Mission & Vision
Our commitment to protecting orangutans, preserving forests, and ensuring dignity for every life in our care.
Our Mission
Orangutan Outreach’s mission is to protect orangutans in their native forests of Borneo and Sumatra while providing care for orphaned and displaced orangutans until they can be returned to their natural environment. If they cannot be released, we will do everything in our power to ensure they have a life of dignity and the best possible long-term care. We seek to raise funds and promote public awareness of orangutan conservation issues by collaborating with partner organizations around the world.
Our Vision
Orangutan Outreach envisions a world in which wild orangutans are fully protected and allowed to live freely and undisturbed in their natural forest habitats in Borneo and Sumatra. We further propose that any orangutan who is unable to live in his or her rainforest home will receive compassionate care in a sanctuary for the duration of their life.
Why We Do This
Our Guiding Beliefs
- Orangutans are intelligent, sentient beings who experience emotion and deserve compassion.
- They belong in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, living freely and undisturbed.
- Orangutans are vital to rainforest health and biodiversity.
- Protecting rainforests protects the planet.
- Orangutans in human care must be treated with dignity and respect.
- Successful conservation depends on meeting the needs of local communities.
Our Approach
- Rescue: Providing immediate help to orangutans in danger.
- Rehabilitation: Preparing rescued orangutans for life in the forest.
- Release: Returning healthy orangutans to protected rainforest habitat.
- Retirement: Ensuring lifelong care for those who cannot return to the wild.
- Reforestation: Restoring forests to secure a future for wild populations.
A Long-Term Commitment
Orangutan conservation is not a short-term effort. It requires decades of responsibility, collaboration, and care — from rescue through lifelong protection of forests and communities.
Voices Behind the Mission
I grew up loving orangutans, but everything changed years later in Barcelona when I locked eyes with an isolated orangutan named Moe and felt a depth of empathy I’d never known. That connection stayed with me, and in 2006, a trip to Indonesia revealed the devastating reality of deforestation and orphaned orangutans, making it impossible for me to look away. I realized I had to act, and in 2007, Orangutan Outreach was born. I am driven by a deep belief that orangutans have an inherent right to exist freely in the wild, not as victims of human destruction. Even in the hardest moments, they give me the strength to keep going, and I remain committed to doing everything in my power to help them survive and thrive.
– Richard Zimmerman, Founder & Executive Director
I have loved animals from an early age, with a particular fascination for primates and their expressive faces. As a child visiting the San Diego Zoo, a moment in the primate nursery—locking eyes with a tiny infant ape—made it clear to me that I wanted to work with primates. That calling followed me into adulthood through volunteer work at Brookfield Zoo, where I felt a deep, almost spiritual connection to the orangutans. Years later, earning a Master’s Degree in Zoology with a focus on orangutan conservation felt like the natural outcome of that lifelong pull. I believe compassion is universal, and caring for orangutans—the beings that have always spoken most strongly to my heart—is where my commitment to all life begins.
– Debbie Clemens, Community Engagement Manager
I was four years old when I first asked my mother if there was a job where I could help animals, a moment that set me on a lifelong path—even if marine biology was eventually replaced by primates. During my undergraduate studies, non-human primates captured my full attention, reinforcing what I had always felt: animals are sentient beings who think and experience the world differently, not less deeply. My passion is to listen, learn, and understand how primates “speak,” and to teach others that empathy is the first step toward protection. When an orangutan mother loses her child, she grieves as a human mother does, a truth we cannot ignore. Orangutans—and all life—have a right to exist, and protecting them ultimately means protecting the ecosystems, knowledge, and future we all depend on.
– Andrea Knox, Senior Program Manager