Saving The Last Orangs-Outangs | Borneo & Sumatra Wildlife Rescue

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:39]There exists a forgotten paradise inhabited by amazing creatures.

[00:00:45]But this forgotten world is disappearing.

[00:00:48]It's terrible.

[00:00:49]You can hear the sound of chainsaws in the distance.

[00:00:52]I spent time with people who are fighting to save the forest and their most endangered inhabitants, the orangutans.

[00:00:59]Today, the species' last survivors are only found on two islands, Borneo and Sumatra.

[00:01:06]The fight between man and nature seems unfair, but for the orangutans, it's not over yet.

[00:01:12]There's still hope.

[00:02:03]For this young orangutan with no strength left in her body, it might be the end of a long nightmare.

[00:02:14]Already six hours of driving behind and the road ahead to the village of Saydaka is still long for the veterinary patrol.

[00:02:24]Carmele Sanchez, a Spanish vet, leads operations like this one every week, but she never gets used to it.

[00:02:32]Often it's someone living in a small village who has turned in his neighbor.

[00:02:41]In this house over there, there is an amount of captivity because it's up in dangerous places.

[00:02:47]It's completely forbidden here and illegal to have an orangutan as a pet.

[00:02:51]But it's quite usual here, unfortunately.

[00:02:55]And it's like even a sign of wealth, a sign of success, like to have a car or a nice car, something like that.

[00:03:05]There's no way of knowing if the orangutan is still alive.

[00:03:08]For the team, the few seconds that separate them from the house seem endless.

[00:03:23]Senor Angutan, about three years old.

[00:03:26]Two and a half maybe.

[00:03:29]I think it's a girl.

[00:03:31]How does she look?

[00:03:32]Most of the time they normally look much worse.

[00:03:35]I think the stomach is a bit bloated.

[00:03:40]Sometimes because they don't get the right food and also because probably it's got worms.

[00:03:52]For the past two years, this baby called Cindy by her owner has been a prisoner in this little cage.

[00:03:59]She's never been let out.

[00:04:03]Cindy's fate is far from clear.

[00:04:05]To force the owner to give her up, police and the rangers back up the rescuers.

[00:04:16]One day an illegal logger gave me this baby orangutan.

[00:04:19]He told me it fell from the branch of a tree he was cutting down.

[00:04:22]I didn't really know how to take care of it, so I gave it to my aunt.

[00:04:26]She took pity on the animal and became attached to it.

[00:04:29]She cared for it and looked after it until today.

[00:04:33]Do you think we can believe this?

[00:04:36]It's impossible that a baby orangutan falls from his or her mother because they cling on to their mother very strongly.

[00:04:44]And a mother will never leave a baby behind.

[00:04:48]So the story is always the same.

[00:04:50]They kill the mother, they take the baby.

[00:04:52]And why did they kill the mother?

[00:04:54]Normally they eat the orangutans and they keep the babies and they keep them as pets or they sell them.

[00:05:02]On the Indonesian market, a baby orangutan can fetch up to more than $1,000.

[00:05:08]That's a fortune to this family of modest means.

[00:05:13]After half an hour of negotiations, the family accepts to give up Cindy and only receives a warning.

[00:05:27]Cindy Cindy Cindy Cindy Cindy Cindy Cindy He stays so long in his cage, but now he's afraid to go out.

[00:05:37]Rescuing an animal like Cindy feels like saving a small piece of innocence.

[00:05:42]A part of this savage world which fades with each passing day.

[00:05:58]Oh, sweetie.

[00:05:59]We go home?

[00:06:06]Now, Cindy will have to handle the 10-hour ride to Karmalei's refuge.

[00:06:10]What lies ahead for her in this rehabilitation center?

[00:06:14]Will she return to her forest one day?

[00:06:24]Kamil has just given the medicine to Cindy.

[00:06:27]We don't know yet if she's in good health or not.

[00:06:30]She seems to have a problem with her stomach.

[00:06:32]She's just holding her stomach all the time.

