Orangutan watching travel guide

Logging, clearance of the forest and illegal trafficking of wildlife all combined to reduce the numbers of orangutans: between 1985 and 2001, 56 percent of Kalimantan’s tropical rainforests were torn down for timber. On top of this, growing demand for palm oil has encouraged further forest clearance. Worryingly, as well as destroying habitats, the loss of rainforests also has a devastating effect upon water supplies; ecosystems are a delicate balance.

Orangutan research was pioneered by Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, who began studying these creatures in Borneo in 1971. Previously, these apes had been overlooked in favour of chimpanzees and gorillas, but Dr. Galdikas’ work raised awareness of their plight – and their intelligence. She was supported by paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey and the National Geographic Society – and her work continues today at Camp Leakey, in Tanjung Putung National Park. This research camp has contributed to a much more in-depth knowledge of the forest ecosystem – and Dr. Galdikas became an advocate for conservation, as well as starting up rehabilitation centres through Orangutan Foundation International. These initial steps have led to the network of rehabilitation centres and sanctuaries becoming established across Borneo and Sumatra today, and visitors to the islands have Dr. Galdikas to thank for the incredible work that goes on to protect them and their rapidly disappearing habitats.

Learn more about Dr. Galdikas’ work and those striving to rehabilitate orphaned orangutans in the film Born to be Wild (2011).