Orangutan Heros

Patti Ragan, Founder of the Center for Great Apes (Center for Orangutan and Chimpanzee Conservation) which has been providing a sanctuary in the United States for orangutans since 1993.  Their mission states,

“The Center for Great Apes’ mission is to provide a permanent sanctuary in a safe and enriching environment for orangutans and chimpanzees in need of permanent lifetime care.

The Center maintains these animals in a safe and enriching habitat in accordance with state and federal regulations and in fact exceeds state requirements. 

The Center also provides a resource center for students of primatology, anthropology, zoology, and other related subjects; as well as education programs for the public.  These programs inform the community about these endangered primates and their need for conservation in the wild as well as their need for protection in captivity.”

The center has expanded since opening in 1993 to be 100 acres.  It currently has ten large domed enclosures which are surrounded by a tropical forest setting. 

The orangutans 34 feet high enclosure is tall enough to allow even the adults space and height to swing through their habitat.  Each of the domed habitats has attached nighthouses that are furnished appropriately to allow the apes to sleep at night and rest during the day. 

The apes also have an elevated tunnel system (the Boswell “Walk-About” Chute System) connecting all the enclosures so they can travel around their tropical forest.  They even have edible browse planted under and near the chute system so the orangutans can forage for their own browse during the day!

Best of all the center does not allow the general public to “look” at the orangutans and they do not breed the orangutans or any of their apes.

  We Love You Patti!  You are our HERO!

Read about and see all the work Patti has accomplished since she founded the center at 

 Center for Great Apes

P.S.  This wonderful lady has dedicated years of her life to improve the living conditions of orangutans in the United States.  Shouldn’t you take some time and send those orangutans some of your love through a donation?

—————————————————————–

Dr. David Irons MB ChB MRCGP has been a medical doctor for 20 years.  He is presently working with Lone at the BOS center in Borneo.  Not only is he using his medical knowledge to help out but he has been helping to build the orangutans climbing and feeding platforms.

What brought him to Nyaru Menteng?   He read that BOS was looking for £3000 to buy an area of forest for rescued orangutans.  He stepped up and donated the money for the project.  Although Nyaru Menteng rarely accepts volunteers they made an exception with Dr. Irons and he began working with their orangutans.  I’m sure he must be a very exceptional doctor and we are very fortunate he is volunteering his precious time at the center.  His work is very important and may well help improve the lives of orangutans everywhere.

  We love you Dr. Irons!  You are our Hero!

Read about his experiences working with Lone at 

P.S.  Dr. Irons is donating his precious time for the orangutans.  Shouldn’t you donate that $10 a month and adopt an orangutan?

 ———————————————————————– 

Lone Droscher-Nielson was a SAS flight attendant from Aalborg, Denmark and now manages the largest primate project in the world.

It began when she vacationed at a compound in Borneo’s Tanjung Puting National Park 14 years ago.  She said she had no choice after she saw the malnourished, intelligent, childlike orangutans with outstretched hands and pleading eyes.  She had to save them.

She founded the Nyaru Menteng Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in 1999 and makes her home there with her beloved orangutans. 

There are over 600 orangutans to be cared for at the Center so Lone’s job is literally never done.  Between taking care of the orangutans, administration of the center and fundraising she is on duty or on call around the clock. 

Her sleeping quarters are very close to the orphaned babies nursery and she is often awakened at night by their cries for their dead mothers many of whom they watched murdered before their very eyes.  At one time she not only worked all day but got up with the little ones to feed them at night.  Thankfully, now there are two babysitters that work through the night soothing the tiny ones when they wake frightened and feeding them as their mothers would if they had lived.

In fact, there are now over 100 employees at the center which include veterinarians, lab technicians, cooks and orangutan nannies.

  We love you Lone!  You are our HERO!

Learn more about this remarkable lady at .