14 May 2008
Thinkers of the Jungle: orangutans
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Dr Willie Smits
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Willie Smits is a Dutch born tropical rainforest ecologist who formed the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation in 1991 to purchase land in South East Asia for nature reserves and rehabilitate orangutans back into the wild.
Since then he's worked tirelessly to protect the species from extinction.
He tells the story about his first encounter with an orangutan and his deep respect for these 'thinkers of the jungle' which share 97% of their DNA with humans.
But if more tropical forests are lost to palm oil plantations, then the species may not survive in the wild beyond a decade.
Guests
Dr Willie Smits
Founder of Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS)
Further Information
Borneo Orangutan Survival (Australia)
Publications
Title: Thinkers of the Jungle: the Orangutan Report
Author: Willie Smits, Gerd Schuster and Jay Ullal
Publisher: h.f. ullman
Presenter
Richard Aedy
Producer
Amanda Armstrong
Story Researcher and Producer
Amanda Armstrong
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