[00:06:34]And we have to rush because the center is at six hours from here.

[00:06:39]And Cindy becomes under stress and a little bit aggressive.

[00:06:46]What's going on in Cindy's head?

[00:06:48]Is she curious?

[00:06:50]Frightened?

[00:06:51]Does she recognize the forest that she was ripped from?

[00:06:55]The trip is long.

[00:06:56]It's the first of many breaks.

[00:07:08]It's really encouraging because at each break she's getting better and better and she seems to be more confident also so that's really positive.

[00:07:23]Everything around her is a new discovery, unknown, and probably a little scary, too.

[00:07:35]Like all young her age, Cindy should have spent the first years of her life next to her mother.

[00:07:42]Of all the great apes, orangutans have the longest education, eight years.

[00:07:53]These years are vital in an orangutan's life.

[00:08:12]By imitating her mother's gestures, a young orangutan learns to recognize the 2,500 species of trees and the 5,000 varieties of plants.

[00:08:22]They feed her and keep her healthy.

[00:08:30]An orangutan will also learn that to avoid predators, they should never descend to the ground.

[00:08:53]Education, a mother's love, tenderness.

[00:08:57]Cindy has had no time to experience these things.

[00:09:05]Humans changed her destiny, and today, they threaten an entire species.

[00:09:33]More and more people, less and less space.

[00:09:37]To satisfy the bulimia of our consumer society, sacrifices are made.

[00:09:42]In Indonesia, we level forests to plant palm trees and make palm oil.

[00:09:48]This oil is present in most food and cosmetic products.

[00:09:53]A very lucrative business, which makes some people very wealthy, at the expense of the lives of others.

[00:10:07]Arriving at Karmelay's, it's clear that the tragedy is very real.

[00:10:12]The vision of all these caged animals is like an electroshock.

[00:10:20]There are Sindhis everywhere.

[00:10:23]The refuge has only been active for three months, and Karmelay has already taken in 12 orphans in need.

[00:10:29]There's no more room.

[00:10:43]You don't have any clinic here?

[00:10:45]No, not yet.

[00:10:46]We are hoping to have one but right now this is what we have.

[00:10:58]A quick checkup and an anti-parasitic shot.

[00:11:01]That's all Carmela can do for the moment.

[00:11:07]As they wait to see what is wrong with Cindy, the baby orangutan is put into quarantine so that she doesn't contaminate the other residents.

[00:11:29]After rescue, do you feel relieved?

[00:11:32]You know, at least you saved one of them.

[00:11:34]Well, for now it's difficult to say that I'm relieved.

[00:11:39]I know that we have moved her from one cage to another bigger cage.

[00:11:44]So it's still a very long process when she has to be rehabilitated and learn.

[00:11:50]how to live in the forest and then release back into the wild.

[00:11:53]Then in that moment I would feel relieved and I would feel that we have really rescued her.

[00:12:02]The only crime these prisoners committed was to cross the path of humans.

[00:12:13]What do these extremely intelligent animals, capable of reason and thought, feel?

[00:12:20]Some will never get over the trauma.

[00:12:25]Helen is an orangutan we still have in our center.

[00:12:29]She was rescued from a palm plantation.

[00:12:33]They killed the mother.

[00:12:34]They ate the mother.

[00:12:36]They beat her up and they tied her up on a stick.

[00:12:40]They kept her like this.

[00:12:44]It's really sad because it's not only that we are wiping out species.

[00:12:49]But it's also that we are making them suffer so much.

[00:12:52]And I think they are so similar to humans, you know.

[00:12:56]They feel pain and they feel depressed.

[00:12:59]And they feel many of the feelings that we also feel.

[00:13:03]And why do you think people are so cruel here?

[00:13:06]I think people are not more cruel here.

[00:13:08]It's that they just don't care.

[00:13:11]Sometimes I wonder if I will be able to keep up.

[00:13:17]To stop the massacre.

[00:13:18]The choice is clear.

[00:13:19]The Last Forests must be protected.

