Here’s my newest project. I’ve adopted an orphaned baby orangutan named Mary. In Malay and Indonesian, orang means “person” and utan is derived from hutan, which means “forest.” Thus, orangutan literally means “person of the forest.” This is part of a wildlife rescue organization called The Orangutan Project. The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) teaches these orphans how to be orangutans after often traumatic experiences in their early lives (loss of habitat to palm oil industry; farmer’s machetes; illegal pet trade; stolen for the circus).
Supporting this organization also helps employ many amazing support workers from the local population in Borneo. It’s great to contribute to the United Nations 17 sustainable goals. As a founding member of the United Nations, Canada is committed to the guidance provided in the UN Charter to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, and to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights (https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/un-onu/index.aspx?lang=eng).
Orangutans are great apes, as opposed to monkeys, and are closely related to humans, having in common 97% of DNA. Orangutans are extremely patient and intelligent mammals. They are very observant and inquisitive, and there are many stories of orangutans escaping from zoos after having watched their keepers unlock and lock doors. (The Orangutan Project). Please watch the videos below to get an idea of how amazing orangutans are.
Meet Mary!
Please have a look at the TedEd video below. I guarantee that you will be amazed!
And check out the Orangutan Jungle School if you’re interested in learning more about these amazing primates at orangutan-jungle-school-borneo-sanctuary-rescues-endangered-primates or also this amazing podcast about the orangutan Fu Manchu https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/91939-fu-manchu
As educated individuals, we’ve learned that primary research articles are an important source of information in every field, including Biology. Here is a link to a primary research article published in a journal called Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that discusses the amazing engineering capabilities of orangutans.
I use this amazing context to teach 1st year biology majors and nonmajors about (1) Science as a process and (2) Human evolution.
Meet Alba, the world’s only ‘known’ albino orangutan! Thanks to the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, she has her own protected island to live on with some of her buddies!!!!!
I use her story to teach my students about the genetic code and the genetics of skin colour!
Unless we act now, extinction in the wild will be soon for Sumatran Orangutans and not long after that for Bornean Orangutans. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the Sumatran species (Pongo abelii) is Critically Endangered and the Bornean species (Pongo pygmaeus) of orangutans is Endangered.
The Sumatran and Bornean Orangutans’ rainforest habitats are disappearing at an alarming rate due to deforestation and clearing of the land for pulp paper and palm oil plantations. Which Everyday Products Contain Palm Oil? Please click here to find out.