December/January 2021

●  This story takes place in Borneo, an island in the Pacific Ocean.

●  Borneo is the third largest island in the world. Borneo is actually home to three different countries in Asia.

●  The main events in this story happened in the past few years, from 2017-2020.

●  The story focuses on Gerhana, a baby orangutan. Orangutans are a kind of ape that lives in the trees. The word orangutan means “person of the forest” in Malay.

●  You will also learn about the Four Paws Orangutan Forest School. That’s a place where scientists and others take care of orangutans who need help.

●  A scientist named Signe Preuschoft [SIG-na PROY-shoft] started the school.

●  People have destroyed large areas of the forest so they can use the trees. They also clear space so they can build coal mines and palm oil farms.

●  Without their natural habitat, some orangutans are forced to look for food in places where people live. Sometimes people hunt orangutans to keep them away from their crops.

●  The orangutan population has dropped about 80% in the last 70 years. 

●  Gerhana’s mother was probably killed by a hunter when he was only a few months old. Baby orangutans need their mothers in order to survive.

●  Read the story to find out more…

noun

the place where an animal or a plant naturally lives

adjective

not having enough water in your body

noun

a serious condition caused by eating too little food or food that doesn't have enough healthy substances in it

noun

a situation in which a kind of animal or plant no longer exists

noun

the variety of plants and animals that live in a region

verb

serves as an example of

This image of a smiling face represents happiness and laughter.

noun

important traditions that are part of the history of a family, group, or country

noun

the groups of people in a family born and living during the same time

noun

a machine that prints newspapers in large numbers

verb

refuse to work in order to fight for better pay or working conditions

noun

an event where people gather to show they disagree about something

verb

presses or squeezes something so that it is no longer flat

verb

say in a strong way that something must be done

verb

announces something

verb

to cause something to happen or be created

adjective

highly flavored, often spicy

verb

noticing or discovering something

adjective

a salty, meaty taste without sweetness

A somosa is a fried snack with a savory taste