Bria Monet.

WHERE THE FUCK WAS I WHEN THIS HAPPENED!?

It was one of the saddest TV moments of my childhood! Donnie’s parents were originally very similar to Nigel and Mirianne. They befriended an orangutan mother and her son and taught them a single sign in sign-language: family. One day, poachers attached the orangutans. Donnie’s parents intervened and were killed for doing so. The villagers nearby sent their bodies to sea. Out of love and gratitude, the mother orangutan briefly ‘adopted’ Donnie, who was only a toddler. A year later, they stumbled across Nigel as he and the Thornberrys were filming. The orangutan decided that Donnie needed a human family and put Donnie in Nigel’s path. The Thornberrys, of course, adopted him, having personally known and respected his parents as great naturalists. 

I knew I saw this as a kid, but I think it was so sad that I kept it in the back of my mind while watching the show as an adult.