Orangutan diary
Encyclopedia
Orangutan Diary is a nature documentary
series on the BBC
, which follows the lives of Bornean Orangutan
s in the care of Lone Drøscher Nielsen, a member of the Borneo Orangutan Survival
(BOS) foundation. The program tries to detail the threat that the orangutans face in day to day life. The presenters Michaela Strachan
and Steve Leonard
follow the careers of the orangutans daily to see what the centre has to deal with.
The centre was founded in 1994, a year after Lone Dröscher Nielsen
permanently moved to Borneo
. She could see what effect the palm oil
plantations were having on the orangutans, so then founded the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project, which now is the largest ape rescue project in the world.
The first series aired on BBC One
in April 2007 and the second series on BBC Two
in March 2009. Both series are available as DVDs
in Stranraer
, Scotland
. His medical expertise with humans, he says, can for the most part be transferred to his work with orangutans: "their anatomy is very similar and their systems work, in most cases, practically the same as ours."
Each episode is 60 minutes long.
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
series on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, which follows the lives of Bornean Orangutan
Bornean Orangutan
The Bornean orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus, is a species of orangutan native to the island of Borneo. Together with the slightly smaller Sumatran orangutan, it belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia....
s in the care of Lone Drøscher Nielsen, a member of the Borneo Orangutan Survival
Borneo Orangutan Survival
The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation is an Indonesian non-profit NGO founded by Dr Willie Smits in 1991 and dedicated to the conservation of the endangered Bornean Orangutan and its habitat through the involvement of local people...
(BOS) foundation. The program tries to detail the threat that the orangutans face in day to day life. The presenters Michaela Strachan
Michaela Strachan
Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan is an English television presenter.-Personal life:Strachan attended Claremont Fan Court School, Esher, a Christian Science school. Later, while at college, she briefly held jobs as an Avon lady and as a kissogram...
and Steve Leonard
Steve Leonard
Stephen "Steve" Leonard is a British veterinarian and television personality.-Early life:Leonard's family moved to Cheshire, from Northern Ireland, when he was six weeks old....
follow the careers of the orangutans daily to see what the centre has to deal with.
The centre was founded in 1994, a year after Lone Dröscher Nielsen
Lone Dröscher Nielsen
Lone Drøscher Nielsen is a wildlife conservationist. She was born and grew up in Aalborg, Denmark. She encountered her first orangutan while volunteering as a fourteen-year-old at Aalborg zoo...
permanently moved to Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. She could see what effect the palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
plantations were having on the orangutans, so then founded the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project, which now is the largest ape rescue project in the world.
The first series aired on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in April 2007 and the second series on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in March 2009. Both series are available as DVDs
Series one
Each episode is 30 minutes long.- Episode 1: Steve Leonard rescues a tiny orangutan and Michaela visits a forest school.
- Episode 2: Michaela Strachan and Steve Leonard help three organgutan babies learn how to behave like wild animals.
- Episode 3: There is tragedy at the rescue centre when a newly arrived baby fights for its life.
- Episode 4: Steve Leonard has an emotionally charged experience trying to rescue a baby orangutan.
- Episode 5: Steve Leonard rescues a big female who has dislocated her ankle fleeing from her captors.
Series two
The second series also features Dr David Irons who has taken timeout from his work at the accident and emergency department of the Galloway Community HospitalGalloway Community Hospital
The Galloway Community Hospital is an NHS hospital in the town of Stranraer, Galloway, Scotland. Opened on a partial basis in September 2006 , being fully opened by October 2007....
in Stranraer
Stranraer
Stranraer is a town in the southwest of Scotland. It lies in the west of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire.Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. His medical expertise with humans, he says, can for the most part be transferred to his work with orangutans: "their anatomy is very similar and their systems work, in most cases, practically the same as ours."
Each episode is 60 minutes long.
- Episode 1: Mama Abut and her baby, found starving, get another chance in the wild heart of Borneo.
- Episode 2: The Rescue Team fights to save a young orangutan held illegally in a tiny crate.
- Episode 3: Sumanto's health takes a turn for the worse, and Angelie returns at last.
- Episode 4: Noddy starts at Forest School and Hercules enjoys a taste of freedom.
- Episode 5: The team release 25 rescued orangutans including Mama Pika and her baby.
- Episode 6: Reviewing the previous episodes and looking again at the plight of the orangutan and the work of the centre.
See also
- Orangutan IslandOrangutan IslandOrangutan Island is a documentary television series, in the style of the hugely successful series Meerkat Manor, that blends more traditional documentary filming with dramatic narration. The series was produced by NHNZ with creator Judith Curran also acting as the series producer...
- The Disenchanted ForestThe Disenchanted ForestThe Disenchanted Forest is an award-winning 1999 film that follows endangered orphan orangutans on the island of Borneo as they are rehabilitated and returned to their rainforest home. It centres on the three main Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation projects - Wanariset, Nyaru Menteng and Mawas....
- The Burning SeasonThe Burning Season (2008 film)The Burning Season is a documentary about the burning of rainforests in Indonesia which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008. The main characters featured in the film are: Dorjee Sun from Australia; Achmadi, a small-scale palm oil farmer from Jambi province in Indonesia; and Lone Drøscher...