Orangutan Could be First Great Ape to Become Extinct
by Matthew McDermott, Brooklyn, NY on 07. 7.08
photo: Getty Images
According to new research published in the conservation journal Oryx, due to rapid declines in population because of habitat loss the orangutan could be the first of the great apes to become extinct.
New data decreases Orangutan populations
On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the orangutan population has been revised downwards from 7,501 to 6,600 in 2004. The new figure is the result of the discovery that a large area of Aceh which was thought to contain orangutans, did not in fact have contain any. Researchers also state that the 2004 estimated population on the island of Borneo of 54,000 orangutans has probably declined due a 10% loss in habitat from 2004 to 2008.
Article author Dr Serge Wich: "It is clear that the Sumatran orangutan is in rapid decline and unless extraordinary efforts are made soon, it could become the first great ape to go extinct.” He added that “Although these revised estimates for Borneo are encouraging, forest loss and associated loss of orangutans are occurring at an alarming rate, and suggest that recent reductions of Bornean orangutan populations have been far more severe than previously supposed."
Palm oil plantation expansion biggest threat
Though Wich says there are encouraging signs, such as forest conservation becoming a more prominent political issue and habitat loss stabilizing in parts of Sumatra, ultimately the biggest threat is deforestation associated with the growing palm oil industry in Indonesia and Malaysia. Together these two nations produce approximately 80% of the global palm oil supply.
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"it could become the first great ape to go extinct"? What kind of grandstanding is this? Doesn't homo habilis count as a "great ape"? I'm sure thousands of species of great ape have come and gone.
I am ashamed of my species.
Have we not the will and decency to let our sister species live? Is a pittance of palm oil worth the decimation of our relative species?
This is the triumph of personal greed over public decency.
The persons responsible for this outrage to nature need prosecuted and jailed, not made rich selling palm oil.
Try & boycott any product containing palm oil if you can find any!
Shame the corporations who exploit the land for their indictments on these magestic creatures;
Nestle products are a start!
My wager is on the Tiger or the Polar Bear. The saddest thousand dollars I ever made
Like John, I too am ashamed of my species.
Greed seems to be an insuperable power that will lay waste to all environments and species that stand in it's way.
And I just read that fewer than 700 Mountain gorillas survive, but their numbers are dropping due to human destruction. My God, what does it say about our species that we are responsible for the greatest mass extinction of animal and plant life since the die-off of the dinos. What a damned shame.
I am in agreement with John Taylor's comment. I usually don't go for outrage and indignation, but there is no other acceptable response to this news. Besides Sumatra et al must realize that if they caused a 10% habitat in 4 years, they're gonna run out of palm oil pretty darn soon. Have they no plan about what to do after than?
Singer-- specieism....
We need to do something, I want to do something. That is the most darling picture.
It is often asked, "How many orangutans are left?" The numbers themselves do not matter. What matters is that the rate of decline is increasing, and unless something is done, the wild orangutan will go extinct. Once remaining populations become so small and fragmented, there will be no way to recover the species, as these small populations will be genetically unviable in the long run.
What also matters is the welfare angle of this decline 5000 are dying unnaturally--either from starvation as a result of habitat destruction or from human-wildlife conflict. Working with orangutans for 14 years now, I see them as individuals capable of emotions and pain. The loss of just one of these is heartbreaking. 5000 is genocide.
We have a moral obligation to save these sentient, intelligent cousins of ours from this brutality. I do not subscribe to the view that we need to keep orangutan numbers up so our children have a chance to see them in the wild. Orangutans do not exist for our benefit. They themselves have a right to life, regardless of whether we get the added benefit of gazing upon them in their world one day.
The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation is the largest primate rescue project in the world. We look after close to 1000 rescued orangutans presently, and have rescued and released more than 1000 others so far. We are the only organisation actively rescuing the wild orangutans from certain death in these oil-palm plantations. 2 weeks ago we released a further 25 wild orangutans rescued from oil-palm plantations into a remote protected forest in the north of Central Kalimantan. This release site could potentially support more than 1000 orangutans, making it a viable population. BOS also manages the Mawas Reserve, a forest of 360,000 hectares, home to some 3500 wild orangutans. If BOS can continue to protect populations like those in our release site and in Mawas, we can prevent the extinction of the orangutan in the wild. Find out more at www.savetheorangutan.co.uk.
Michelle Desilets
Founding Director
Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK