Dr. Willie Smits, who directs the Wanariset Orangutan Reintroduction Project, and his team rescue hundreds of orangutans. Dr. Smits is committed to preserving orangutan habitat and returning captives back into rainforest homes.

At Wanariset the orphans learn the vital skills they need to survive. When they are old and skilled enough, orangutan ex-captives are released into protected rainforest. Without mothers and more knowledgeable elders, strange 'Lord of the Flies' communities evolve in the forest. Eventually the orangutans learn to sustain themselves independently of human aid.

With the impending extinction of these great apes, opportunities to observe and interact with free-roaming orangutans are displaced every day as the rainforest diminishes and the pet-trade flourishes. The rare dedication of a few scientists, however, brings hope to large numbers of captive orangutans who live between two worlds.



Grade Level: 7-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2002     Copyright Date: 2001
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-350-1     VHS ISBN: 1-56029-918-5

Reviews "Sarita Siegel's powerful film The Disenchanted Forest documents attempts to return young orangutans to their original rainforest habitats in Indonesia. It is poignant without sentimentality, unblinking about the destruction of the rainforests and their inhabitants but hopeful about the small successes of the orangutan rehabilitation centers. Working closely with the staff of the centers, she shows how fluid the boundary between wild and domestic, human and animal can be in the case of orphaned orangutans, who must be reacculturated to rainforest life. Her film underscores the urgency of conservation efforts, while at the same time making us think hard about the meanings and values of culture and nature." Professor Lorraine Daston, Director, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science "This is a stunning video with beautiful photography and a haunting presentation...It is suitable for all academic libraries, school libraries, environmental studies programs, classroom instruction, animal rights groups, and for anyone interested in saving species and the environment. Highly Recommended." Gloria Maxwell, Educational Media Reviews Online "Enchanting as well as startling...Dr. Carel van Schaik, primatologist and anthropologist at Duke University...tells us that understanding the conditions that favored the evolution of culture is probably one of the most important questions in human evolution. Orangutans are disappearing fast and there is still an enormous amount to learn from them. This film is recommended to all those interested in orangutans and efforts being undertaken to save them. Its unique footage will fascinate all those interested in orangutan behavior. With superb photography and fascinating narration it is sure to become a classic." Cheryl D. Knott, orangutan expert, and Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University "An informative, lovely, and often moving film that shows conclusively that orangutans are not 'born to be wild' but must learn to be wild...The Disenchanted Forested is a beautiful, inspiring, saddening, and eye-opening piece of