CICASP | Center for International Collaboration and Advanced Studies in Primatology

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In this episode, conservationist, author and founder of The Orangutan Project, Leif Cocks. 

Leif is a tireless conservationist who seems to be involved in innumerable conservation projects throughout Southeast Asia, but most notably The Orangutan Project, which he founded in 1998.

We talk about Leif’s path to conservation, which began early on with an interest in animals and nature and was formalized through his experiences in higher education and work in husbandry and small population biology at Perth Zoo. 

What really stands out in this conversation is Leif’s passion for and commitment to being a defender of the natural world and all the beings living in it. 

We get into orangutan conservation, including what he views as the pillars of successful orangutan reintroduction - physical health, mental health, social skills, and forest skills.

Leif describes how  The Orangutan Project operates, emphasizing the importance of collective action and going far beyond just orangutan conservation into preservation of entire ecosystems and supporting local human communities living therein.

He also deftly describes the real challenges involved in conserving the rainforest’s megafauna, from supporting the endearingly “bat shit crazy” folks who manage to translocate elephants to safe areas, to getting people emotionally connected to the species and ecosystems that need saving.

I really appreciated Leif’s ability to unpack the nitty gritty of running a successful conservation effort, and the efforts they’ve made to assess the progress of the various initiatives they’ve sponsored. 

We close out the conversation with some moral questions about personhood in nonhumans and the value of captivity for conservation at places like zoos.

Other topics we discuss:

• orangutans and conservation translocations
• animal culture
• ecotourism to connect people with nature
• Tinder meets Uber for elephant conservation!

Notable quotes from Leif:

• on orangutans - "they're self aware persons that don't belong in captivity"
• conservation needs "loving kindness and intelligent action"
• on conservation challenges - "For every complex problem in the world there’s a simple solution which is absolutely wrong”

If you want to find out more about Leif, his personal story and his work, you can find him at leifcocks.org or through The Orangutan Project website. He’s also the author of three books: Orangutans and their Battle for Survival, Orangutans: My Cousins, My Friends, and Finding Our Humanity. And check out episode #14 in season 1 of the Talking Apes podcast.

Check out his socials at Facebook, Twitter, a

The PrimateCast is hosted and produced by Andrew MacIntosh. Artwork by Chris Martin. Music by Andre Goncalves.

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