Protect The Critically Endangered Orangutan
18,845 signatures toward our 30,000 Goal
Sponsor: The Rainforest Site
Palm oil plantation farmers are clear-cutting the orangutan's natural habitat. Take action before we lose this species forever!
The orangutan is a rare and majestic animal, and the only Great Ape of Asia, of which there are three species found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
The orangutan's name means "man of the forest," which is fitting considering the 97% of genetic DNA that they share with humans1.
Both the Bornean and Sumatran orangutans have experienced sharp population declines in the last century2. While there were once more than 230,000 orangutans in total, only about 104,700 Bornean orangutans remain. There are only about 7,500 Sumatran orangutans are alive in the wild3. A third species of orangutan discovered in Sumatra in 1997, the Tapanuli orangutan, numbers fewer than 800 individuals4.
The IUCN classifies all three species as critically endangered5.
If current trends continue, it has been projected that the Bornean orangutan will lose 70-80% of its forest habitat and become extinct in the wild in less than 50 years. By then, the Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutans could have already gone extinct6.
The biggest threat to these animals is the destruction and degradation of the tropical lowland rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra, which is done through illegal logging, forest fires, mining and small-scale shifting cultivation7. Farmers are clear-cutting the forests and destroying the natural habitat of the orangutan so they can grow and harvest palm oil, which they can sell to be used in many everyday food and cosmetic products.
Orangutan habitat is being cleared at an alarming rate to make room for palm oil plantations. Because the Sumatran orangutan is almost exclusively arboreal, with males only rarely traveling on the ground and females almost never, deforestation has a much greater impact on the survival of the species8.
Poaching orangutan infants and hunting for meat also threatens the species. Mothers are often killed for their babies, which are then sold on the black market for pets as they are cute. But orangutan babies require their mother's milk until the age of 6 years, and those that are sold into captivity are often denied that need2.
Wild orangutans will disappear If palm oil plantations, deforestation, poaching and hunting are not substantially reduced.
Help us send a message to the UN Environment Programme and the government of Indonesia that the orangutan is too important to lose to greed. Sign the petition and take action for this species!
- SAFE Worldwide (2022), "Species in Peril: ORANGUTANS."
- The Orangutan Project (2019), "Orangutan Facts."
- World Wide Fund For Nature (8 March 2006), "Factsheet: Orangutans."
- International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (11 October 2017), "Tapanuli Orangutan."
- International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species."
- Orangutan Conservancy (2021), "Threats to Orangutans."
- Orangutan Foundation (2022), "Threats to the Orangutan."
- World Wide Fund For Nature (2020), "ORANG-UTANS."
The Petition:
To the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme and President of Indonesia,
The world requires your help in averting the extinction of multiple species of orangutan.
While there were once more than 230,000 orangutans in total, only about 104,700 Bornean orangutans remain. There are only about 7,500 Sumatran orangutans are alive in the wild, and a third species of orangutan discovered in Sumatra in 1997, the Tapanuli orangutan, numbers fewer than 800 individuals.
By current estimates, we will lose the Tapanuli and Sumatran orangutan within the next few decades, and the Bornean orangutan not long after that.
The reason for this disappearance is already known: the destruction and degradation of the tropical lowland rainforests for palm oil plantations, poaching and hunting.
Multinational corporations that make up the palm oil industry are operating illegally, while killing off a world heritage species.
It's been estimated that over half of the orangutans found in the forests of Sumatra have already perished, some burning to death in the fires used to clear swamps for palm oil plantations. The remaining orangutans will almost certainly go extinct, if something isn't done.
Only with your help and cooperation will these species survive.
I implore you to intervene on behalf of the orangutan. The UN and the Indonesian government must work together to send environmental and conservation inspectors to Indonesia to monitor the planning and development of areas critical to the survival of the orangutan and the other animals in their habitats.
Sincerely,