[00:13:27]This morning, there is a commando mission with the Rangers of Commander Waryanto.

[00:13:32]Target, clandestine loggers who illegally destroy the orangutans' habitat.

[00:13:39]According to the information, the illegal logger is somewhere there, in the middle of the rainforest.

[00:13:45]That's the road that they use to bring back the wood to the city.

[00:13:49]Now it's a waste against time because villagers may have seen our cars and they're going to alert the traffickers with our presence.

[00:14:07]So here is a truck that has just been abandoned.

[00:14:08]It's probably a log.

[00:14:10]They saw the car and they left, they ran away.

[00:14:13]Oh yes, there is wood there.

[00:14:17]There is a lot of precious wood.

[00:14:18]There are the finishers in floorboards or in furniture.

[00:14:27]The goal is really to discourage the log-makers.

[00:14:30]They will confiscate the log.

[00:14:34]They will probably come back, but at least every time, it makes them lose money and that's how we can fight deforestation.

[00:14:43]On one side we destroy, on the other we protect.

[00:14:46]It's a war that opposes man to himself.

[00:14:50]There are those who think only of the present and those who want to construct the future.

[00:14:56]Saving our forests is just as vital for the orangutans as it is for the humans.

[00:15:00]...as it is for us.

[00:15:05]This is terrible.

[00:15:07]Devastating.

[00:15:08]All these are illegal somials.

[00:15:10]We have cut down everything.

[00:15:16]There's no one left.

[00:15:17]We got here too late.

[00:15:18]There's nothing left.

[00:15:19]Nothing.

[00:15:31]They're nearby.

[00:15:33]We need to be quiet.

[00:15:34]They're right there.

[00:15:41]We have to move Yeah Hey, hey, hey, hey, Among the group of illegal loggers working here, Ramat, 20, is the only one who didn't manage to escape.

[00:16:14]He runs a big risk because we are near the entrance to a protected national park.

[00:16:37]What are you doing?

[00:16:38]I just finished 2 days of work I swear to God You are lying I swear to God He ran He ran and you ran too?

[00:16:45]Yes, I know that Why do you work here?

[00:17:03]I know it's illegal, but I don't have the choice.

[00:17:06]I need money to pay for my studies.

[00:17:08]How much do you earn?

[00:17:10]About 60,000 rupees per cubic meter.

[00:17:15]And how many cubic meters can you do in two days?

[00:17:18]In a day, you can do at least eight.

[00:17:22]Rahmat took all these risks to earn $250 a month, two times the average Indonesian salary.

[00:17:30]What's going to be his sentence?

[00:17:33]The law says he can get 10 years in prison.

[00:17:36]In fact, the maximum is five years and a 10,000 rupee fine.

[00:17:40]80,000 euros according to article 41 of the forestry code.

[00:17:45]Do you think that kind of operation could stop deforestation?

[00:17:50]It's always the same.

[00:17:53]We already came here last month.

[00:17:56]We burned everything hoping to discourage them.

[00:17:59]But groups reformed and they start up again.

[00:18:08]In this poor country, riddled with corruption, these armed interventions are rare because they rock the boat.

[00:18:15]So the massacres continue.

[00:18:16]And today, Indonesia holds the sad world record for the highest percentage of deforestation.

[00:18:26]What a dramatic situation.

[00:18:29]The young boy is not responsible.

[00:18:31]He's going to pay for the overs.

[00:18:33]The problem is the people who hire them.

[00:18:35]The people who want to get money very fast.

[00:18:37]Very much money, more and more.

[00:18:40]And they know that it's not going to last.

[00:18:42]Forests are not going to last forever.

[00:18:44]So they take advantage now and they try to take everything to empty the forests.

[00:18:50]I can't stand that.

[00:18:56]5,000 orangutans disappear every year because of deforestation.

[00:19:01]Without their habitat, their food, they die of hunger or are killed.

[00:19:11]Every hour, the equivalent of 240 football fields go up in smoke.

