This profile was edited with Skize Editor
Sumatran
orangutan MySpace Codes
The Sumatran orangutan (pongo pygmaeus abelii) differs genetically and physically from the Bornean orangutan (pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus), and the population is smaller. Both species are highly endangered due to habitat loss and poaching and it is imperative that they are saved from extinction.
The population of Sumatran orangutans declined in number from over 12,000 in 1994 to 7,300 in 2003.
With their jungle environment burnt and logged and their food sources lost, the Sumatran orangutan population is declining by as many as 1000 per year. Current estimates suggest that they could become extinct in the wild in less than 10 years. Illegal logging and the deliberate starting of forest fires in order to convert virgin forest to timber and palm oil plantations are the main factors responsible for the loss of over 80% of orangutan habitat over the last 20 years..
Orangutans breed more slowly than any other primate, with the female producing a baby on average only once every 7-8 years. This makes the population extra-vulnerable to loss and accelerates the decline in numbers.
An effective survival programme for Sumatran orangutans is imperative because they have been neglected for a long time and have received almost no international help for years. Deprived of their forest cover, they are increasingly confronted by ever-expanding human populations. The search for food forces them to stray into farms and palm oil plantations where they are often killed or fall victim to poachers. The only hope for these orangutan refugees, and for orangutans taken captive and kept as pets both in Sumatra and abroad, is rescue and re-introduction into the wild...
The latest conservation strategies recommend against the re-introduction of ex-captives into wild populations, due to the threat of disease. This eliminates the vast Gunung Leuser National Park, adjacent to the Bohorok centre, as a viable relocation site. Despite this, the orangutans living at Bohorok still remain and need to be cared for.