Opal the orangutan lives at the Natal Zoological Gardens in South Africa. She has been kept in isolation in a barren enclosure for most of her life.

An ape rescue centre has offered a home for Opal at their dedicated primate sanctuary, but the owners of Opal refuse to let her go.

Opal is an intelligent, sentient being, who experiences feelings of sadness and loneliness. Every day she sits all alone in her enclosure, with little enrichment or stimulation, looking extremely depressed. This is no life for any creature. It is just a miserable lonely existence.

We ask that the owners of Opal release her from Natal Zoological Gardens and relocate her to a sanctuary, where she can be looked after by experts in orangutan care, and all her needs can be met. Poor Opal is in her 40’s now and she has suffered all her life. Please let her have the comfortable retirement she deserves, in a sanctuary, where she can be properly taken care of, and live a more natural and happy life.