Dr. BIRUTÉ MARY GALDIKAS on Orangutan Refugees in Their Own Land /93

Palm oil has become the second-most valued oil after petroleum, and 85% of all produced and exported palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia, making them the largest producers of palm oil worldwide. According to The Nature Conservancy, forest loss, largely for palm oil concessions, in Indonesia has contributed to the death of nearly 3,000 orangutans a year over the past three decades. At our current rate of destruction, It is predicted that orangutans will face complete extinction by 2050. This week we are joined by Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, a globally renowned anthropologist, conservationist, and orangutan researcher. She has been researching and working with wild and wild-born ex-captive orangutans for nearly half a century. With the exception of Dr. Jane Goodall, she has conducted the longest continuous study of any wild population of animals in the history of science. She has published four books, including her biography Reflections of Eden.