There are some who say that cutting the orangutans off completely from humans is the only way. Others say it is cruel to force them into the wild, when they may not have the survival skills to find enough food and defend themselves. Ex-captive orangutans should have as little contact with humans as possible. The general public is not allowed here, and orangutans are kept in socialization cages with others their own age. Russon has been coming to Borneo for almost a decade, chasing wild orangutans and recording their behavior.
Wild orangutans are, for the most part, indifferent to humans.
But given the choice, most orangutans who were captured at a very young age prefer human company to that of their own species, she says. You can tell which ex-captives think they are human by measuring their response to food. If another orangutan eats some food, there is no reaction. Ex-captives also recognize hierarchy among human relationships and react to them, Russon says. They feel competitive and sometimes threatened by humans of the same sex, and are drawn to humans of the opposite sex.