjung Puting National Park against illegal encroachment and extraction activities, such as logging, mining, forest conversion, and fire. OFI has built 18 guard posts around Tanjung Puting National Park which are staffed with rangers trained to protect the park.

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  Forest Stewardship:

  OFI works hard to restore degraded forest area inside and outside Tanjung Puting National Park by planting native tree species. Furthermore, OFI recently purchased a zoo near Pangkalan Bun in order to save its animal residents from deplorable captive conditions. OFI now manages the 4 hectare forest that housed the former zoo and which provides sanctuary to wild animals such as proboscis monkeys and crab-eating macaques. Also, in order to keep forests from palm oil companies, OFI purchases forested land from local people who are looking to sell. By purchasing the land outright and acquiring private ownership rights, OFI ensures the long-term safety of these local forests.

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  Rehabilitation

  OFI runs the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine in Pasir Panjang, Central Kalimantan. The Care Center looks after 330 rescued ex-captive orphan orangutans whose mothers have been killed. At the Care Center, the orphans receive medical care, daily enrichment, and regular outings to the forest. OFI’s goal is to rehabilitate these orphans to life in the wild so that they may eventually be released back into the forest at one of our release sites. OFI currently maintains release sites in the Seruyan Regency.

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  Research:

  OFI supports a research program at Camp Leakey in Tanjung Puting National Park. Since 1971, when OFI’s president Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas first established Camp Leakey, research in this area has focused on many aspects of orangutan behavior and ecology, as well as other topics involving other species of plants and animals. Research at Camp Leakey has been conducted by dozens of scientists and students from around the world. The wild orangutan research at Camp Leakey is one of the longest continuous studies of any wild animal population ever carried out in the history of science.

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  Education:

  OFI believes in the value of educating local communities, the Indonesian people, and the world, about the value of forest and wildlife conservation, and specifically wild orangutan conservation. To this end, OFI produces educational programs for schools, conducts public lectures, organizes conferences and seminars, and publishes the English newsletter, Pongo Quest, and the Indonesian language newsletter, Pesan dari Alam (in partnership with Yayasan Orangutan Internasional Kalimantan (YOIK)).

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  Other Work:

  OFI is involved with several other projects related to the well-being and conservation of wild and captive orangutans. OFI rescued and owns Rusti, an orangutan on permanent load to the Honolulu Zoo. OFI uses geographical information system (GIS) technology to help support and facilitate forest and orangutan protection in Indonesian Borneo.