INTERVIEW:

1.) I noticed some of your designs are dated 2007...How long have you
been with Zazzle?

I first published items available to the public in 2007. I think the first item I made as a private item was late 2006.

2.) How did you come across Zazzle, and has it been beneficial for you?

I first learned of Zazzle shortly before I made some private items. A teenager showed me her party invitation and said she had made it herself on Zazzle. I had never heard of Zazzle before that. I write down that word "Zazzle" and looked it up online later that afternoon. I was immediately impressed with how user-friendly the site was. I have found Zazzle to be very beneficial in the sense of connecting with so many really nice people, seeing amazing artistic talent that I never would have known about otherwise, and having some true laughing-out-loud moments with humorous items. It is a fun place, and although there are a lot of people I have not yet met in person, I honestly feel as if I know them and do consider them friends. I have no doubt I will have opportunities to meet them in person at future dates.


3.) I would like to mention that your a Big advocate, and contributor
to Orangutan Foundation International. How did you become interested
in helping this cause?

I have always been an animal lover. Over the years I have found many pets at animal shelters or "adopted" strays that wandered into my yards. However, I have always been fascinated by mountain gorillas and orangutans - their gentle natures and intelligence. In high school and college, I had a big stuffed orangutan on my bed. Then I was really hooked after I read books like Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo


4.) Are Orangutans really an endangered species?...I mean, are they
truly at the Brink of extinction?

Sadly, the answer is yes. Some predictions are that they could be extinct in the wild by 2020.


5.) If I decide to Adopt an Orangutan, I'm not actually going to
receive one from Fed Ex, right?...It's just the Money that
helps...Right?

Right, again. The Fed Ex truck doesn't pull up and roll out a big crate. We have actually received requests like that at O.F.I. Headquarters. The "adoption" is a cute packet of papers and pictures. It is similar to some of those programs of children in need where a person receives a biography and a photo. The donors are helping to make a difference with their money. I volunteer at that Care Center in Borneo, and I can assure people that donations DO help and are very much needed.

6.) Is this an easy procedure?

It is easy to "adopt" and orangutans are featured on the websites of Orangutan Foundation International as well as other orangutan organizations. It can be done on the website with a credit card. People can make small donations of any size by mailing in checks. Or if people feel like making a ten dollar donation they can text the word ape to 20222 (20222 goes in the "to" line where you'd usually have your friend's name or cell phone number) Then there is a one-time addition of $10.00 to your cell phone bill after a confirmation message is sent to you to respond "yes" to.


7.) About your Photographs, which I enjoy immensely. Are you actually
Up-Close and personal with the Orangutans, or are you at a Zoo taking
Photos? Could you tell us a little about this. Are they in anyway
dangerous? I understand they're quite intelligent
.

All of my photos of the orangutans are in their natural habitat of Southeast Asia. NONE of my orangutan photos are from a zoo. Before I went to Indonesia, I had taken photos of orangutans in zoos. Now I look at those pictures and see the boredom on their faces. As for being dangerous, any wild animal could feel threatened and strike out in fear, but orangutans are generally so gentle. There was a great episode of the late Steve Irwin's done on the island of Borneo. A wild orangutan mother let him come close and look at her baby. Then after a few minutes she gently but firmly pushed Steve away. I never feel fear, although I do use common sense. When a few large males with cheek pads were brought to the Care Center after being rescued from very bad zoo conditions, I did not go close enough for them to grab me. They had been mistreated in zoo situations.


8.) The Baby Orangutans are SO Cute! It must be a real Blessing to
hold one. What's that like?

It is life changing. I totally understand how some people go off to remote locations and don't want to leave. The orangutans' bodies are very warm, and their red hair smells like fresh cedar chips. There are no bugs flying around them. I know some people will laugh at what I say next, but there truly is communication. You can point at something and an orangutan goes to it. They try to copy what we do, including facial expressions like smiling. I could go on and on. I'm as bad as any grandma who whips out pictures of her grandkids. I see some people's eyes glaze over when I whip out my phone to show them pictures. ( laughing out loud at this)

9.) Do you get many sales for this cause? How about inquires for adoptions?

A lot of people come and look but I would not say a lot of sales on orangutan items. I don't feel discouraged about that though because Zazzle is around the world, and I feel like my pictures and stories might help to raise awareness, and THAT is priceless. There have been a few inquiries about adoptions, and a couple of Zazzle people have adopted and made donations!!


