'Born To Be Wild' Screening: Orangutan Is Captivated

JAKARTA, Indonesia — One of the orangutans starring in the IMAX film "Born to Be Wild" has been treated to a special jungle screening in Indonesia – and was captivated until the trumpet of elephants scared her off.

The documentary follows two women who have devoted their lives to caring for orphaned animals – Birute Galdikas in Indonesia and Daphne Sheldrick in Kenya.

Initially, Wednesday's screening on Borneo island was going to be held outside, but rain forced everyone into a hut.

Producer Drew Fellman said Thursday that Siswi – the daughter of one of the first orangutans Galdikas cared for – sat in the doorway and was engaged for the first 15 minutes.

But Fellman said that once the elephants arrived and started getting boisterous, Siswi got uncomfortable and ran off and climbed into a tree.

Comments

[byteb]

02:00 AM on 02/24/2012

It's a beautiful film! I saw it recently at theMuseum of Natural History in New York. The two women featured are true heroes and the baby elephants and orangutans will touch even the hardest of hearts. I hope many people will see it!

[kkdkdkdkdk]

10:03 AM on 02/24/2012

Looks like a great documentary.

[Sarahmorton]

11:51 AM on 02/24/2012

It is! We had the pleasure of also taking part in a Q&A with Dr. Galdikas after viewing the movie at the Denver Musuem of Nature and Science and she is such an amazing lady. Her number one point throughout the entire session was how we must curb the habitat destruction being done by palm oil plantations if we want to save these beautiful creatures. Please check the products you buy for palm oil, don't buy them if they contain it, and write letters to the companies telling them you are not buying their products because their use of palm oil is helping to destroy the orangutan population.

[Red45]

01:40 PM on 02/24/2012

Great comment. It's hard to find products without palm oil but they're out there. F+F

[byteb]

01:41 PM on 02/24/2012

Thank you for sharing this. From now, I'm going to do as she suggested about checking products for palm oil.

[goserenee1]

01:59 AM on 02/24/2012

I think they are so cute!

[TheLadyOphelia]

01:57 AM on 02/24/2012

What fantastic and caring people! I think they are the last bastions of hope for these terribly endangered creatures. I usually can't watch these types of films even though they are positive for the most part. I become depressed that such situations exist and will probably become much worse as more and more people and developers spread into their habitats. I just keep sending money. Too much information can overload me. No matter; these two women deserve all the praise and money we can muster.

[Sarahmorton]

01:32 PM on 02/25/2012

I hope you'll reconsider because it really is a beautiful movie. I cried throughout, not from sadness but from joy. It isn't depressing, it is a wonderful movie full of hope for the future of these beautiful babies because of the foundations these ladies have started.
I appreciate you contributing to their cause but in the case of orangutans I think education is just as important as money. No matter how much we donate, these foundations will never have as much money as the developers if the demand for palm oil remains constant so we must educate everyone we can on the correlation between palm oil and the habitat destruction of endangered species. We need them to know that every time they eat an Oreo or a Ghirardelli chocolate square or any other product containing palm oil they are contributing to the habitat destruction of not only the orangutan but also the Sumatran tiger. If we can increase awareness enough to decrease demand for palm oil then we can use market forces to rein in the destruction of the forests of Sumatra and Borneo.

[TheLadyOphelia]

04:18 PM on 02/26/2012

With your wonderful recommendation I will make a point of seeing this movie. And I will also take your great advice about the awareness and education as to the palm oil situation. Thank you for being so informative and so caring!

[Asian Vixxen]

08:55 PM on 02/23/2012

I can't wait to see this movie! I have a soft spot for animals and the fact that the movie is going to be on IMAX in 3D makes it even sweeter :)

[Red45]

01:41 PM on 02/24/2012

It's been out since last year. I don't know if it's still playing in theaters but maybe we can see it on TV or get the DVD? I hope so.

[SukiTheCat]

12:46 PM on 02/23/2012

the women caring for these animals are my heroes.

[Asian Vixxen]

08:58 PM on 02/23/2012

Me too! When I retire I want to take care of animals just like them :)