Before I begin this year’s EOFY appeal, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to you all for the outpouring of love and support we have received following the recent passing of our beloved friend and OFI President, the legendary Dr Biruté Mary Galdikas, aka “mother of orangutans”. Your beautiful messages, memories, and condolences have meant the world to us.

We have been overwhelmed by the compassion shown by our OFI community during this time of profound loss. Dr Biruté’s legacy lives on in every orangutan we rescue, rehabilitate, and protect, and in every supporter who stands with us.

We are now working closely with Dr Biruté’s son, Frederick Galdikas, who has assumed the role of OFI President, together with the dedicated management team and staff at OFI’s Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine in Central Kalimantan, Borneo, to ensure that all operations continue as usual. Our mission remains unchanged, and our commitment to save critically endangered orangutans and their rainforest habitat is stronger than ever.

As we approach the end of the financial year, I’m reaching out with a heartfelt request on behalf of the 270 orangutans currently in our care. Each one has survived loss, trauma, injury or displacement. Some are moving through rehabilitation as we prepare them for release back to the wild. Others, due to injury, disability, or deep psychological wounds, will remain with us for life.

For every single one of them, behavioural enrichment is essential. It is the foundation of their mental health, emotional stability, and quality of life. And right now, we urgently need your support to continue this vital work.

Please help us by making a tax-deductible donation by 30 June. Your donation may not only reduce your taxable income, it will enrich the lives of all the orangutans in our care.

With sincere thanks,

 

Why enrichment matters – every day, for every orangutan

Orangutans are intelligent, sensitive, and deeply sentient beings. In the wild, the complexity of their rainforest home provides endless opportunities for them to make choices, solve problems, and maintain their own wellbeing. For rescued orangutans however, their physical and psychological health depends on the care we provide. Without opportunities for cognitive and physical stimulation, they can experience boredom, frustration, anxiety, depression, and over time, the loss of natural behaviours. Yet, through carefully designed enrichment, they rediscover curiosity, confidence, and the ability to express the instincts and behaviours they were born with.

Enrichment takes many forms: ropes to climb, foliage to weave into nests, and puzzle feeders that encourage problem solving and foraging behaviours, to name but a few. These activities protect mental wellbeing, encourage natural movement, and strengthen their bodies.

For rehabilitated orangutans hoping to be released, enrichment prepares them for freedom. For those who cannot be released, enrichment is their freedom.

Every day, the orangutans in our care need stimulation, challenge, comfort, and opportunities to express their natural behaviours. Enrichment is the thread that ties all of this together – it keeps their minds active, their instincts alive, and their spirits strong.

Montana’s story: A life transformed by enrichment

Many of you know Montana; he was rescued as a tiny infant after his mother was killed when shot out of a tree while holding him. As a result, Montana has terrible injuries – he is blind in one eye, riddled with shotgun pellets, and is permanently lame and unable to walk. Montana can never be released permanently back to the wild. But through years of carefully designed enrichment, Montana learned to explore, problem solve and reconnect with the world around him. Enrichment didn’t just improve Montana’s life. It gave him back a sense of self.

While Montana now lives in a “haha”, a forested island sanctuary – the ultimate form of enrichment – we have many other orangutans in our care just like him who cannot be released and will rely on enrichment for mental stimulation, comfort, and emotional security for the rest of their lives.

Montana’s story is a reminder that even when an orangutan cannot return to the wild, they can still experience a life filled with meaning, if we provide the enrichment they need.

A different kind of freedom

For orangutans who cannot return to the forest, enrichment becomes their version of freedom. It is the freedom to explore, the freedom to think, and the freedom to choose. It is the freedom to express their wild nature, and control their own wellbeing, even within the boundaries of lifelong care.

This is why enrichment is not simply an activity, it is how we ensure that unreleasable orangutans continue to grow, learn, and experience joy, even when their journey will never take them permanently back to the forest.

Your support this EOFY makes an immediate and lasting difference

The OFI Enrichment Team, led by Ibu Maryanti, does an extraordinary job providing daily enrichment for every orangutan in our care. As the number of orangutans requiring support continues to grow, so too do the demands on the team. Enrichment activities must be delivered every single day, come rain, hail, or shine, and require constant creativity, the collection of natural materials from the forest, specialised equipment, and the unwavering commitment of the dedicated OFI staff.

To ensure this vital work can continue and expand to meet future needs, we urgently need to upgrade our infrastructure and construct a larger, purpose-built enrichment facility. This new building will provide the space and resources needed to support our enrichment team as they continue enhancing the wellbeing, development, and rehabilitation of the orangutans in our care.

Why we need your help

Your EOFY gift will help us continue to provide daily behavioural enrichment for more than 270 orangutans, ensure our unreleasable orangutans receive lifelong mental and emotional support, support vital infrastructure upgrades to house enrichment equipment and supplies, and upgrade our playgrounds to maintain safe, stimulating environments.

Your generosity today ensures we can continue offering the mental stimulation, comfort, and dignity these orangutans deserve.

We urgently need your support!

Please make a tax-deductible EOFY gift today to enrich the lives of the orangutans who depend on us.

Your kindness and compassion protects their mental health and gives them the freedom to be who they are, whether they are able to be returned to the wild or not.

In Australia, all donations over $2 are tax deductible. With the end of financial year upon us, there is no better time to donate!

Thank you from the team at OFI Australia. We are so incredibly grateful for your continued support.

Donate now