ORANGUTANS
G'day folks,
There are a few animals I particularly love. Whales are one of them. However, today I feature one of my other favourites on this planet - ORANGUTANS.
Orangutan Facts
Orangutans
are great apes, as opposed to monkeys, and are closely related to
humans, having 97% of DNA in common.
Orangutans
are extremely patient and intelligent mammals. They are very observant and
inquisitive, and there are many stories of orangutans escaping from zoos after
having watched their keepers unlock and lock doors.
Height: males - about 1.5m; females -
about 1.2m
Weight: males - 93 to 130 kg; females – 48 to 55 kg
Life Span: 60 years or more
Gestation: about 8.5 months
Number of Young at Birth: usually 1, very rarely 2
Weight: males - 93 to 130 kg; females – 48 to 55 kg
Life Span: 60 years or more
Gestation: about 8.5 months
Number of Young at Birth: usually 1, very rarely 2
The
Sumatran and Bornean Orangutans' rainforest habitats are disappearing at an
alarming rate due to deforestation and clearing of the land for pulp paper and
palm oil plantations, with the remaining forest degraded by drought and forest
fires.
- Logging is an obvious problem for orangutans who spend their lives in trees.
- Fires endanger the orangutans and the smoke confuses them leaving them vulnerable to death from loss of habitat (food). Fires are commonly started to clear the land and undergrowth for farming and palm oil plantations.
- Palm Oil Plantations are now the leading suppliers for a global market that demands more of the tree's versatile oil for cooking, cosmetics, and biofuel. But palm oil's appeal comes with significant costs. Palm oil plantations often replace tropical forests, killing endangered species, uprooting local communities, and contributing to the release of climate-warming gases. The orangutans that are displaced starve to death, are killed by plantation workers as pests, or die in the fires.
- Poaching orangutan infants and hunting for meat also threatens the species. Mothers are often killed for their babies, which are then sold on the black market for pets as they are cute. Babies cling to their mothers and suckle their mother’s milk until the age of 6 years. Rescued infants are then rehabilitated by volunteers at orangutan rescue centres. To support and help with the care of these infants, you can Adopt an Orphan for as little as $55 a year.
Over 150
rehabilitated orangutans have been released into the forest area to date via
the TOP supported Bukit Tigapuluh Sumatran orangutan Reintroduction Project –
the only reintroduction site for the Critically Endangered Sumatran
orangutan.
PLAYFUL FACTS
In Malay and Indonesian orang means "person" and utan is derived from hutan, which means
"forest." Thus, orangutan literally means "person of the
forest."
Orangutans'
arms stretch out longer than their bodies - over two metres from fingertip to
fingertip - and are used to employ a "hookgrip". When on the ground,
they walk on all fours, using their palms or their fists.
When male
orangutans reach maturity, they develop large cheek pads, which female
orangutans apparently find attractive.
When
males are fighting, they charge at each other and break branches. If that
doesn't scare one of them away, they grapple and bite each other.
For the
first 4-6 years of his/her life, an infant orangutan holds tight to his/her
mother's body as she moves through the forest in search of fruit.
Like
humans, orangutans have opposable thumbs. Their big toes are also opposable.
Orangutans
have tremendous strength, which enables them to swing from branch to branch and
hang upside-down from branches for long periods of time to retrieve fruit and
eat young leaves.
Orangutan Threats
The
orangutans' rainforest is being felled for Palm Oil and other crops at an
overwhelming rate with the remaining forest being degraded by drought and
forest fires. Extinction in the wild is likely in the next 10 years for
Sumatran Orangutans and soon after for Bornean Orangutans. We need to recognise
the massive amount of suffering being inflicted on a species that is 97%
genetically identical to humans.
Orangutans
are highly intelligent animals. Their intelligence is comparable to that of a
five or six year old child. Surely these self-aware animals deserve the right
to live and to be free from torture and exploitation?
Protecting
the orangutan also protects the surrounding ecosystem and myriad of endangered
and exotic species. Saving the orangutan saves the forest.
Save Last Remaining Natural Sumatran Rainforest from Barito Pacific
Group
We need
your help to stop a logging company destroying Lestari Asri Jaya Concession in
the West (Block II and IV on the Map), forming a critical part of the Bukit Tigapuluh
Ecosystem.
We
desperately need the Lestari Asri Jaya Concession under threat protected, to
ensure the survival of remaining valuable ecosystems in the world, and save the
140 strong critically endangered Sumatran elephant population.
The Bukit
Tigapuluh ("Thirty Hills") ecosystem is located in Central Sumatra,
Indonesia. This globally important ecosystem provides a safe haven for many
species which are threatened by extinction or are extremely rare - including
the critically endangered Sumatran orangutan, tiger and elephant.
Between
1985 and 2007, Sumatra island lost 12 million hectares of natural forest, a 48
percent loss in 22 years. By 2007, the island had only 30 percent natural
forest cover (around 13 million hectares).
What is Palm Oil?
Palm oil
is derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree. The palm fruit yields both palm
oil and palm kernel oil. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit and
is an edible oil used in food. Palm kernel oil is extracted from the seed of
the fruit and is used in the manufacture of cosmetics.
There are
two main species of oil palm tree; Elaeis guineensis, native to West Africa and
Elaeis oleifera, native to Central and South America. Both species grow in
tropical regions including Columbia in South America, New Guinea in the
Pacific, Ghana in Africa and Indonesia and Malaysia in Southeast Asia.
Palm oil
plantations are the main driver for deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia.
These two regions account for 85 percent of global production of palm oil.
What is The Orangutan Project's position on palm oil and the RSPO?
The RSPO,
in part, calls palm oil sustainable if produced from land cleared before 2005.
However this still could of been orangutan habitat, killing orangutans. TOP therefore
has a firmer approach and will not support palm oil that comes from the islands
of Borneo or Sumatra. We acknowledge that palm oil plantations set up on any
land will have likely displaced natural habitat, however this is true of
all permanent forms of agriculture.
Environmental Impacts
The
United Nations Environment Programme has announced that palm oil plantations
are now the leading cause of rainforest destruction in Malaysia and Indonesia.
An area of forest equal to 300 soccer fields is being destroyed every hour.
The
burning of forests to clear land for palm oil plantations is a major cause of
air pollution in Southeast Asia. It releases CO2 into the atmosphere which
contributes to global warming. Research shows that 20% of all global carbon
dioxide emissions from fossil fuels come from rainforest destruction.
Threatening Endangered Species
Deforestation
for the establishment of palm oil plantations is responsible for habitat loss
for threatened and endangered species. Priority species impacted by forest
clearing are the Asian elephant, tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros and the orangutan.
The Asian elephant and Bornean orangutan are endangered and the tiger, Sumatran
rhinoceros and Sumatran orangutan are Critically Endangered.
Palm Oil Plantations Endangering Orangutans
During
the past decade the orangutan population has decreased by approximately 50
percent in the wild. This is primarily due to human activities including
rainforest destruction for palm oil plantations. At present, 80 percent of
orangutan habitat has been altered or lost.
The
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUNC) has
classified the Bornean orangutan as Endangered with approximately 55,000 left
with 5,000 killed a year. The Sumatran orangutan is Critically Endangered with
approximately 6,300 left and 1,000 being killed a year.
How to
help this great species:
Now here are a few cute
videos of these wonderful animals:
Clancy's comment: Damn cute, eh? Be a shame to see them disappear off the face of the earth because we didn't appreciate them.
I'm ...
Think about this!
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