Orangutan Foundation Intl

OUR WORK

Established in 1986 by Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, Orangutan Foundation International is a nonprofit charity that relies on supporters to continue its important work of protecting endangered orangutans.

We care deeply about conservation and animal welfare, and have protected more than million acres of rainforest habitat and saved hundreds of captive and orphaned orangutans from death or a dire life in captivity—giving them a second chance to grow up and be free. Our work includes:

-Rescue, rehabilitation, and repatriation
-Habitat protection, acquisition, and restoration
-Conservation outreach, education, and research

CAMP LEAKEY. OFI supports the longest longitudinal study of any mammal in the world at the Camp Leakey study area in Tanjung Puting National Park. The study has been ongoing since 1971.

ORANGUTAN CARE CENTER & QUARANTINE. Established in 1998, the OCCQ was created for rescued and confiscated wild-born, ex-captive orangutans needing medical and other care in preparation for their release back into the wild. To date, OFI has successfully rehabilitated and released nearly 500 ex-captive orangutans.

HABITAT PROTECTION: OFI works in cooperation with the Indonesian government and communities in Borneo to expand national parks, establish reserves, buy land, and replant degraded forest areas to create permanently-protected orangutan habitat. Through its forest ranger patrol program, OFI prevents illegal logging, mining, poaching, and palm oil encroachment in protected forest habitat.

OUTREACH & EDUCATION. OFI raises awareness about the plight of orangutans and other wildlife species through a wide variety of local and global outreach and education programs.

ABOUT DR. BIRUTE MARY GALDIKAS. OFI president, scientist, award-winning conservationist and educator, has been living among orangutans in Borneo since 1971. One of Dr. Louis Leakey’s so-called “Trimates” (along with primate experts Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey), her life-long devotion to rescuing and nurturing orphaned orangutans and giving them a second chance to grow up and be wild is the subject of the award-winning Warner Brothers’ IMAX movie, “Born to be Wild.”

Dr. Galdikas has been sounding the extinction alarm for decades while battling loggers, poachers, miners, and other intruders into the orangutan’s habitat. She is the world’s foremost authority on orangutans, and has dedicated her life’s work to their preservation.