Orangutan Foundation International

Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) is a United States-based conservation organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with its principal field activities in Indonesian Borneo. Founded in 1986 by primatologist Biruté Galdikas, the organization developed from the Orangutan Research and Conservation Project, an earlier research initiative established in 1971 with support from anthropologist Louis Leakey. Galdikas was one of the three prominent primate researchers associated with Leakey, alongside Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, and her long-term work made orangutans a major subject of scientific and public attention. The organization’s work combines wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, habitat conservation, scientific research, and environmental education. It cares for orphaned, injured, and formerly captive orangutans, many of whom arrive after the destruction of rainforest habitat, illegal wildlife trading, or human conflict. Young orangutans may be raised and treated at OFI’s care facilities before being taken into forested environments for daily learning and acclimatization. Individuals that develop the skills and independence required for survival may eventually be released into protected rainforest areas. Others remain under long-term care when illness, injury, behavioral damage, or lack of survival skills prevents release. OFI’s Indonesian operations are closely associated with Camp Leakey in the Indonesian part of Borneo. What began as a small field station developed into a research and conservation base with trails and forest and swamp habitats used by both wild and rehabilitated orangutans. Camp Leakey has also hosted students and researchers from Indonesian and United States educational institutions. The site serves both as a center for studying orangutan ecology and behavior and as part of the landscape used to prepare rehabilitated animals for life in the forest. Beyond direct animal care, OFI advocates for the preservation of rainforest habitat and promotes public understanding of orangutans, their ecosystems, and the threats created by deforestation, illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, and habitat fragmentation. Its educational role is aimed at the public, policymakers, and communities connected to orangutan habitat. The organization has also worked with related conservation groups, including Orangutan Foundation Canada, the Australian Orangutan Project, and the Biruté Galdikas Ecology and Support Foundation. OFI’s rehabilitation model has attracted both support and criticism. Supporters regard rescue and reintroduction as necessary responses to the illegal capture and displacement of orangutans. Critics and researchers have raised questions about whether human-raised orangutans accurately represent wild behavior, whether some animals can be safely controlled, and whether released animals could transmit disease to wild populations. The organization’s activities have also encountered opposition from interests affected by campaigns against habitat clearing and wildlife trafficking. Despite these debates, OFI remains associated with long-term orangutan conservation and the protection of Indonesian rainforest ecosystems.

The institutional history of Orangutan Foundation International begins with Biruté Galdikas’s orangutan research in Borneo. While pursuing doctoral work at the University of California, Los Angeles, Galdikas sought the support of Louis Leakey, who had previously encouraged major field studies of other great apes. Leakey supported her proposed orangutan research, placing her within the group of researchers later known as the Trimates together with Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. Galdikas established Camp Leakey in honor of Leakey and began systematic observation of wild orangutans in Indonesian Borneo. The first organizational predecessor was the Orangutan Research and Conservation Project, established in 1971 by Galdikas with Rod Brindamour. Its initial emphasis was the ecology and behavior of wild orangutans, but the project soon became involved in caring for orangutans removed from captivity, including animals taken from government officials and other private holders. Galdikas’s long-term fieldwork produced an extensive body of observations while also exposing the effects of capture, habitat loss, and human disturbance on orangutan populations. In 1986, the project was reorganized as Orangutan Foundation International. The new organization retained the earlier research foundation but adopted a broader conservation mission. Its activities came to include orangutan rescue, medical treatment, rehabilitation, release preparation, habitat protection, environmental advocacy, and public education. The Los Angeles base provided an institutional and fundraising center in the United States, while field operations remained concentrated around Camp Leakey and other facilities in Indonesian Borneo. Camp Leakey expanded from a small collection of huts into a functioning field station with research infrastructure, trails, forest, and swamp habitats. It became a setting for long-term orangutan research and for the gradual rehabilitation of ex-captive and orphaned animals. Orangutans in care may receive treatment at a care center and then be taken into the forest with keepers, where they learn movement, climbing, foraging, and other behaviors needed for independent survival. Animals judged ready may be released into protected habitat, while individuals unable to survive independently remain in managed care. As rainforest clearing and illegal wildlife trade intensified, Galdikas and OFI increasingly combined scientific work with public advocacy. The organization promoted the creation and maintenance of protected areas, challenged habitat destruction, and sought greater government attention to illegal logging and orangutan trafficking. These activities brought OFI greater public visibility but also generated opposition and controversy. Observers questioned the scientific value and safety of rehabilitation, the possibility of disease transmission to wild populations, and the ability of some human-raised orangutans to adapt successfully after release. Accounts also described threats, harassment, and a kidnapping directed at Galdikas in connection with her conservation activism. OFI’s work has continued to link animal welfare with ecosystem protection. Its public profile has been supported by media coverage, including the IMAX film Born to Be Wild, and by collaboration or association with sister organizations and conservation partners in Canada, Australia, and elsewhere. In 2021, the organization was reported to have received a four-star Charity Navigator rating for the tenth consecutive year, reflecting external evaluation of its accountability, transparency, and financial health. Its continuing identity rests on the integration of orangutan rescue, field science, rainforest conservation, and education.

