The beginning

You've stumbled on this page because you know Mike or myself (Rick) and know that in just a few weeks we are heading out on the adventure of a lifetime! I fell in love with primates over a decade ago watching a documentary on Koko the Gorilla. I was amazed as to how these "animals" are so incredibly intelligent and as you know I love intelligence.

It wasn't until I saw Budi the Orangutan being saved from captivity that I finally realized that as smart and amazing as these creatures are they needed our help from their worst enemy...us. The heartbreaking video of Budi crying was overwhelming and as a surprise my friend Wayne adopted Budi and gifted that to me. 

Budi is a baby orangutan that has been rescued by International Animal Rescue in Indonesia. For the first year of his life Budi was kept in a chicken cage and fed on nothing but condensed milk which was slowly killing him.

Thus the obsession with learning more and advocating for these animals begun. I started to read all the food and products we purchased to make sure that if palm oil is used in the ingredients that we use ones only that are sustainably marked. We do what we can at that moment and this trip will hopefully allow us to shine a bright light on the issues facing orangutans.