BBC - Orangutan Diary (Season 1) (2007)

From the makers of Big Cat Week and Elephant Diaries comes this candid view of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation and its efforts to create a safe haven for this incredible yet endangered species. Prepare for a rollercoaster ride of emotions following the life-and-death struggle to save irresistibly cute orang-utan orphans at the Orang Jungle Hospital in the middle of Borneo. The presenters and crew spend a moving, inspiring and involving week in the heart of the biggest orang-utan rehabilitation centre, providing a uniquely intimate and engaging look at the most entertaining of the great apes, in one of the remotest corners of the world. They witness both success and failure as orang-utans are helped to take the tentative first steps back into an independent life in the wild, and join dangerous rescue missions as anti-poaching patrols follow up tip-offs to track down orphaned babies intended for the cruel pet trade.

Part 1:
Michaela Strachan and Steve Leonard present a series featuring orphaned and rescued orangutans in Borneo. Steve heads up river where he rescues a tiny orangutan being kept illegally as a pet. Back at the rescue centre she is named Ellie and takes her place alongside the other orphans Michaela visits the forest school where the young orangutans are trained in climbing, feeding and socialising - skills their mothers would have taught them in the wild. Steve attempts to rescue an adult orangutan from a fragment of forest destined for destruction.


Part 2:
The second instalment of the dramatic story of rescued and orphaned orangutans in Borneo. All over the island, their forests are being destroyed and being replaced with palm oil plantations. Michaela Strachan and Steve Leonard help babies Lomon, Grendon and Ellie learn how to behave like wild orangutans. It is a tough job - six years of love and education that their mothers would have provided in the wild. Lomon is one of the weakest orphans of all, and when a serious virus starts to spread at the centre, Michaela fears that he may not survive.


Part 3:
There is tragedy at the rescue centre when a newly arrived baby fights for its life. Michaela hopes for the best and is encouraged when her favourite orphan Lomon finally starts to make some progress. Steve helps out at the place where young orangutans like Grendon and Ellie learn the skills that will equip them for a life in the wild.


Part 4:
Michaela and Steve are encouraged by the progress of Grendon, Ellie and Lomon - the orphaned baby orangutans who are being retrained for a life in the wild. In the 'Forest School' classes, even tragic Lomon, who was beaten and starved while being kept a pet, is finally making progress. Plus, Steve travels out to rescue a tiny baby orangutan that is being illegally held in a village - but the villagers have no intention
of surrendering the baby.


Part 5:
All over the island, their forest homes are being cleared to create space for palm oil plantations - sterile places where orangutans just cannot live. Steve rescues a big female who has dislocated her ankle fleeing from her captors. Back at the centre, there is better news for Michaela when she sees her favourite little orphan Lomon finally learn to climb a tree. There is also a moving conclusion to the story of Zorro, a huge male orangutan who spent 13 years in a tiny cage before being released on to a forested island.