97the local Dayaks (the local hunters)
ate orangutans. Or, if they killed the
mother, they would very often take
the baby and have it as a pet for
some years, and then they’d just let
it out into the forest.
Then obviously the pet trade
came in and suddenly the indige-
nous people were told, “If you can
get us some babies, we will come
back in two months’ time”. After-
wards, locals would go out and kill
four mothers, which they wouldn’t
have done before. So it escalated.
But again, we are not talking big
money for the local people. The lo-
cal people are not benefitting hugely
from the pet trade.Can you describe how you be-
came involved with the Orangutan
Land Trust.
I was almost thrown out of Indo-
nesia on two occasions. I’d been too
vocal about palm oil, an important
industry for Indonesia, and I’d crit-
icised the government for allowing
it. I ended up sitting in Jakarta for
almost a month waiting to hear
whether I’d be deported or not. At
that time, I asked Michelle Desilets
to start raising issues in the UK.
Michelle and I wanted to start
an organisation that dealt with the
problems of the palm oil industry,
and protected habitats - hence the
name, the Land Trust. I was doing
work in the field with orangutans,
but we needed more work done on
habitat loss generally. And that’s
how Michelle got started, founding
the Orangutan Land Trust, and I be-
came president of the organisation.
The Orangutan Land Trust acts asthe orangutans’ voice in the debate
about palm oil. Our main objective
is to negotiate with the palm oil in-
dustry - to safeguard orangutan hab-
itats for future generations.Can you share some facts about
orangutans that may surprise us?
Orangutans have a baby approx-
imately every seven years. They also
have a long lifespan, living well into
their forties. They are very adaptable
to situations. For example, they sur-
vive really well in secondary forests.
So, if you’ve had a forest that has
been cut down, and it’s starting to
regrow again, orangutans can survive
there, which surprises many people.
I’ve also seen orangutans put as
many as 10 bananas in their mouth
at once. It’s just one of those stupid
things they do. But they learn very
quickly. They are very quick learners.Can humans form a kinship
with animals in a similar way to
how we relate to each other?
I’ve been known in Denmark for
saying that I like animals better than
humans. I do have a few people who
I care very deeply about, but apart
from that, the closest relationships
I’ve ever had have been with orang-
utans. For a whole year, I had more
than 36 orangutans in my house.How can everyday people over-
come helplessness in the face of
such horrors afflicted on nature
and animals?
If I feel cynical, I go into the for-
est, and I listen to the birds. I have
a meadow outside my house, which
is full of bluebells at the moment. Ikeep telling myself how privileged I
am for having a view of a meadow
with green grass. If everybody took
a little time every day to find a lit-
tle part of nature to spend time in,
and watch... not just at people going
past, but at nature... they’d become
less cynical.What are you most proud of in
your life?
We have an expression in Dan-
ish which translates to “don’t think
you are better than others”. I’m
proud of what I have done. I’ve
made a difference. I’ve saved many
orangutans lives. On the other
hand, I don’t feel this makes me
any more special than a woman
who is a nurse, or somebody who
has three children and works from
home. These women do a fantas-
tic job as well. I’m probably mostly
proud that I changed the minds of
so many Danish people. Before me,
nobody in Denmark knew much
about orangutans. But now, about
15,000 people adopt an orangutan.
This is probably what I’m most
proud of. I guess I’ve never been
good with the word ‘proud’.97 Noble Women A LIFE’S CALLINGthe local Dayaks (the local hunters)
ate orangutans. Or, if they killed the
mother, they would very often take
the baby and have it as a pet for
some years, and then they’d just let
it out into the forest.
Then obviously the pet trade
came in and suddenly the indige-
nous people were told, “If you can
get us some babies, we will come
back in two months’ time”. After-
wards, locals would go out and kill
four mothers, which they wouldn’t
have done before. So it escalated.
But again, we are not talking big
money for the local people. The lo-
cal people are not benefitting hugely
from the pet trade.
Can you describe how you be-
came involved with the Orangutan
Land Trust.
I was almost thrown out of Indo-
nesia on two occasions. I’d been too
vocal about palm oil, an important
industry for Indonesia, and I’d crit-
icised the government for allowing
it. I ended up sitting in Jakarta for
almost a month waiting to hear
whether I’d be deported or not. At
that time, I asked Michelle Desilets
to start raising issues in the UK.
Michelle and I wanted to start
an organisation that dealt with the
problems of the palm oil industry,
and protected habitats - hence the
name, the Land Trust. I was doing
work in the field with orangutans,
but we needed more work done on
habitat loss generally. And that’s
how Michelle got started, founding
the Orangutan Land Trust, and I be-
came president of the organisation.
The Orangutan Land Trust acts as
the orangutans’ voice in the debate
about palm oil. Our main objective
is to negotiate with the palm oil in-
dustry - to safeguard orangutan hab-
itats for future generations.Can you share some facts about
orangutans that may surprise us?
Orangutans have a baby approx-
imately every seven years. They also
have a long lifespan, living well into
their forties. They are very adaptable
to situations. For example, they sur-
vive really well in secondary forests.
So, if you’ve had a forest that has
been cut down, and it’s starting to
regrow again, orangutans can survive
there, which surprises many people.
I’ve also seen orangutans put as
many as 10 bananas in their mouth
at once. It’s just one of those stupid
things they do. But they learn very
quickly. They are very quick learners.Can humans form a kinship
with animals in a similar way to
how we relate to each other?
I’ve been known in Denmark for
saying that I like animals better than
humans. I do have a few people who
I care very deeply about, but apart
from that, the closest relationships
I’ve ever had have been with orang-
utans. For a whole year, I had more
than 36 orangutans in my house.How can everyday people over-
come helplessness in the face of
such horrors afflicted on nature
and animals?
If I feel cynical, I go into the for-
est, and I listen to the birds. I have
a meadow outside my house, which
is full of bluebells at the moment. Ikeep telling myself how privileged I
am for having a view of a meadow
with green grass. If everybody took
a little time every day to find a lit-
tle part of nature to spend time in,
and watch... not just at people going
past, but at nature... they’d become
less cynical.What are you most proud of in
your life?
We have an expression in Dan-
ish which translates to “don’t think
you are better than others”. I’m
proud of what I have done. I’ve
made a difference. I’ve saved many
orangutans lives. On the other
hand, I don’t feel this makes me
any more special than a woman
who is a nurse, or somebody who
has three children and works from
home. These women do a fantas-
tic job as well. I’m probably mostly
proud that I changed the minds of
so many Danish people. Before me,
nobody in Denmark knew much
about orangutans. But now, about
15,000 people adopt an orangutan.
This is probably what I’m most
proud of. I guess I’ve never been
good with the word ‘proud’.Noble Women A LIFE’S CALLING