Educational Media Reviews Online

Orangutans share 97% of the same DNA as humans. They are the only Asian great ape. 20,000 years ago there were an estimated 2 million Orangutans; today less than 20,000 Orangutans remain. Today, they live in isolated pockets of rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra. Over the last 20 years, 80% of the Orangutans habitat has been destroyed. With the longest adolescence among primates, young Orangutans are dependent upon their mothers until roughly the age of seven. It is from their mothers that infants learn how to survive: what food to eat, where to find it, how to climb trees, how to make nests. In other words, everything they need to live in the rainforests. Today they are threatened not only by the loss of their habitat, but also by the loss of their culture due to illegal poaching. Poachers take infant oranges from their mothers—usually by killing the mother—in order to sell them to people looking for exotic, illegal animals, or to markets that sell to any interested buyer. Without the socialization provided by their mother and other orangutans, the infants do not learn what they need in order to survive and they languish without the emotional attachment provided by their mother.

Upon seeing a dying infant orangutan in a local market, Dr. Willie Smits was spurred into action. Not only did he rescue this first infant, but also a second one came to him at the same time. With this inspiration, he founded the Wanariset Orangutan Reintroduction Project. Dr. Smits is committed to not only rescuing captured Orangutans, but also to returning them to the rainforest and to efforts aimed at preserving their habitat. Teams of enforcers rescue infants from private homes, markets, and poachers. 70% of them need immediate medical attention. Assisting Dr. Smits is Dr. Anne Russon, a primate psychologist, who studies their communication, cultural and social patterns. Her groundbreaking research shows that Orangutans have a “culture,” like humans do. They do not solely survive by animal instinct and need the elders and peers as role models to teach them how to survive in the rainforest. Without this instruction, they are doomed to failure in the wild. While human rescuers can do much to improve their lot (female staff spend up to 24 hours a day with infants until they achieve a level of security that allows them be nurtured by their peers) and teach them many skills, they still cannot show them how to climb a tree properly, which trees will hold their weight, how to get from one tree to another, and how to manage social encounters with other Orangutans.

For each infant rescued, it is estimated that five others died (mothers and/or infants). The 800 Orangutans rescued since 1992 by Dr. Smits represent approximately 20% of the world’s surviving orangutan population.

Other threats to the rainforest include illegal mining, which degrades the soil; opening the forest canopy, which led to forest fires brought on by drought and El Nino; and clear cutting land for agricultural plantations.

Not only are Orangutans facing the destruction of their habitat, but as Dr. Smits and Dr. Russon explain, the loss of their culture. Through the Wanariset Orangutan Reintroduction Project and a midway house, they are “taught” to become wild, once again. Sadly, they must learn what skills they can from their peers, rather than mothers and elders. They live in a world of children only, with no adolescents, no babies, and no wise men. Decisive action is needed right now in order to keep the rainforests from disappearing. Current surviving old growth forests are fragmentary and need to be reconnected in order to provide a chance for the overall survival of this remarkable species. If conditions continue to erode the rainforests, then the Orangutans will likely not survive. Experts give them 10 years at best, unless the situation is reversed.

This is a stunning video with beautiful photography and a haunting presentation, accompanied by a lyrical music score that enhances the overall feel of this film, and will stay with viewers long after the credits run. It is suitable for all academic libraries, school libraries, environmental studies programs, classroom instruction, animal rights groups, and for anyone interested in saving species and the environment.

Awards: 2nd Place, EarthVision Environmental Film and Video Competition; Finalist, Best Newcomer Award, Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival; Merit Awards, International Wildlife Film Festival Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival, Tahoe International Film Festival, Gaia Film Festival, Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Festival