Leif Cocks

Last updated

Leif Cocks
Leif Cocks 2022.jpg
Leif Cocks in 2022
Born
Leif Cocks

1964 (age 60–61)
Sydney, Australia
Alma mater Curtin University
Occupations Zoologist
Primatologist
Conservationist
Years active1986–present
Employer Perth Zoo (1986–2006)
Known forFounder of The Orangutan Project
Notable workOrangutans: My Cousins, My Friends
AwardsJohn Curtin Medal (2019)
Pongo Environmental Award (2019)
Medal of the Order of Australia (2020)
Website leifcocks.org

Leif Cocks (born 1964) is an Australian zoologist, primatologist, and conservationist. [1] He is the founder of The Orangutan Project, an international non-profit organisation established in 1998 to support the conservation and welfare of orangutans in Southeast Asia.

Contents

Early life and education

Leif Cocks was born in 1964 in Sydney, Australia, and spent much of his childhood in Hong Kong. [2] [3] He completed a Bachelor of Applied Science in Biology, specialising in zoology, at Curtin University (then the Western Australian Institute of Technology) in 1985. [4] He later undertook postgraduate studies, including completing a Master of Science with research focused on the health and behavioural welfare of captive orangutans. [4]

Career

Cocks began working at Perth Zoo in 1986, initially in the Bird Section. [5] In 1988, he joined the Primate Section, where he became Head Orangutan Keeper. During his tenure, he contributed to Perth Zoo’s orangutan breeding program and introduced behavioural enrichment protocols aimed at improving the psychological welfare of captive great apes. [5] Cocks later held several positions, including Supervisor of Primates and Curator of Exotics. In 2006, Cocks oversaw the first-ever successful reintroduction of a zoo-born orangutan, Temara, into Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Sumatra. [6] [7]

In 1998, while employed at the zoo, Cocks founded The Orangutan Project (TOP) to support conservation efforts in Borneo and Sumatra. [8] Initially a volunteer-based charity, the organisation grew into an international NGO funding conservation projects in Borneo and Sumatra. [9] It funds habitat protection, orphan care, rehabilitation, and community education programs. [5] [10]

Cocks also founded the International Elephant Project, International Tiger Project and Forests for People to protect elephants, tigers and forest communities. [11] [12] He also established Wildlife Asia, a regional conservation alliance, and helped establish advisory positions with organisations such as the Center for Orangutan Protection and is the Vice President of Orang Utan Republik Foundation. [13] [14]

Cocks has been an advocate for the concept of non-human personhood for great apes and has argued that they should be granted basic rights due to their high intelligence. [15] [16] In 2015, Cocks testified in an Argentinian court case involving an orangutan named Sandra. [17] [18] His testimony supported the legal argument to treat Sandra as a non-human person with rights. [18] The court subsequently granted Sandra rights to life, liberty, and protection from harm, setting a legal precedent. [18] He is also an outspoken critic of industries contributing to deforestation, particularly the palm oil industry. [16]

As an author, Cocks has published three books: Orangutans and their Battle for Survival (2002), the best-selling Orangutans: My Cousins, My Friends (2016), and Finding Our Humanity (2018). [15] [19]

Personal life

Cocks is a vegan. [15] He is noted for his close rapport with orangutans, and is often referred as an "orangutan whisperer." [17] [20] [5] Cocks has described his relationships with these apes as based on deep, enduring trust and cites their ability to remember him after long periods as evidence of their personhood. [15]

Books

Awards and recognition

Cocks has received multiple honors for his conservation work. In 2019, he received the John Curtin Medal from Curtin University. [21] That same year, the Orang Utan Republik Foundation awarded him with a Pongo Environmental Award for his contributions to orangutan conservation. [22]

In the 2020 Australia Day Honours, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to the conservation of endangered animals. [23]

References

  1. ↑ "BBC Partners". wspartners.bbc.com. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  2. ↑ "Happy Birthday Leif - The Orangutan Project". www.theorangutanproject.org. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  3. ↑ Wilkinson, Carmelle (13 April 2023). "World-renowned wildlife campaigner on quest to protect orangutans from extinction | Curtin Alumni & Friends" . Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  4. 1 2 279751i (7 December 2021). "John Curtin Medallists - About | Curtin University" . Retrieved 21 July 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 3 4 Topsfield, Jewel (22 December 2015). "Hanging out with the orangutan whisperer". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  6. ↑ "Endangered orang-utan born at Perth Zoo". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "Temara, the orangutan". ABC listen. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  8. ↑ "How corporate greed will wipe out orang-utans". PerthNow. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  9. ↑ "Frequent flyer: Leif Cocks". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  10. ↑ Jameson, Julietta (27 March 2018). "The places that changed my life: Leif Cocks, orangutan conservationist". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  11. ↑ "Leadership Team". www.internationalelephantproject.org. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Leadership Team". www.internationaltigerproject.org. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  13. ↑ "Founder". www.forests4people.org. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  14. ↑ "Leif Cocks, Vice President - Orang Utan Republik Foundation". www.orangutanrepublik.org. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "What humans can learn from orangutans". ABC News. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Leif Cocks: saving orangutans". RNZ. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  17. 1 2 "Orangutans are as human as we are, says Australian orangutan whisperer". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  18. 1 2 3 Vyawahare, Malavika (19 August 2020). "'We are losing': Q&A with The Orangutan Project's Leif Cocks on saving the great ape". Mongabay Environmental News. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  19. ↑ "Founder". www.theorangutanproject.org. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  20. ↑ Al Jazeera English (24 March 2016). 🇦🇺 The Orangutan Whisperer | 101 East . Retrieved 21 July 2025– via YouTube.
  21. ↑ "John Curtin Medallists - About | Curtin University". 7 December 2021.
  22. ↑ "The Pongo Awards".
  23. ↑ "WA conservation hero's life of caring for animals". The West Australian. 25 January 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.