We were lucky to catch up with Gary Shapiro recently and have shared our conversation below.

Gary, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My journey with orangutans began over five decades ago at a California zoo, but was deepened in the forests of Borneo, where I had the privilege of teaching sign language to ex-captive orangutans in their natural habitat. That experience—witnessing firsthand their intelligence, emotional depth, and remarkable ability to communicate—changed my life forever. I saw not just a species in need of conservation, but individuals with personalities, desires, and an intrinsic right to exist in the forests they call home.

The Orang Utan Republik Foundation (OURF) was born out of that realization. I understood that saving orangutans required more than just rescuing individuals; it demanded a systemic approach that empowered local communities, fostered education, and addressed the root causes of habitat destruction. That’s why OURF’s mission is centered on education—because when people understand the value of conservation, they become active participants in protecting the environment.

This mission is deeply personal to me because I’ve seen what’s at stake. I’ve walked through forests that once teemed with life but are now silent due to deforestation. I’ve met young Indonesians who, through our Orangutan Caring Scholarship program, have become dedicated conservationists and future leaders in protecting their country’s biodiversity. I’ve also seen the direct impact of our work—orangutans in the wild that continue to thrive because of the tireless efforts of people we’ve supported.

Orangutans are more than an endangered species; they are a mirror reflecting both the beauty and fragility of our natural world. Their survival is intertwined with our own—protecting them means safeguarding the forests that regulate our climate, sustain countless other species, and support indigenous communities.

For me, this is not just a mission. It’s a lifelong commitment, a promise to future generations that we did everything we could to preserve these extraordinary beings and the forests they depend on. The Orang Utan Republik Foundation is my way of ensuring that promise is kept.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Dr. Gary Shapiro, and I have spent nearly five decades working on the frontlines of orangutan conservation, education, and advocacy. My journey in conservation began in the late 1970s when I had the rare opportunity to conduct groundbreaking research in Borneo, teaching sign language to ex-captive orangutans in their native rainforest environment. During my stay in the forest, I was helping to care for and rehabilitate orangutans to life in the wild. That experience—witnessing their intelligence, self-awareness, and emotional depth—shaped the course of my life and solidified my commitment to protecting this remarkable species and the forests they depend on. I discuss my personal transformation in my recently published book, “Out of the Cage-My Half Century Journey from Curiosity to Concern for Indonesia’s ‘person of the forest'” on Amazon: tinyurl.com/outofthecage-amazon

How I Founded the Orang Utan Republik Foundation

While working in Indonesia, I recognized that the crisis facing orangutans was not just about rescuing individuals but about addressing the larger systemic issues driving their decline—deforestation, habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and lack of awareness. I also saw that most conservation efforts at the time were not engaging the local people in a meaningful way. After I received my Ph.D. in 1985, I co-founded the first orangutan advocacy group, the Orangutan Foundation Internation and served as its vice president for 18 years. Our focus was on funding the research being done in Tanjung Puting National Park as well as managing the ex-captive orangutans in that region of Borneo. Not enough was being done, however, to address the root causes of the problems I was witnessing. That insight led me to a different approach: empowering the people of Indonesia through education.

In 2004, I co-founded the Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative (which became the Orang Utan Republik Foundation – OURF in 2007) with my Indonesian wife, Inggriani, to address the root causes of orangutan habitat destruction. Instead of focusing solely on rescuing and rehabilitating individual orangutans, OURF works to educate and support the people who share the forests with them. By helping local communities understand the value of conservation and providing them with opportunities to be part of the solution, we create lasting change.

What OURF Does: Programs and Impact

OURF operates several key programs aimed at conservation through education, capacity building, and community engagement:

1. Orangutan Caring Scholarship (OCS)

One of our most successful and impactful initiatives, the Orangutan Caring Scholarship, provides financial support to Indonesian students pursuing degrees in biology, forestry, environmental science, and veterinary medicine. These students often come from communities near orangutan habitats, and many go on to become conservation leaders, researchers, and advocates. Over the past 20 years, we’ve awarded more than 300 scholarships, with nearly 200 graduates now working in conservation-related fields. We also provide fellowships to post-graduates to further our understanding of orangutans and their rainforest habitat.

2. Community Education and Awareness

We believe that conservation starts with knowledge. OURF and our funded local partner organizations conducts educational outreach programs in schools, universities, and local communities, teaching people about the ecological importance of orangutans and forests. We also work with educators and conservation groups to develop curriculum materials that promote environmental stewardship.

3. Sustainable Livelihood and Human-Orangutan Conflict Mitigation

To reduce human-orangutan conflict, we support initiatives that promote alternative livelihoods for communities that might otherwise turn to deforestation or poaching for income. We help them fund simple but effective solutions to address primate foraging in and around their farmland. By helping local people find sustainable economic opportunities, we reduce the pressures that drive habitat destruction.

4. Conservation Technology Initiatives

We will be integrating cutting-edge conservation technology into our efforts, such as using drones for habitat monitoring and field surveys. We are also collaborating with Indonesian universities to bring conservation technology training to young Indonesian conservationists.

