As Great Apes, Orangutans are closely related to humans, gorillas and chimpanzees. In this class, we will look at orangutan behavioral characteristics, social structure, diet, reproduction, parenting, communication skills, intelligence, and their status in the wild. We will also remember their great champion, Dr. Birute Galdikas, who spent over 50 years studying and advocating for orangutans in Indonesian Borneo. She was the last and least known of anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey’s “trimate angels”. Dr. Leakey recruited Dr. Jane Goodall to study chimpanzees, Dr. Dian Fossey to study gorillas, and, lastly, Dr. Galdikas to study orangutans. We will look at the many challenges Dr. Galdikas faced during her study, her findings, and her fight to save this iconic species. Then, I'll take listeners to Malaysian Borneo where my wife and I observed orangutans in the wild in the summer of 2026.
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