How many orangutans in borneo

Endangered apes saved from pet trade. New great ape species identified. Primates facing 'extinction crisis'. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Bornean orangutans' forest habitat is changing at an "unsustainable rate". Image source, Charlie Dailey. Image source, Marc Ancrenaz. Roads and plantations fragment forest habitat. Building bridges. Image source, Clark Adkerson. Man-made bridges are a short-term solution allowing orangutans to move in fragmented habitat.

View comments. The indigenous Dayak people of Borneo tell an old legend that the orangutan was originally a human who pretended not to be able to speak and climbed up the trees to escape having to work.

The name 'orangutan' originates from two different Malay and Indonesian words: 'orang' human and 'hutan' forest. Orangutan thus means 'human of the forest'. The orangutan shares no less than 97 percent of its DNA with humans. They therefore share many physical similarities with humans. Orangutans live exclusively in Sumatra and Borneo in Southeast Asia, and it is the only great ape found outside of Africa.

Until recently, we have known of only two different orangutan species. One in Sumatra Pongo abelii and one in Borneo Pongo pygmaeus. However, the Tapanuli orangutan Pongo tapanuliensis , a third orangutan species, was discovered in Sumatra in According to IUCN, all three species are critically endangered. The Bornean orangutan species, Pongo pygmaeus, is further divided into three subspecies: P. The remaining wild populations of orangutans live in the rainforest, usually in low-lying peat forests and other fertile rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra.

They primarily live above the ground and in the forest canopy, and they are the largest arboreal mammals. The largest remaining species of orangutans is the Bornean species Pongo pygmaeus. This was a landmark decision, as the areas had been cleared for the purpose of planting more palms to farm.

President Jokowi since ruled that the 2 million cleared hectares be restored back to their original ecosystems. Orangutans are incredible and unique creatures, whose popularity has encouraged the media to shed much needed light on the situation throughout the world. This attention has made conservation efforts easier, with more people interested in volunteering and raising money to help the cause. Even with every effort to rewind the last 20 years of damage, the population of orangutans continues to shrink.

We continue to ask: how many critically endangered orangutans are left? Can we save them? How long do we have? Your impact may be great or small, but the situation is delicate enough for it to matter. Meet the orangutans at Camp Leaky and the people who care for them. Updated 16 April Just 20 years ago, it would have been difficult to pinpoint how many orangutans were left in the wild.

Fast forward to today and their status is clear: Bornean orangutans are now classed as critically endangered orangutans. How on earth could this have happened? Hunting Orangutans are hunted as a source of food, in defence of agriculture and sometimes even for sport. All of these factors have contributed to the dwindling orangutan population.

Patrol and protect With this in mind, the greatest mission for conservationists has been to protect the remaining jungles in Borneo.