10.) We here at El Zzaz normally talk about a Featured artist's Art
work. I probably haven't mentioned much about yours, but I think the
Real Art here is keeping the Orangutans a Growing, Living Species.
Something Your doing with Artistic success. What would you like to see
10 years from now for the Orangutans?

I would hope that in ten years the predictions of extinction are wrong and that people have stopped trying to have them as illegal pets. Captivity is not a good life for creatures that love to live in the rainforest canopy.

11.) What is the life span of an Orangutan?

As with humans, an orangutan's life span can vary based on diet and the diet the orangutan had as an infant. The average is around 40 years in the wild, and it can be longer in captivity - though captivity does not necessarily mean it is a happier life. The difference in the physical condition or the length of time between being stolen from the orangutan mom and when the orphans are rescued is visible in some of my photos-- some of  the babies are quite bald and others are covered with thick hair and wild hairdos in all shades of red and orange.


12.) What of the people of Borneo?. How and what are they doing to
save the Orangutans?
.

The people of Borneo are lovely. It is local people who are the full time employees at these care centers as well as in national parks. At the same time, many families there are working hard to put food on the table, and so when big companies have higher paying jobs that involve destroying rainforest, I can't criticize human beings for accepting jobs that feed and provide a roof for their families. This island of Borneo is divided into three countries: Most of it is Indonesia, part is Malaysia, and then there is the small, independent country of Brunei. Indonesia and Malaysia do have conservation laws, but just like everywhere else in the world, laws are broken or exceptions made.

13.) What is it that causes an Orangutan to be an orphan?

This is where the story becomes sad: Babies are stolen from their mothers for the illegal pet trade around the world. Sometimes mothers are killed when they wander into palm oil plantations or areas that have been heavily logged (sometimes illegally) looking for food after their area of the rainforest has been destroyed. If the babies are left behind, people find them clinging to their mother's body and sometimes turn them in to one of the orangutan organizations. Some babies are so traumatized that they refuse to eat and die.

14.) Are there any kind of Laws in Borneo that protect them?.If not. Why?

There are laws, and yet ... the countries see a chance to make great profits by meeting world demand for a product which they can provide. A lot of these world conferences on conservation have been trying to find ways for nations to work together so that a country can develop its economy and raise its standard of living without wiping out all sorts of species and rainforest.


15.) Have you ever thought of asking "Zazzle" for a contribution? (ex:
Free shirts for anyone making a contribution, or Adopting an
Orangutan..Money maybe.)

There are so many worthwhile and needy charities-- both for humans and animals, wild and domestic, that I would not feel right about doing that. What I encourage is for people to think about giving any small amount. Just think how contributions of a couple of dollars each from people all over the world could add up to do tremendous good.


16.) Is there a Link or Button for the OFI, that our readers can get
to place on their Websight Storefront? I know I will.

Here's a link to the donation page of the main website:
http://www.orangutan.org/how-to-help/products-page


The second option down on that page is "Donate to OFI" and people can type in any amount and use Paypal or a credit card.

If for some reason that page link doesn't work, people can go to the home page: www.orangutan.org and click on the DONATE button in the left hand margin


By the way, Zazzle readers, here is an inside scoop found only on Captain's newsletter: On the donation and adoption page of the OFI website (orangutan.org), there are photos of the orangutans up for adoption. I'll give you one guess as to whose sleeve that is behind the smiling orangutan named Faisal. And yes, if the photo looks familiar, that's because I provided it and also had already been using it for orangutan charity products in my Zazzle store. Orangutans show a lot of emotion on their faces - smiles, pouts, joy, and sadness.




17.) You mentioned an IMAX film about the Orangutans. Will this help
them. Are the proceeds going to the Foundation?..and lastly, do you
know who's producing this Film?. Maybe we can Google it and find out
more.

There definitely is information available! The 3D IMAX movie, to be released through Warner Brothers in early April, features elephant orphans in Africa and orangutan orphans from Borneo at the O.F.I. Care Center. I believe the title is "Born To Be Wild." IMAX made a good sized donation this year, and that is why they are listed as one of the sponsors on the t-shirts for the annual "Save the Orangutans" fun run. (By the way- some of those shirts are still available for purchase through OFI headquarters in Los Angeles if people are interested)

Thank You Rebecca for spending time with us and informing us, (more
than we knew), about Orangutans.We wish you and, the People of the
Forest, the very best, and hopefully, more support for you
both...capt.

Thank you for this opportunity. I hope everyone will go to see the IMAX movie about orangutan orphans. It's supposed to be released in spring 2011. Zazzlers can say, "I know some of these orangutans from Zazzle!"