[00:19:17]They are immediately replaced by palm oil plantations.

[00:19:21]In just 60 years, the islands of Sumatra and Borneo... have lost 70% of their forests.

[00:19:28]At this rhythm, by 2020, they will have almost completely disappeared, and the orangutans with them.

[00:19:44]The last orangutans of Sumatra took refuge in the Gunung Luzur Reserve, a paradise for all endangered animals and a model of conservation for the rest of Indonesia.

[00:20:07]Jan Singleton, a world-renowned scientist, is fighting to save these great mammals.

[00:20:18]Jan knows everyone here.

[00:20:21]He's a master at locating orangutans in their natural habitat.

[00:20:26]With him, you know you'll always have the chance for amazing encounters.

[00:20:36]This jungle is a real biodiversity hotspot.

[00:20:38]Yeah, the Lhosa forests are certainly among the richest biodiversity areas in the world.

[00:20:42]Countless other birds, reptiles, amphibians, some of which we don't even know yet.

[00:20:46]But what's really unique here is it's the only place in the world, quite ironically, that you can still find all the big mammal species out of the jungle book store you're still living together.

[00:20:56]Also of interest is that around 50% of all the drugs for sale in a European pharmacy originate from products found in these plants and animal species in forests just like these.

[00:21:06]It's quite uniquely special for them.

[00:21:09]The sounds, the smells, the light, everything here seems magical.

[00:21:16]This forest demands respect.

[00:21:19]It is at once incredibly strong and so very fragile.

[00:21:23]It's quite difficult to judge Indonesians because we have done all the same in Europe.

[00:21:28]Everywhere we get all the forest.

[00:21:31]Yeah, it's true, but I mean, now it's really hard to find original forest in England anyway, and what there is is planted forest, but here you've still got a chance to see beautiful old trees like this.

[00:21:46]In this jungle, it's man that must adapt to nature for once, and not the other way around.

[00:21:52]A good lesson in humility.

[00:21:55]Here, everything must be earned.

[00:21:59]After walking for two hours, our efforts are finally rewarded.

[00:22:06]It's moving, but it's also terrifying to realize that this is one of the last of Sumatra's orangutans.

[00:22:19]Nice, he's quite big here.

[00:22:23]How old is he?

[00:22:25]It's difficult to tell.

[00:22:27]He's gonna be at least 20, but he could be as much as... He looks like he's still pretty fit, so he's probably between 20 and 35 I guess.

[00:22:35]But he could be older.

[00:22:37]The man of the forest.

[00:22:39]Well, orang actually means person, so... This is a man.

[00:22:44]Well, that is a man of the forest, yes.

[00:22:51]It needs a lot of time and patience to be very close to them, to be accepted in their world.

[00:22:57]It's so fantastic to see them in the trees.

[00:23:02]This may be the first of the great apes on the planet to become extinct.

[00:23:11]We risk losing the forest's finest ambassadors.

[00:23:33]Orangutans are even more in danger because their birth rate is very low.

[00:23:37]On average, a female has one baby every nine years.

[00:23:42]That's not many.

[00:23:43]Not enough to make up for the species' loss.

[00:23:51]What would happen if orangutans were to disappear?

[00:23:54]You've got to remember that every species in a forest ecosystem like this has a really important role to play.

[00:23:59]These forests are not suddenly planted by someone.

[00:24:01]They're the result of the interactions of countless different species.

[00:24:05]The point is, if you lose the orangutan, OK, the forest would still survive.

[00:24:07]But if you lose the orangutan and the siamang and the hornbills, all of which are the major fruit eaters in these forests, you're going to lose most of the species that you see today.

[00:24:28]Why do you like them so much?

[00:24:28]I don't know, I guess I maybe admire their free-spiritedness, their independence.

[00:24:33]And their huge ball of red, golden hair, wandering around in the green of the forest with the sun.

[00:24:41]It's quite magical.

[00:24:56]Thank you.

[00:25:00]Who would want to live on a planet where there are no orangutans?

