Images of an Orangutan attempting to hunt fish by using a stick as a spear. Hmmm... we're so far above them, are we?
If you watch Orangutan Island, as I do (my two favorite reality shows don't involve people at all), you've already things very similar to this (although not exactly this - this is the diamond on the crown, so far). You've also seen Orangutans like this one laughing, playing, sharing, and slowly developing a social structure. These primates are typically solitary, but since their habitat is being destroyed, they are attempting to get these rescued Orangutans to form a society, which would make it possible for them to live in a smaller range.
This is just one more bit of evidence that we need to recognize that we humans in our great "rationality" are not as superior as so many think we are (I'm talking to you, Kantians, Pragmatists and fundagelicals). We need to recognize that these amazing and beautiful creatures deserve respect.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Oh How Close We Are
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
The orangutan pictured is just one of hundreds living at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, which is operated by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation in Borneo (Indonesia).
Kaja is a small island in the middle of the Rongan River where several dozen orangutans are living until they can be released back into a safe section of the rainforest. The problem is that due to the unchecked spreading of palm oil plantations, the forest is being cut down and orangutans are being slaughtered. This orangutan, like the 650 others at Nyaru Menteng, is an orphan. He watched as his mother was murdered and his forest home was destroyed.
You can see him and the others on the series “Orangutan Island’ on Animal Planet.
Because of deforestation by the palm oil industry, orangutans are predicted to be extinct in the wild in less than 10 years. To learn more about orangutans and how to help them, please visit the Orangutan Outreach website at redapes.org.
Thanks, Rich
Richard Zimmerman
Director, Orangutan Outreach
http://redapes.org
Reach out and save the orangutans!
Post a Comment