Conservation

Orangutans are certainly in a perilous position, with only 50,000 orangutans remaining in the wild, comprised of just over 7,000 Sumatran orangutans and 45,000 Bornean orangutans. However, although the figure for Bornean orangutans doesn’t look too low it is actually at 14% of the level it was in the middle of the 20th century.

Orangutans are so endangered because of one primary reason – the loss of their habitat. Logging and mining in Indonesia and Malaysia, along with the building of roads which further fragments the remaining forest, has resulting in many orangutans struggling to survive.

One the major reasons driving this deforestation is the increased demand in palm oil, with oil palm plantations regularly being constructed.

Alongside logging and mining there is also an illegal hunting trade, with many orangutans hunted down for the illegal pet trade.

Adopting an orangutan can help with both these problem areas. Just £10 pays for three native tree seedlings to be planted in Borneo, helping to restore the destroyed habitat and £35 pays for four wildlife wardens to patrol the rainforests to protect orangutans in Malaysia.