• 2021

  Tenth consecutive four-star Charity Navigator rating

  [1]Orangutan Foundation Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  OFI was reported as receiving a four-star rating and Give with Confidence recognition from Charity Navigator for the tenth consecutive year.

• 1986

  Orangutan Foundation International founded

  [1]Orangutan Foundation Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The Orangutan Research and Conservation Project evolved into OFI, with an expanded emphasis on conservation, rehabilitation, research, and education.

• 1979

  Support for a United States foundation develops

  [1]Orangutan Foundation Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  After visiting Camp Leakey, lawyer John Beal helped Galdikas and others establish the organization’s Los Angeles-based support structure.

• 1971

  Orangutan Research and Conservation Project established

  [1]Orangutan Foundation Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Biruté Galdikas and Rod Brindamour established the predecessor project to study orangutan ecology and behavior in Indonesian Borneo.

A science-led, field-based conservation organization combining orangutan rescue and rehabilitation with rainforest protection, research, advocacy, and education.

• Wildlife rescue · 1986

  Orangutan rescue and care

  OFI receives orphaned, injured, diseased, and formerly captive orangutans and provides quarantine, medical treatment, food, protection, and ongoing husbandry. Care is adapted to each animal’s age, health, and behavioral history.

• Species reintroduction · 1986

  Orangutan rehabilitation and release

  Young or recovering orangutans are gradually introduced to forest conditions with the assistance of keepers. Animals that develop sufficient independence may be released into protected rainforest, while those unable to survive alone remain in long-term care.

• Field research · 1971

  Camp Leakey research program

  Camp Leakey is OFI’s principal research setting in Indonesian Borneo. The site supports long-term study of wild and rehabilitated orangutans and has also been used by students and researchers from Indonesian and United States institutions.

• Environmental conservation · 1986

  Rainforest conservation and education

  OFI promotes protection of orangutan habitat and educates the public and government stakeholders about rainforest loss, illegal logging, wildlife trading, and the ecological importance of orangutans.

• Controversy over orangutan rehabilitation

  Researchers and officials questioned whether rehabilitated orangutans accurately represent wild behavior, whether some animals posed risks to people, and whether releases could transmit disease to wild populations. The organization’s permits and methods were also challenged.

  Source

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• Camp Leakey orangutan rehabilitation

  Indonesia

  A long-running field program uses forest trails and surrounding habitat to help rehabilitated orangutans acquire the skills needed for possible release.

  Outcome. The program established Camp Leakey as both a research site and a base for orangutan rehabilitation.

  Source
• Rainforest and orangutan habitat advocacy

  Indonesia · United States

  OFI has advocated for protected areas and stronger action against rainforest clearing, illegal logging, and orangutan trading.

  Outcome. The advocacy increased public and governmental attention to habitat protection but also provoked opposition from interests connected to habitat exploitation.

  Source
• Born to Be Wild media outreach

  International

  OFI’s conservation work was featured in the IMAX film Born to Be Wild, using documentary storytelling to introduce wider audiences to orangutan rescue and rehabilitation.

  Outcome. The film expanded public exposure to the organization’s conservation activities.

  Source

• 1986

  Shift from research project to integrated conservation organizationStrategy

  Background

  The predecessor project’s scientific work generated public attention and exposed the need for an institution able to convert research visibility into conservation and education programs.

  Action taken

  The Orangutan Research and Conservation Project was reorganized as Orangutan Foundation International, adding stronger emphasis on rescue, rehabilitation, habitat protection, advocacy, and education.

  Aftermath

  OFI developed a broader institutional role linking field research with direct animal care and rainforest conservation.

  Source

• Use of gradual forest acclimatization before releaseStrategy

  Background

  Rescued and captive orangutans often lack the survival skills needed for immediate return to the wild.

  Action taken

  Keepers take orangutans from care facilities into forest habitat for supervised daily learning and gradually assess their readiness for release.

  Aftermath

  Some animals have been considered suitable for release, while others remain permanently dependent on human care.

  Source

1. 1Orangutan Foundation Internationalen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Orangutan Foundation International official websiteorangutan.org