These photos are of Sumatran orangutans at my local zoo. The photo above is a female with her hand raised to beg from zookeepers. The photo below is of a male orangutan (with throat pouch) who is cooling off by a stream of water on a hot day.
Because of destructive human activities, the wild orangutan population may have diminished by as much as 50 percent over the last decade, according to Orangutan Foundation International. Orangutans are found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, and they are endangered.
Their tropical rain forest habitat has been partially destroyed by logging, mining, conversion of land for agriculture to support the palm oil industry and road construction. Some habitat has also been destroyed by natural means, such as fire. Sadly, some locals hunt and eat orangutans. Even though it’s illegal, some locals also keep orangutans as pets.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas has lived among and studied orangutans. I highly recommend her book, Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo. She gave up a lot to live in the rain forest with these apes, and she has studied them more closely than anyone. Not many people would put up with the bugs and slimy creatures that she has in order to study these primates.
The Orangutan Foundation (with President Birute Mary Galdikas) is doing a lot to help orangutans (including fighting illegal logging and releasing ex-captive orangutans into protected land). Please read more about their efforts and how you can support them.
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