[00:25:10]If we allow a cousin who has more than 97% of DNA in common with us to disappear, it's likely that we will let others disappear as well.

[00:25:59]To protect the orangutans, Jan welcomes them in a center like Karmely does.

[00:26:04]But this one is much bigger.

[00:26:06]There are 50 residents.

[00:26:20]And survivors arrive every day.

[00:26:25]Like Monkey, he's been here two days.

[00:26:28]Jan's team is putting him to sleep so that they can give him a complete physical.

[00:26:41]Around Monkey's neck, there are still traces of the rope that held him prisoner.

[00:26:53]This moment seems incredible.

[00:26:55]Six people at an animal's bedside.

[00:27:00]An orangutan's life has become so precious that their good health is a priority.

[00:27:08]His fingerprints are taken, and he's given an identity.

[00:27:15]I always take a photograph of this pattern because I have a theory that this stays with them for all their life.

[00:27:20]So if we have a good record of that then we can identify the animal again just on the tooth pattern.

[00:27:27]Take it, have a go.

[00:27:30]Do another eight here.

[00:27:31]Eight?

[00:27:32]It's a difficult eight.

[00:27:40]This one is.

[00:27:41]46B93768 Finally, a chip is implanted that will help identify him if he is released one day.

[00:27:52]Most of the orangutans we get are fine, you know, they're pretty tough animals, but sometimes we get ones that have been really badly beaten up or shot or got machete injuries or whatever.

[00:28:02]Let me show you this, I'll show you what I mean here.

[00:28:07]This is Loiser. You see this is the skull.

[00:28:11]And there's two eyes.

[00:28:12]He's got two pellets in this eye and one in here.

[00:28:15]There's another one up here that's flattened on the top of the skull.

[00:28:18]And he's got a bunch of these in his throat, even in the gums.

[00:28:22]Imagine what it feels like to have pellets in your gums.

[00:28:25]But what I find hard to believe is somebody has shot him 62 times.

[00:28:30]There's still 48 bullets still in the body.

[00:28:33]Can you imagine how uncomfortable it is?

[00:28:35]I mean, we've taken some of these out, the ones that we could find from the... skin we've actually taken out but now we don't know how long he will live he may eventually have problems with lead poisoning or something like that when people shot once on an aromaton we cannot understand that but 62 times i mean how it could be possible most of the the farmers and things around indonesia they they see an orangutan and a squirrel and a rat it's the same thing they're all just animals it's just another monkey Se viva.

[00:29:17]Lusser is still alive.

[00:29:19]It's a miracle.

[00:29:21]But he is blind.

[00:29:23]He's now condemned to live out his life in a cage.

[00:29:27]We say that the great apes only lack speech.

[00:29:30]If he could speak, what would he say?

[00:29:38]Two weeks have passed since the first visit to Carmelais.

[00:29:42]Time to see how Cindy, the little orphan, is doing.

[00:29:46]Cindy is still in quarantine.

[00:29:48]Still a little bit depressed, but she feels quite better.

[00:30:03]I hope that soon Cindy will be with the other baby orangutans in the nursery.

[00:30:08]The ambience is much more relaxed there.

[00:30:22]This is the area of the baby orangutans.

[00:30:25]We bring them here because they have a few trees where they can.

[00:30:29]Ready to start practicing climbing trees and not to depend so much on being on the floor all the time.

[00:30:36]They will never touch the floor when they are this age and they are with their mothers, you know.

[00:30:41]Here they need humans, right?

[00:30:44]Well, they should be with their mothers, they should be with other orangutans.

[00:30:48]They shouldn't need humans, but because they will get too used to humans and this is difficult in terms of rehabilitating them back to the wild.

[00:30:55]Woohoo These red-haired sweeties are between eight months and three years old.

[00:31:08]Here's where they will learn to be orangutans.

[00:31:19]They'll climb, build their muscles, develop their knowledge, and most of all, try to forget their traumatic pasts.

[00:31:52]They look like human babies.

