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.
- A century ago there were probably more than 230,000 orangutans in total, but
Source: TH
