Celebrating The Red Ape

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Today wraps up "Orangutan Caring Week", and I thought I'd update you on "my" red ape while telling you how easy and affordable it is to adopt an orangutan.

Krismon is cared for by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme.

Krismon was rescued as an adult orangutan after being an illegal pet for an Indonesian family. When he was a baby he was treated like a family member, even joining them for outings and vacations. When he grew up he was confined outdoors in a tiny cage, exposed to the elements, being fed rice. For 19 years.

Krismon was rescued from this hellish existence in May 2016.

After his rescue, Krismon's malnutrition, muscular atrophy, and psychological wounds required intensive attention. He couldn't even use his legs. Slowly he has been advancing into larger and larger play areas.

Now, Krismon is looking forward to moving into Orangutan Haven, where he can interact in a very natural setting with other unreleasable rescue orangutans! The 48-hectare, 9 island site is being developed to educate people while letting these recovered, highly intelligent animals live out their lives in peace and safety.

Orangutan Haven - here a bamboo bridge linking two islands is being constructed.

…or one of the other red apes being rescued and rehabilitated in Sumatra and Borneo!
Photo Credit: Orangutan Outreach

Sadly, there are many baby and adult apes being cared for by the amazing organizations under the Orangutan Outreach umbrella. Would you like to choose one to "adopt"? I warn you, it's very difficult to select just one. Click here for the proof! But it's a great feeling to know that for the cost of 2 cups of Starbucks coffee you can help an orphaned orangutan return to the forest, or help an ape as appallingly abused as Krismon live a happy, healthy life.

With all the needs for charitable giving, why give $10 monthly for orangutans? Well, because they are critically endangered due to human activities. Palm oil, used in almost everything we consume, is grown in giant plantations where the original forest is burned down.
From the SOCP website:

Orangutans also share over 96% of our own DNA. They recognize themselves in the mirror, learn from and teach each other new skills, and they have also been shown to take another individual’s perspective, meaning they are able to see a situation through another’s eyes. Scientists have even taught them communication skills, such as human sign language and the use of computer touch-screens. In zoos, orangutans are well known – and sometimes feared too – as the most adept tool users of all the animals, including the other apes, and the best escape artists too!

It would be an unthinkable tragedy for these cousins of our to disappear forever. It is heart-wrenching to know how cruelly they are suffering in the only two places on Earth where they are wild (Sumatra and Borneo). 

I hope you'll consider celebrating Orangutan Caring Week by adopting an orangutan or making a donation today. And thanks for reading about one of my favorite animals!

P.S. Thanks for all the good wishes for Toby - he's almost well now :)