[00:31:54]Well, the difference between a human baby and an orangutan baby is not too much.

[00:31:58]Obviously, human child will develop more and their brain also will develop more.

[00:32:06]At this age, the similarities are so much that it's quite amazing to see them.

[00:32:18]This is not really the ideal place for the Rangutans to learn and to be trained in.

[00:32:23]It's just a garden.

[00:32:25]We haven't been able to get the funding to buy a piece of land where we can have some forest.

[00:32:31]But this is what we are aiming for.

[00:32:36]Karmalei lacks everything she needs to fight this battle.

[00:32:40]But she does fight with the help of a handful of volunteers.

[00:32:49]More than a thousand orangutans are packed into the dozen or so centers across Borneo and Sumatra.

[00:32:55]But what are we going to do with them?

[00:32:57]As forests become rarer, they become a luxury.

[00:33:01]Freeing all these primates is a big challenge these days.

[00:33:08]This is Angeli, this is Exos.

[00:33:11]They have been caught in an old plantation when they were only a few weeks.

[00:33:17]They never know the forest, only captivity and the quarantine center in the north of Sumatra.

[00:33:21]We are taking this... this Orontons to one of the last forests in Sumatra.

[00:33:26]There, a team of scientists are going to take care of them and reintroduce them to the forest.

[00:33:32]What's amazing is that the habitat of Orontons has been reduced so much that we need to drive three days to reach the center.

[00:33:40]It's quite tiring for them, but at the end of the road may be the hope.

[00:33:51]The center is isolated, far from curiosity seekers and anything that could disturb the animal's peace.

[00:34:02]It's necessary, because what they will experience here will determine their futures.

[00:34:09]The people who work here have given up comfort and live far away from the world in the heart of nature.

[00:34:16]Like Julia Sirigar and Amanda Frenne, who run this centre.

[00:34:21]Does she care about what she sees?

[00:34:24]No, I don't think so.

[00:34:25]She's probably very curious about all the different trees and the different sounds.

[00:34:30]But she'll settle right in shortly.

[00:34:36]For the first time in years, Angeli and Exos will spend the night in the heart of the forest, even if for the time being they are still behind bars.

[00:34:49]Do you think captivity in groups makes them feel more comfortable?

[00:34:54]Yeah, I really think it helps with that very first few days here at the center.

[00:35:00]And also when we take them out to forest school they learn a lot more when they're with their friends.

[00:35:31]For the two orangutans that arrived yesterday, it's back to school.

[00:35:36]Every morning at nine, Amanda teaches class in Forest School.

[00:35:46]Amanda isn't worried about them running away.

[00:35:48]Angeli and Exos are too inexperienced and fearful to escape.

[00:35:55]Quite heavy.

[00:36:09]Kek sauce is already in the trees.

[00:36:11]Oh yeah?

[00:36:12]So what's for listening today?

[00:36:15]These orangutans, since they were taken from the wild at such a young age, we just need to refresh their memory of what's available in the forest for when it's the dry season and food is harder to find.

[00:36:25]So we have some termite nests, some edible leaves and fruit and also some rotan.

[00:36:32]These are all things that orangutans can come across in the forest and eat.

[00:36:37]The idea is to pretend to eat what's inside the leaf so that the orangutans understand that it's edible because they learn by mimicking.

[00:36:45]So you have to open it, show it that it's edible so that it reproduces the same gesture.

[00:36:50]So during the dry season, when there are no more fruits, they will recognize this plant and they will be able to feed themselves and not starve.

[00:36:56]So here at the rehabilitation center, we show the orangutans how they can eat the termites inside the nest.

[00:37:04]So we just... pretend that we're eating them so we just stop and then the orangutans can learn what to do from us It's a little bit disgusting These orangutans definitely have a lot of work to do before they can compete with the other wild orangutans, but we're confident that they will be able to survive in the forest, and since we've taught them how to find these rare foods for when times are tough.

[00:37:45]we think they'll do well.

[00:37:57]It's a long learning process, during which the orangutans will develop their instinct.

