Why We Do This

Since our founding in 2007, the aim of Orangutan Outreach has always been to protect orangutans in their native forests of Borneo and Sumatra while assuring care for orphaned and displaced orangutans until they can be returned to their natural environment. We also support the provision of life-long care to those orangutans who are unable to return to the forest due to trauma, illness, or disability.

But WHY do we do this work? Why focus on orangutans?

Orangutan Outreach Believes:

• Orangutans are intelligent, sentient beings who experience a wide range of emotions and deserve our compassion.
• Orangutans are meant to live freely and undisturbed in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra.
• Orangutans are worthy of protection simply for their beauty and grace.
• Orangutans are vital to the health of the rainforest ecosystem and therefore must be protected.
• Rainforests are vital to the health of the planet and therefore must be protected.
• Orangutans in human care must be treated with dignity and respect.
• Successful in situ conservation efforts are intricately tied to meeting the needs of local communities.
• If we cannot save an animal so closely related to humans, there is little hope for the rest of the species.

A few words from Richard Zimmerman, Founder and Executive Director of Orangutan Outreach

I grew up in Southern California, where my love for orangutans was fostered by frequent visits to the Los Angeles and San Diego Zoos. My passion was reignited years later when living in Barcelona where I made regular visits to the Barcelona Zoo to see Snowflake, the legendary albino gorilla. However, it was in the enclosure around the corner from Snowflake that the magic happened. It was here that I first made eye contact with a giant orangutan cheekpadder named Moe. I spent many afternoons watching Moe, who was always alone, sitting silently on a barren slab of concrete with little enrichment and no companions. I don't know what it was... but I somehow internalized his condition. I felt the purest form of empathy I'd ever felt in my life.

Years later, while living in New York City, I began to truly comprehend that orangutans were critically endangered in the wild, and that the threat of extinction was not just hyperbole. It was— and remains— very real. In 2006, while on break from UNICEF, I took my first trip to Indonesia so that I could see wild orangutans with my own eyes. Expecting to see a lush tropical rainforest, what I found instead was the near total destruction of the forests of Borneo and Sumatra and many hundreds of orphaned orangutans being cared for in rescue centers. I realized immediately that I had to do something to help my beloved orangutan. But what? In 2007 I followed my heart and Orangutan Outreach was born.

It's as simple as this. (Famous last words) I love orangutans. You could say I'm obsessed with them. But in a good way. There is just something about them that has always taken my breath away. When I see them I stop whatever I'm doing. I pause. I reset. It's existential. The mere fact that orangutans exist- that some creature so utterly amazing shares this world with us- just blows me away. When I see a baby orangutan I'm filled with hope. And to be clear, most of the baby orangutans I've seen are orphans. Their mothers were slaughtered, leaving them traumatized..... And while it destroys my heart thinking about it, at the same time, these little red fuzzy angels have somehow been given a second chance at life in the wild, as nature intended. They are defying a most horrible fate. And I will do whatever is in my power to help them survive... and thrive...

Orangutans have a right to live. Not in a cage. Not as objects of our affection. They have a fundamental right to exist. And it is unacceptable what humans have done to them— and so many other beings with whom we share the earth. I think often of the Victor Hugo quote: "Victor Hugo quote: “Animals run no risk of going to hell. They are already there.” Truer words have never been spoken. What is happening to them is just WRONG on a fundamental level, and I am determined to do everything I possible can to help them...  THAT— at a most basic level— is what Orangutan Outreach is.  It is outreach for orangutans.

Even when things are so bleak and I can barely find the strength to go on, I just need to look at an orangutan and I am able to find the necessary strength to move forward. It's alchemy. They allow me to keep going... to go further. To be better than before. And for that I thank them.

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A few words from Debbie Clemens, Outreach Coordinator for Orangutan Outreach

As a child, I loved animals and was drawn to them. It has been suggested that the attraction humans feel towards biodiversity (biophilia) may be in our genes. I had a particular interest in primates, fascinated by their behaviors and their faces full of expression. When I was quite young I visited the San Diego Zoo in California. At the time, the zoo had a primate nursery in which infant apes were cared for by keepers. I have a vivid memory of standing at the glass window of the nursery looking at the little apes who were wearing diapers. A keeper was holding a tiny ape and brought it over to the glass so I could see it up close. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to work with primates.

As a young adult, my interest in wildlife and conservation increased and my desire to be involved was fulfilled with volunteer work at Brookfield Zoo (now Brookfield Zoo Chicago). As a docent, I found that my favorite place to be was in front of the orangutans. I felt a connection to the majestic apes and I began to care very deeply for them. The orangutans drew me in on a spiritual level. Years later, when I received a Master’s Degree in Zoology, no one was surprised that my focus was orangutan conservation.

We are a part of nature and it is a part of us. When we take care of one, we take care of all. I am drawn to orangutans so that is my starting point for caring. Suffering is suffering, whether it is happening to a human or an animal. Compassion is compassion, whether it is directed at a human or an animal. I choose to focus on orangutans, those beautiful red apes that have always spoken to my heart.