Orangutans

In News

• Recently, four police personnel in Chennai were suspended for aiding orangutan smugglers.

About Orangutans

• About:
  • Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra.
• Habitat:
  • The name orangutan means “man of the forest” in the Malay language. 
  • The most arboreal of the great apes, orangutans spend most of their time in trees. 
• Characteristics:
  • They have proportionally long arms and short legs, and have reddish-brown hair covering their bodies. 
  • Bornean and Sumatran orangutans differ a little in appearance and behavior. 
    • While both have shaggy reddish fur, Sumatran orangutans have longer facial hair.
• Threats:
  • Human activities have caused severe declines in populations and ranges. 
  • Threats to wild orangutan populations include poaching (for bushmeat and retaliation for consuming crops), habitat destruction and deforestation (for palm oil cultivation and logging), and the illegal pet trade.

• Declining population & IUCN Status:
  • A century ago there were probably more than 230,000 orangutans in total, but
    • The Bornean orangutan is now estimated at about 104,700 based on updated geographic range categorized as Endangered and 
    • The Sumatran about 7,500 which are categorized as Critically Endangered.
    • Tapanuli orangutan: A third species of orangutan was announced in November, 2017. With no more than 800 individuals in existence, the Tapanuli orangutan is the most endangered of all great apes.

Source: TH