[00:38:09]So you don't need to teach them.

[00:38:11]Yeah, at least they remember how to do.

[00:38:23]The oldest students perfect the nesting technique.

[00:38:26]And there's an art to it.

[00:38:28]Because to be able to sleep, an orangutan needs a bed.

[00:38:32]And not just any bed.

[00:38:34]The cozier, the better.

[00:38:51]In forest school, some do better than others, like Jango.

[00:38:54]Though it must be said that he's been here six years and has taken the class a few times.

[00:38:59]So he knows all the exercises by heart.

[00:39:04]Jango's a big show-off, but he's come a long way.

[00:39:08]In his former life, Jango was abused, beaten, and traumatized by his owner, a soldier.

[00:39:14]Django is nine years old.

[00:39:16]In the wild, Nohwonton is living approximately between 40 and 50 years.

[00:39:22]It means that he spends one fourth of his life in captivity.

[00:39:26]And bigger they are, more difficult it is to spend their time in a cage.

[00:39:34]Like that, he's really nice with me, but I have to be careful a little bit because he's got the strength as three men.

[00:39:49]Jango is very endearing.

[00:40:00]These are Jango's final moments in Forest School.

[00:40:03]In a few days, Amanda and Julius will give him back his freedom.

[00:40:29]Janko is finally almost ready.

[00:40:32]He still has some things to learn about umbrellas.

[00:40:36]Luckily, it's not his major degree.

[00:40:51]Orangutans aren't the only ones with lessons to learn.

[00:40:55]At the kids' school this morning, they're getting a special lesson.

[00:41:05]For the past 10 years, Panut and his team have been trying to make young people more aware of orangutans.

[00:41:11]They've already visited 500 schools, and every time the class begins in the same way.

[00:41:18]Hello, children.

[00:41:20]How are you?

[00:41:21]My name is Panut.

[00:41:24]I'm here to tell you about the orangutans of Sumatra.

[00:41:27]Have any of you already seen an orangutan?

[00:41:31]Not yet?

[00:41:32]Yes?

[00:41:33]No?

[00:41:35]Give four examples of foods that orangutans eat.

[00:41:38]A shoot.

[00:41:39]What's a shoot?

[00:41:41]A coconut shoot?

[00:41:45]Fruits?

[00:41:47]Seeds?

[00:41:49]And what else?

[00:41:52]Fried bananas?

[00:41:55]Come on, what else?

[00:41:57]Well, it looks like we have our work cut out for us.

[00:42:07]We want to live together.

[00:42:22]We want to protect people who are not of our own.

[00:42:24]People who are not like us all.

[00:42:24]We want to live together.

[00:42:25]Good.

[00:42:25]Again.

[00:42:25]Louder.

[00:42:26]All this makes me very optimistic.

[00:42:29]Children seem to have to understand the message.

[00:42:31]They discover many things on the mountains, an animal that they didn't know at all.

[00:42:35]So I think there are good reasons to hope.

[00:42:40]That Panit is Indonesian makes his effort all the more admirable.

[00:42:45]It's not just the folly of a rich Westerner.

[00:42:48]It also means that the people of Indonesia are aware of the drama that is taking place in their own country.

[00:42:54]Panit was always conscious of the environment, and then one day, he decided to dedicate his life to it.

[00:43:02]I would say nothing easy in this world, and especially for this challenge, for this fighting for the green forest, it's not that, you know, click your hand and then the problem is resolved.

[00:43:15]No, it's not like that.

[00:43:16]So it's life devotion, and I have done this since.

[00:43:22]Almost 10 years ago and I will never stop doing this.

[00:43:26]Do you think that you can change the things by education?

[00:43:31]Yeah, I believe education is the key.

[00:43:34]So I think it is important to put the foundation in everybody for the next generations to have a green attitude, to become green leaders in the future, to become green people who will stand in the front line to protect the environment.

[00:43:50]That's what we are doing now.

