Judi Dench has announced that she’s the proud adopter of three orangutans, at the premiere of a new documentary starring the actress and focusing on the issue of deforestation.
Dame Judi reportedly shared news of the adoption at a Q&A session at the premiere last week, an event hosted by the Rainforest Trust at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington.
The adoption actually seems to date back to October 2018, when the Borneo Orangutan Survival organisation posted on Facebook to welcome Dame Judi to the “BOS family.”
“If not us, who then could speak out against the destruction of their habitat and the extinction of the species? This is what we owe our closest relatives — the orangutans — as well as our children and grandchildren,” the organisation quotes Dame Judi as saying.
The new two-part documentary — entitled Judi Dench’s Wild Borneo Adventure — will be airing in Britain on ITV on July 2.
It shows the actress visiting habitats off the coastline of the Malaysian Borneo, and interacting with wildlife like orangutans, sun bears, elephants, crocodiles, and hornbills, among others.
What an incredible night! A massive thank you to the magical Judi Dench for the mesmerising performance in her Borneo Adventure and her patronage for @SEARRP ! Catch it on ITV on the 2nd of July #JudiTalksBorneo !! pic.twitter.com/gsfmCVTnEk
— SEARRP (@SEARRP) June 22, 2019
It’s all part of a growing campaign to raise awareness about the threatened areas that so many endangered species call home.
According to Greenpeace, Bornean orangutan numbers more than halved between 1999 and 2015, with the loss of an estimated 150,000 individuals — about 25 deaths every day.
And a leading cause of the destruction is the production of palm oil — a product that’s found in loads of everyday products, including chocolate, oven chips, soap, cosmetics, confectionary, toothpaste, baby lotion, and lots more.
Greenpeace has been really leading the way on raising awareness about the damaging impact of palm oil production — including partnering with Iceland to make the issue the focus of the supermarket’s Christmas advertising campaign in 2018.
To feed the demand for palm oil, according to Greenpeace, tropical rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia are being destroyed to create oil palm plantations in their place.
In fact, an area the size of a football pitch is torn down in Indonesia every 25 seconds, Greenpeace says.
“These rainforests are hotspots for biodiversity, and vital for regulating the Earth’s climate,” it adds.
Join us for a special premiere screening of our latest documentary for ITV, 'Judi Dench's Wild Borneo Adventure' with a Q&A, and proceeds going towards the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership - Find out more about the event here:https://t.co/hVlnCTRj5Ppic.twitter.com/eAi4EYvsuG
— Atlantic Productions (@AtlanticProds) June 12, 2019
In the documentary, Dench is reportedly shown talking with scientists from the environmental charity South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP), for which both Dench and her partner David Mills are ambassadors.
Dr Glen Reynolds, director at SEARRP, said: “This new documentary with Dame Judi provides an opportunity for us to showcase how, with our partners in Malaysia, we are working to study and protect rainforests and demonstrate the critical role they play in regulating the Earth’s climate, maintaining biodiversity, and supporting human livelihoods and wellbeing.”
The premiere event also raised nearly £10,000 to support the conservation work being done by SEARRP.