5. Guard-a-Wild-Orangutan Program (Upcoming Initiative)

This is a new program designed to engage donors in directly supporting the protection of wild orangutans in Central Borneo. Unlike traditional adoption programs that focus on rehabilitated orphan orangutans, this initiative will help fund field researchers and patrol teams who study, monitor and protect wild orangutans in their natural habitat.

What Sets Us Apart

There are many organizations dedicated to orangutan conservation, but OURF stands out because of its people-centered approach. We don’t just save orangutans—we invest in the future conservationists who will protect them for generations to come. Rather than relying solely on Western-driven conservation models, we work hand-in-hand with Indonesian communities, empowering them to become stewards of their own natural heritage.

What also sets us apart is our long-term impact. Many of our scholarship recipients and program participants have gone on to lead major conservation projects, work with government agencies, and establish their own environmental initiatives. By focusing on education and capacity-building, we ensure that conservation efforts continue far beyond the work of our foundation alone.

What I Am Most Proud Of

I am most proud of the countless young Indonesians we have supported who are now making a real difference for orangutans and their habitats. Seeing former scholarship recipients grow into conservation leaders—conducting research, advocating for policy change, and protecting forests—is incredibly fulfilling. I am also deeply honored that my early work with orangutans, particularly in teaching them sign language, has helped shape the broader understanding of great ape intelligence and cognition.

Additionally, I take great pride in the partnerships we’ve built over the years, from local conservation groups to international organizations. Collaboration is key to conservation success, and OURF has fostered strong networks that amplify our impact.

What I Want Potential Supporters to Know

-Saving orangutans is about more than just the animals—it’s about protecting entire ecosystems and supporting local communities.

-Education is the key to long-term conservation success. Every dollar invested in empowering young conservationists has ripple effects that last for generations.

-The crisis is urgent, but there is hope. Orangutans are critically endangered, but with the right support, we can turn the tide.
Everyone can make a difference. Whether through donating, spreading awareness, volunteering, or supporting ethical eco-tourism, there are many ways to help.

At its core, OURF is about hope, action, and empowerment. I invite everyone who cares about wildlife and the environment to join us in this critical mission—to ensure that future generations inherit a world where orangutans still roam the forests of Indonesia, living freely as they have for millions of years. More about OURF can be found at www.orangutanrepublik.org.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Resilience has been a defining part of my journey in orangutan conservation. When you dedicate your life to a cause as complex and urgent as protecting a species on the brink of extinction, you face challenges that test your endurance, patience, and resolve.

One of the most defining moments of resilience in my journey came in the early days of my fieldwork in Borneo. In the late 1970s, I was conducting groundbreaking research at Camp Leakey in Tanjung Puting Reserve (now National Park), working with ex-captive orangutans who had been rehabilitated into the wild. My goal was to teach them sign language, proving that these incredible beings could learn to communicate in ways far beyond what the world understood at the time.

The work was exhilarating but filled with obstacles. There were days when I felt I had made a breakthrough—watching an orangutan like Princess use a sign correctly or even initiate communication with me. But there were just as many days of frustration. Orangutans are independent thinkers; they don’t respond to commands like a chimpanzee might in a lab. They learn on their own terms. There were moments when I questioned whether the research would yield the results I had hoped for. But I remained patient and continued to conduct the teaching of the orangutan students and gathered the data needed to show orangutans were as capable as other great apes in learning and using signs.

Years later in the 1990s, during one of my stays at Camp Leakey—where Princess and many other ex-captive orangutans still roamed the forest—I found myself in a situation that truly tested my resilience. Fruit in the forest was scarce that season, and the orangutans, along with many other wildlife species, were struggling to find food. At the same time, another insidious threat loomed: illegal gold mining inside the national park.

Destruction of orangutan habitat by ripping out the forest, chemically treating the sand, and poisoning waterways with mercury was already devastating enough outside the park. But now, miners had infiltrated the protected land, putting both wildlife and people at risk. Rather than sit back, I jumped at the call to take action.

I was part of a three-person expedition tasked with locating and confronting the illegal miners. My two partners—a policeman armed with a gun and a camp worker carrying a machete—were no strangers to the dangers of the jungle. We packed enough food, water, and supplies for a single day and set off in a small boat, making our way to the edge of the park where we suspected the miners were operating.

We trekked through vast grasslands and into thick, humid swamps, pushing forward despite the oppressive heat and the ever-present threat of venomous snakes and hidden pitfalls. Hours passed, but we found no sign of the miners. As the day waned, we realized we had ventured farther than we had anticipated. The jungle, with its twisting, indistinguishable trails, had swallowed us whole.

By nightfall, we were hopelessly lost in a vast swamp. Our food and water were depleted, and to make matters worse, our flashlights died, plunging us into total darkness. The jungle at night is an entirely different world—eerie, alive with unseen creatures, the thick air humming with the calls of insects, frogs, and distant nocturnal predators.