[00:43:57]To change their attitudes, Panit has the children replant trees in this old palm oil plantation located a few kilometers from the school.

[00:44:07]Very symbolic.

[00:44:12]The earth here was devitalized by fertilizers and pesticides.

[00:44:16]Replanting is a real challenge.

[00:44:19]Go ahead, don't be afraid to put a lot of dirt on it.

[00:44:35]It's going to be a hard work to replant everything.

[00:44:38]Yeah, people can cut down the trees in a second, but they don't really think, you know, in the future, this land, this soil can be bad for the environment.

[00:44:49]People here are quite angry with this kind of deforestation because now it's our responsibility, you know.

[00:44:56]This should be done a long time ago by people who understand that.

[00:45:00]Cutting the forest is not correct.

[00:45:10]It will take 150 years for a new forest to grow here, but Panit has won victory already.

[00:45:17]He convinced his former bosses at the plantation to work with him and help him replant.

[00:45:23]It's just the beginning, but everyone here believes that one day Orentons will be back in the forest.

[00:46:01]We have just put Django in a cage because it's a very important day for him.

[00:46:04]Today the team of SDS is going to release him.

[00:46:07]He's going to recover his freedom after eight years.

[00:46:13]Django is not the only orangutan who is going to be released today.

[00:46:17]There is also Mona.

[00:46:18]She's a female and she is six years old.

[00:46:21]She has been here for four years.

[00:46:32]Direction the Tigapula Forest.

[00:46:35]It's here, on this 140,000 hectare reserve, that animals ready for freedom are released.

[00:46:43]Historically, no wild orangutans have ever lived on this part of the island.

[00:46:48]There were only tigers and elephants.

[00:46:51]But faced with the extinction of the primates' forest, today, this place is an ideal refuge for these survivors.

[00:47:04]The trip is exhausting for us, but also for the animals.

[00:47:09]The temperature is over 110 degrees.

[00:47:12]with 98% humidity.

[00:47:20]We are going to walk for three hours in this mud, trying to avoid snakes, spiders and leeches.

[00:47:40]This spot is ideal.

[00:47:42]Surrounded by fruit trees and water, here Django and Mona will have everything they need.

[00:47:55]Do you think it's a good place?

[00:47:58]Yes, this spot's perfect.

[00:48:04]Yes, put the cage there.

[00:48:06]We're at the exact spot on the GPS.

[00:48:09]We're about eight kilometers from our scientific station.

[00:48:12]This place is really perfect.

[00:48:21]Mona takes her first step toward freedom.

[00:48:25]Go on, open it.

[00:48:27]Come on, climb.

[00:49:03]You didn't say goodbye to her.

[00:49:06]Come on Look at her eyes She's saving her freedom and soon captivity will just be a memory.

[00:49:17]Straight ahead, over there.

[00:49:22]Now, it's Django's turn.

[00:49:26]He seizes the moment for fear it might slip away.

[00:49:30]At last, he has a second chance.

[00:49:34]Go on, climb, climb Are you worried about Zyro?

[00:49:57]Yeah, I'm a little worried.

[00:49:58]Of course, we're always worried.

[00:50:00]But we don't just abandon them, trackers will follow them for several days.

[00:50:05]These six years spent at the center have made it completely independent.

[00:50:32]It's a unique moment.

[00:50:34]When I look at that, I say to myself that everything is possible.

[00:50:38]It's not too late.

[00:50:39]We still can save them.

[00:50:48]Oh Django, you come back to say goodbye to me.

[00:50:53]Goodbye and good luck, Django.

[00:50:57]It's time to go now.

[00:51:40]One month after arriving in Karmelay, Cindy has found her place in the Orangutan nursery.

[00:51:48]If the Indonesian forests don't disappear, maybe she will one day be free too, like Django and Mona.

[00:51:57]All of us can do something to save Cindy and others like her.

[00:52:01]For example, by supporting those people working in the field, and by giving up palm oil-based products.

[00:52:13]Today Cindy's health is good.

[00:52:15]And she seems almost happy.