Orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park - Borneo

Описание: I’ve just returned from Borneo, and I made a short film to share what it’s like to witness orangutans in the wild — and to highlight the people and organizations working to protect them.

Borneo is home to one of Earth’s last ancient rainforests, and a frontline in the fight to protect the endangered orangutan.

For three days, I traveled deep into Tanjung Puting National Park along the Sekonyer River to witness orangutans in the wild and learn from the people working to protect both them and their environment.

Along the river, life reveals itself — macaques, gibbons, proboscis monkeys — each part of a fragile ecosystem whose survival depends on the health of this forest.

And of course, orangutans.

Over the next few days, I watched these extraordinary primates in their natural habitat — a privilege made possible by decades of work from organizations like Orangutan Foundation International and Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, one of Dr. Louis Leakey’s famed “Trimates.”

Conservation only succeeds when local communities thrive. Eco-tourism here provides dignified, sustainable livelihoods — creating powerful incentives to protect the rainforest from encroaching palm oil pressure. A few of the incredibly hard-working and friendly locals who made my visit possible are featured at the end of this film.

It’s difficult to visit here without being struck by the fragility of it all. The forest still stands, but palm oil plantations continue to press against its edges. And yet, in places where habitat is protected and communities are engaged, we’re seeing signs of stabilization and even recovery. In one restored landscape of Borneo, orangutans have returned to regenerated forest — evidence that long-term investment can deliver measurable results.

Protecting species like the orangutan requires science, collaboration, and long-term commitment. It’s work I’m proud to support — and work that needs more voices.

If you’re able, please consider supporting the Orangutan Foundation. Or, better yet, visit Borneo yourself and see firsthand what’s at stake — and what we still have the power to protect.

Visit @mikimillerphotography if you’d like to see more stories from this journey, or my broader wildlife and conservation work.