Fleur Butcher

After joining Perth Zoo in 1989, Fleur Butcher began to realise her passion for primates, in particular, orang-utans, and followed that passion to the Wanarist Reintroduction Centre at Kalimantan, Borneo, where she worked for 18 months. Since that time, she has been nominated for Young Australian of the Year for her work with orang-utans.

“Orang-utans are my life,” says Fleur. “I am very privileged to work with these beautiful red apes. When I returned from my first trip to Borneo, I realised the dire situation this species is in. I witnessed forest clearing on a massive scale and experienced the pain and torment in the eyes of orphaned orang-utans. My goal is to be a voice for orang-utans by sharing my passion and knowledge with anyone who will listen.”

Her specialty is the care and management of siamangs and orang-utans at Melbourne Zoo, where she has worked since 2000. She was instrumental in developing the orang-utan sanctuary at the Zoo and played an integral part in formalising enrichment and training in the rainforest precinct.

She is also a founding member of Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation Australia, and returns frequently to Borneo with donations and medical supplies. In 2007, she founded the successful Welding for Welfare program, which involves skill exchanges among trades personnel working in areas such as welding and enrichment, with the common goal of improving the welfare of captive orang-utans at Nyaru Menteng Reintroduction Centre.

Growing up in the hills of Perth and surrounded by nature, Fleur’s passion for animals and the environment developed from an early age, when she began assisting in the rescue and care of many species of wildlife. She is a naturalist at heart, and as a young child spent many hours in the bush learning about wildlife and their habitats.

She has volunteered her spare time to assist land and sea wildlife with the Bunbury Dolphin Trust and Underwater World. She has also assisted with research into bottle-nosed dolphins, humpback whales, and Mahakam River dolphins, and has attended whale strandings as a member of WestWhales in Western Australia.