Fatigue set in, but worse yet, I began suffering from heat exhaustion. My body was weak, my mind clouded. I knew that continuing to stumble blindly through the swamp would only put us in greater danger. With no clear way out and no way to communicate with Camp Leakey, we made the difficult decision to stay put until daybreak. We fashioned a makeshift resting place on the top of tall tree roots, knowing that the murky water and thick mud beneath us were shared with crocodiles, snakes, and who knows what else. Sleep was impossible, but I focused on staying calm, breathing through the exhaustion, and trusting that we would make it back.

Unbeknownst to us, people back at Camp Leakey had already assumed the worst. They feared we had been killed by miners or lost in the unforgiving jungle. But I refused to believe that. At first light, we gathered what little strength we had left and retraced our steps, searching for familiar landmarks in the dense vegetation. Hours later—dehydrated, exhausted, and covered in mud—we finally found the river. The sight of that winding waterway was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. It was our path home.

When we finally made it back to Camp Leakey, the relief was overwhelming. Our survival was a testament to perseverance, teamwork, and the unwavering belief that no matter how dire the circumstances, giving up was never an option.

That experience solidified something I had already known but had now lived in the most visceral way possible: resilience is about facing the unknown, enduring hardship, and refusing to let fear or exhaustion dictate the outcome. Whether lost in a swamp or fighting for the survival of an endangered species, the lesson remains the same—keep going, because the way forward always exists, even if you can’t see it yet.

Years later as an older and wiser conservationist, that resilience would be tested again when I founded the Orang Utan Republik Foundation. Starting a nonprofit is never easy, and securing funding for conservation—especially education-based conservation—can be an uphill battle. There were times when I wondered if the scholarship program would make enough of an impact, or whether our community education efforts would change enough minds. But each time I faced doubt, I reminded myself of that moment in Borneo—the urgency, the stakes, and the knowledge that every effort, no matter how small, could make a difference.

Today, I see the results of that resilience. Former scholarship recipients are now leading conservation projects, rehabilitated orangutans have successfully returned to the wild, and local communities are embracing sustainable alternatives to deforestation. Looking back, I realize that the key to resilience is never losing sight of the bigger picture—no matter how difficult the journey, the mission is worth fighting for.

That’s what keeps me going, and that’s what will continue to drive me forward, for as long as orangutans need champions to stand up for them.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Building a reputation in the nonprofit world is not something that happens overnight. It takes passion, persistence, integrity, and a deep commitment to making a real impact. In my case, I believe my reputation has been shaped by a combination of scientific credibility, long-term dedication, and a people-centered approach to conservation.

1. Science-Based, Hands-On Experience
My early work in Borneo, where I conducted the first-ever study teaching sign language to orangutans in their natural environment, gave me a unique scientific foundation. That research, combined with my decades-long involvement in orangutan conservation, positioned me as an expert in both orangutan intelligence and conservation education. This has helped build trust among researchers, conservationists, and donors who value evidence-based solutions.

2. Long-Term Commitment & Credibility
I’ve been working in orangutan conservation for nearly 50 years, and that kind of long-term dedication is rare. Many organizations come and go, but the fact that I have been involved since the late 1970s—and that the Orang Utan Republik Foundation (OURF) has been operating successfully since 2004—shows that our work is sustainable and deeply rooted in the communities we serve.

3. A Focus on Education & Empowerment
Unlike many conservation efforts that focus on immediate intervention (such as rescue and rehabilitation), OURF’s education-based approach sets us apart. We invest in the next generation of Indonesian conservationists, ensuring that solutions are locally driven and sustainable. This focus has helped build trust with local communities, universities, and international organizations, leading to strong partnerships and collaborations.

4. Collaboration & Relationship-Building
I believe that one of the most important factors in building a reputation is collaboration. Conservation is not a solo effort—it requires partnerships across sectors, from local NGOs and universities to international conservation groups and donors. I’ve worked hard to foster strong relationships within the nonprofit community, ensuring that OURF is seen as a reliable, transparent, and effective organization.

5. Public Advocacy & Outreach
Over the years, I’ve spoken at conferences, universities, and public forums about orangutans, conservation, and the urgent need to protect their habitats. I’ve also written extensively, including my recent book, “Out of the Cage”, which details my 50-year journey in conservation. Engaging the public, inspiring new supporters, and raising awareness have all contributed to OURF’s reputation and ability to make a lasting impact.

6. Staying True to the Mission
Reputation is built on trust and consistency. From the beginning, I have remained committed to ethical conservation practices—avoiding quick fixes, focusing on long-term solutions, and always keeping the well-being of both orangutans and local communities at the heart of our work.

The Bottom Line
My reputation—and OURF’s reputation—within the nonprofit community has been built on a foundation of scientific expertise, long-term dedication, strong partnerships, ethical leadership, and a deep belief in education as the key to lasting conservation. It is this approach that has allowed us to grow, secure funding, and make a tangible difference for orangutans and the people of Indonesia.

At the end of the day, I believe that authenticity, perseverance, and a true passion for the cause are what make a nonprofit leader stand out—and I hope to continue earning the trust and respect of those who share in this mission.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.orangutanrepublik.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orangutanrepublik
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OrangUtanRepublik/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1695637/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/orangutanrepublik