Volunteer With Orangutans

ENDANGERED STATUS

NUMBER REMAINING IN THE WILD

ENDEMIC REGION

How Endangered Are Orangutans

Both the Bornean and Sumatran Orangutan are considered critically endangered by the IUCN and this status looks unlikely to change any time soon. 100 years ago orangutan numbers were estimated to be around the 230,000 mark, but nowadays that number has dropped dramatically.

There are thought to be fewer than 54,000 Bornean orangutans left, and a tiny 6,000 Sumatran orangutans remaining. Population numbers of their newly discovered cousin, the Tapanuli orangutan, sit around just 900 individuals. With the population suffering from a 75% drop in just 100 years, the rate of decline is unsustainable and the orangutans are in grave danger of ceasing to exist. Few other animal species have suffered a population drop as drastic as that of the orangutan, and that is why change needs to happen and it needs to happen soon.

Threats Orangutans Are Facing

Orangutans are facing many threats, and these include:

• Habitat Loss – huge amounts of the forest the orangutans once called home has been chopped down to make way for palm oil plantations and this has had a huge effect on the Great Ape. Since 1973, more than 30% of Borneo's rain forests have been lost.

• The Illegal Pet Trade – young babies are taken away from their mothers to become part of this vile trade. Estimates suggest that up to 1,000 orangutan babies each year are smuggled out of their natural homes.

• Forest Fires – as recently as 2015 a huge forest fire decimated the forest in which the orangutans live. 200 hectares were lost at the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Project site alone, so this demonstrates how destructive these fires can be.

Fast Facts