Article
©FOUR PAWS I Nanang Sujana

How to Save a Baby Orangutan

The story of an orphaned baby orangutan and an infographic about the importance of rainforests.  

From the September 2019 Issue

Learning Objective: to synthesize information from a nonfiction article and an infographic about the causes and effects of rainforest destruction

Lexile: 980L (combined)
Other Key Skills: key ideas and details, tone

Story Navigation

AS YOU READ

As you read the articles and study the images, think about the challenges orangutans face.    

How to Save a Baby Orangutan

When a baby orangutan was left for dead in the rainforest, a team of humans raced to save him. 

G erhana lay in the dirt—sick, starving, and alone. Death was closing in.

Just a few months earlier, the baby orangutan had been a healthy newborn, clinging to his mother’s side as she swung through the trees in the lush rainforests of Borneo, an island in Southeast Asia. All around them, the bright-green jungle burst with life. Flying squirrels glided from tree to tree as fluffy brown monkeys perched in the branches. Lizards the size of crocodiles darted across the forest floor as gem-colored frogs leaped through the mud and leopards hunted their dinner. Each night, Gerhana and his mother snuggled together in a comfy nest of leaves high in the treetops.

But then one day, disaster struck.

Gerhana’s mother was killed, probably shot by a hunter hired to keep orangutans away from crops.

Sadly, this scenario is not uncommon, as more and more of the rainforest where orangutans live is destroyed. Since the 1980s, about 30 percent of Borneo’s rainforests have been cleared by humans. Hundreds of millions of trees have been cut down for timber, coal mines, and palm oil plantations. (Palm oil is found in many foods and products, from pizza dough and chocolate to shampoo and toothpaste.)

For orangutans like Gerhana, this deforestation is a catastrophe. Orangutans survive on the fruit and plants the rainforest produces, so as their habitat shrinks, so does their source of food. To avoid starvation, the apes wander into places where humans live, looking for something to eat. But many humans see the orangutans as pests—like roaches and rats—and kill them.

Without his mother, Gerhana stood little chance of survival in the wild. For the first seven or so years of life, a baby orangutan is completely dependent on its mother. The two are inseparable as the mother helps her baby learn critical skills, such as how to find food, swing through the trees, and build a nest to sleep in.

Orphaned babies are doomed. Some starve. Many others are illegally captured and sold to private zoos, where they are forced to live in captivity.

No one is sure exactly what happened to Gerhana after his mother died, but it is likely that he stayed by her side. Only six months old and unable to climb trees by himself, Gerhana would have been stranded. All he could have done was cry out—miserable, starving, and alone.

But help was on the way. 

Racing to Help

©Jejak Pulang | FOUR PAWS | James Mepham (Dr. Signe Preuschoft)

Dr. Signe Preuschoft, founder of the Four Paws Forest School

On January 30, 2018, a farmer called the local authorities and told them there was a baby orangutan—Gerhana—in his garden. The authorities picked Gerhana up and took him back to their headquarters. Gerhana needed medical attention—fast. He was dangerously underweight, dehydrated, and feverish. He also had no hair, a sign of malnutrition.

Fortunately, the authorities had a plan. They contacted the Four Paws International Orangutan Forest School. At this extraordinary place in the heart of the rainforest, primatologist Dr. Signe Preuschoft and her staff care for orphaned orangutans.

The Forest School immediately dispatched a team to pick up Gerhana. The baby orangutan was terrified and clung tightly to Yuli, a Forest School caregiver, for the entire 6-hour ride to the school. After they arrived, Yuli and the other caregivers sprang to action. They worked around the clock—feeding and hydrating Gerhana, giving him medicine and belly rubs—to keep him alive. 

Important Skills

©Jejak Pulang | FOUR PAWS | James Mepham (caregivers)

Forest School caregivers holding three orphaned orangutans

As the days went by, Gerhana’s strength returned.

It was clear that he would survive. With his health stabilized, it was time for Gerhana to start his “lessons.”

In the wild, baby orangutans learn critical survival skills by observing and imitating their mothers. At the Forest School, baby orangutans learn in much the same way, but instead of watching their mothers, they watch their human caregivers. For example, in the wild, Gerhana might have seen his mother peel the bark away from a tree and eat the nutritious fibers underneath. At the school, human caregivers showed Gerhana how to do this. (Baby orangutans at the Forest School also learn by observing the older orangutans.)

As time goes on, the caregivers give the young apes more time to explore the forest on their own. Ultimately, once the orangutans are healthy, fully grown, and independent, they are released back into the wild where they belong. But this process can take 10 years or longer.

Cheeky Grin

©FOUR PAWS (Gerhana)

Gerhana shortly after his rescue

As much as the Forest School is doing for orangutans, the problem is bigger than the school can solve on its own. Since 1950, orangutan populations have declined by about 80 percent, and orangutans are now in danger of extinction. There are laws in place to prevent deforestation, but, Preuschoft says, more must be done to enforce them.

If you want to help orangutans, here’s what conservation organizations like the Rainforest Action Network suggest: Write to your favorite brands and ask them what they are doing to ensure the palm oil in their products is being produced in a way that does not harm rainforests.

Preuschoft points out that protecting orangutans benefits more than just orangutans. Borneo’s rainforest is one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. If humans protect the rainforest for orangutans, says Preuschoft, they will indirectly protect thousands of other important plants and animals.

As for Gerhana, he is now a thriving 2-year-old, with a voracious appetite and a coat of bright red hair. He loves to play and is well known around the school for his “cheeky grin.”

Preuschoft isn’t surprised by Gerhana’s remarkable recovery. “That’s typical of orangutans,” she says. “They are very resilient.”

Gerhana still has a lot to learn though. Fortunately, his many human moms and dads will be at his side, helping him every step of the way.    

Why We Need Rainforests   

The world’s rainforests are disappearing. Here’s why we have to save them.    

© SaveJungle/Shutterstock.com (background); Jim McMahon/Mapman® (globe); NotionPic/Shutterstock.com (foliage); Puckung/Shutterstock.com (lumber); RedKoala/Shutterstock.com (coal); popicon/Shutterstock.com (ranches); Almieva Raikhan/Shutterstock.com (farms); RealVector/Shutterstock.com (water); Flat.Icon/Shutterstock.com (climate); Rashad Ashur/Shutterstock.com (food); Sylverarts Vectors/Shutterstock.com (medicine)  

This article was originally published in the September 2019 issue.

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Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

1. PREPARING TO READ

2. READING AND DISCUSSING

3. SKILL BUILDING AND WRITING

Differentiated Writing Prompts
For Struggling Readers

In a well-organized paragraph, name two ways in which rainforests are important and describe two threats they face. Use details from the article and the infographic in your answer.

For Advanced Readers

Why are rainforests an important part of our environment, and why should they be protected? Answer in an essay, drawing on the article, the infographic, and two other sources.

CUSTOMIZED PERFORMANCE TASKS
For Creative Writers

Retell Gerhana’s story from his point of view. Imagine how he must have felt and what he must have thought about his experiences.

For Journalists

Imagine that you are a journalist and you’re going to interview Dr. Signe Preuschoft about her work with orangutans at the Four Paws Forest School. Make a list of questions you will ask her.

Literature Connection: Texts that explore the relationship between humans and the natural world

The Race to Save the Lord God Bird
by Phillip Hoose (nonfiction)

Hoot 
by Carl Hiaasen (novel)

"Conservation as a National Duty" 
by Theodore Roosevelt (speech)

Text-to-Speech