by Phyllis Cacciotti
MANITOULIN—On September 29 the Manitoulin Nature Club (MNC) was very fortunate to have Leif Cocks as a presenter on Zoom—all the way from Perth, Australia. There were 15 people present in person and 24 who joined on Zoom which was fantastic!
The Orangutan Project was established in 1998 by founder and world-renowned orangutan expert, Leif Cocks, as a result of his almost 30-year career working with orangutans. Leif is a passionate campaigner for orangutans and has been the leader of The Orangutan Project since its inception.
Leif’s years in the field have earned him respect within the conservation field. He has been a key player in developing conservation plans for orangutans and influencing positive change for their protection and survival. This includes the first ever successful reintroduction of the zoo-born orangutan. This respect has given The Orangutan Project world standing in conservation.
A small population biologist and curator by trade, Leif has several academic qualifications, including a Masters of Science in the study of orangutans. He is a seasoned public speaker and has published several papers on orangutans in peer-reviewed journals. He is also the author of the books ‘Orangutans and their Battle for Survival’ (2002) and Amazon best seller ‘Orangutans My Cousins, My Friends’ (2016) and ‘Finding our Humanity’ (2019).
Amongst many roles, Mr. Cocks is currently a technical advisor for PT Alam Bukit Tigapublu (a company leasing and protecting rainforest), head of International Elephant Project, head of International Tiger Project, vice president of Orang Utan Republik Foundation and on the advisory board for Forest, Nature and Environment of Aceh.
The Orangutan Project’s key mission is to ensure that endangered wild orangutan species in Borneo and Sumatra, will be protected against extinction and will continue to live in secure populations for generations to come.
Since its formation in 1998, the project has contributed more than $22 million directly into orangutan conservation projects and has earned a reputation amongst its partners and donors for being financially responsible and transparent.
In 2017 at the annual general meeting, a motion was passed that The Australian Orangutan Project Incorporated would become Wildlife Conservation International Limited, the umbrella organization of The Orangutan project, International Elephant Project and the International Tiger Project.
It was truly fascinating to hear Leif speak of these beautiful primates’ ‘personhood,’ the fact that they recognize themselves and others, can project themselves in the past and future (similar to humans) and are self-secure in their psychology becoming friends with humans because they like them. They are non-violent creatures and there is not a single case of an orangutan killing a human.
They will act after mulling things over and I don’t think anyone present will forget Leif’s screwdriver analogy; orangutans will use a screwdriver to escape whereas other primates will use it for violence or copulation! They are geniuses in the rainforest and are capable of mapping out the fruit trees using a temporal spatial map.
The mothers truly love their offspring and are extremely nurturing, suckling their babies for as long as eight years. Females lead a semi-solitary lifestyle with a couple of their offspring while the large males live alone.
Man has proven to the be biggest predator of orangutans. Crime syndicates that are buying up and destroying the rainforest pose the largest danger with illegal logging in forests under management by timber, palm oil and mining companies.
A self-aware being, as intelligent as a six-year-old child, the drive of orangutans into extinction is an individual story of horror as they are macheted and burnt alive as an agricultural pest. Being the slowest reproducing species in the world, they are highly prone to extinction, so if we do not act now, we could lose them in our lifetime, with the next 10 years being absolutely critical.
Over 100,000 orangutans have been slaughtered in Borneo alone and 5,000 a year are killed on an ongoing basis. The illegal pet trade is also a factor in their survival in the rainforests. Their natural lifespan in the wild is into their 60s and a major undertaking by the Orangutan Project is reintroducing captive orangutans into the wild after teaching them the skills to survive.
Extinction in the wild is likely within the next 10 years for Sumatran orangutans and soon after for Bornean orangutans. Both the Sumatran species (Pongo abelii) and the Bornean species (Pongo pygmaeus) are classified as critically endangered according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
orangutan expert project who established The Orangutan Project in 1998.
The name orangutan means, “man of the forest” in the Malay language and given all we know about their intelligence and beauty, these creatures truly deserve to live in freedom and dignity in their natural habitat. We are very fortunate to have dedicated people like Leif Cocks in the world of conservation!
