I cannot believe how much Satria has changed in the time that I have known him. His expressive face and hesitant curiosity made him stand out from the start. He was the type of infant that could be described as the “runt of the litter” because of his tiny size. He also seemed very fragile. This combination of fragility and small size always inspired my sympathy. However, in a short time Satria grew immensely, both [...]

On December 11, 2012 about one hundred people gathered at an isolated Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) forest camp at the edge of Tanjung Puting National Park in the province of Kalimantan Tengah (Central Indonesian Borneo) to release five wild born ex-captive adolescent male orangutans into the wild. The release occurred under the auspices of the “Friends of Orangutans” program initiated by OFI and P.T. Smart, an Indonesian company concerned with conservation. Crowd Excitement Grows in [...]

In many ways, Rangda (pronounced “wrong-duh”) is much like the rest of the infant orangutans at OFI’s Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ); he loves climbing trees, playing with his friends, and eating fruit. But within these preferences, Rangda finds little ways to break the norms of behavior. His unique climbing habits and particular affinity for mud are just a few of the ways he makes himself stand out. There is a noticeable contrast between [...]