The Wild Orangutan

"Asia's Adorable Great Ape"

Once spread from the forests of China to Indonesia, the wild orangutan remains one of the great primate species and certainly the most charasmatic of all Asian mammals.

Today, this large, arboreal animal faces an uncertain future as its numbers decline and its habitat shrinks.

Orangutans inhabit only two islands on the planet: Borneo and Sumatra. Though the islands are both large in size, lowland rainforests and swamplands that support wild populations are diminishing.

At first recognized as one species, researchers now accept two distinct species, the Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan, one for each island. Borneo is divided up by three nations (Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei), while Sumatra is part of Indonesia.

A Sub-Adult Male Orangutan Uses Vines to Swing from Tree to Tree
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A member of the Great Apes, the orangutan stands with the mountain gorillas and chimpanzees of Africa as our closest relatives on the tree of evolutionary life. Dire predictions call for the possible extinction of orangutans within 20 years.

How pathetic would it be to lose these magnificent creatures in the pursuit of progress?

Let's take a look at the wildlife research and conservation efforts undertaken by governments, NGOs, and institutions to protect the species and rehabilitation programs to train orangutan infants to return to the jungle. For a quicker rundown, check out these orangutan facts.

The Orangutan: Research and Conservation

Orangutans are endangered species.

In the last several decades, the loss of orangutan habitat due to forest conversion to plantations, forest fires and settlement encroachment has left pockets of wild populations scattered over the landscape.

Presently, the best estimates suggest that wild populations in Borneo are between 45,000 to 69,000, with only 7,500 in Sumatra.

And though there are many national parks and protected areas, the highest orangutan densities occur in lowland and swamp forests. And these critical habitats for breeding wild populations are more at risk to conversion.

An Orangutan Nesting in a Tree in Gunung Palung National Park
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Living in the rainforest canopy, orangutans require natural forests for its survival. But these forests must be rich with fruiting trees to sustain the orangutan diet. Fruiting in hill dipterocarp and lower montane rainforests is probably too seasonal and infrequent for large populations.

Another factor in assessing the long term survival of the species relates to orangutan reproduction. Reaching human sizes of up to 90 kg (200 lbs), these large primates grow slow and produce only three to five young over a lifespan of 30 to 50 years.

Early explorers during the 1800s shot orangutans to study them. However, no proper field studies were conducted until the 1960s when surveys, supported by WWF, sought to understand population declines and investigate the trade in live specimens.

A Male Orangutan Climbs Through a Treetop in Search of Food
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Logging ran rampant in primary rainforests in the decades to follow, but the real impact on orangutans was the loss of lowland forests, already set aside for agriculture.

In Sabah, Malaysia, the orangutan population dropped from 20,000 to 11,000 in the 20 year period from the 1980s to 2000s. Unfortunately the best orangutan habitat coincided with areas marked for crop production to bolster funds too dependent on logging revenues.

For conservationists and governments, the emphasis now is on protecting forests suitable for sustaining breeding of wild populations with adequate plant varieties to support a healthy diet.

The Orangutan: Rehabilitation and Survival

For the last 50 years, rehabilitation and translocation efforts have saved orangutans.

These conservation measures set out to rescue orangutan pets held illegally and care for infants whose mothers died from hunting or forest fires. In addition, healthy animals were relocated from poor habitats to areas with suitable resources for wild populations.

Wildlife rehabilitation centers established in Borneo and Sumatra provide human intervention to teach infant orangutans the necessary forest skills to survive without assistance.

A Trio of Orphaned Orangutans in a Cage at a Rehabilitation Center
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Sepilok (Sabah), Camp Leakey (Kalimantan) and Bohorok (Sumatra) are among the most visited rehab centers and vital for domestic and international tourism to aid local business and support awareness activities. It is worth the extra time and cost to reach one of these centers to observe orangutans up-close in their native habitats.

Deforestation severs large tracts of natural rainforest and causes wild populations to separate into smaller groups that may not be large enough to breed without problems.

For example, in Sabah more than 200 wild animals have been placed in Tabin Wildlife Reserve from other locales. With fewer lowland and swamp habitats, this shifting around of wild orangutans to suitable conservation areas remains the best chance for their survival.

Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers

Sepilok Forest Reserve (Sabah) - A popular destination for anyone going to Sabah, the centre is located just outside Sandakan and offers a great experience and a guaranteed chance to see adult and young orangutans amid the rainforest with an interpretation centre next door.

Bohorok Rehabilitation Centre (Sumatra) - Located about 80 km from Medan at Bukit Lawang, this popular site sits on the eastern side of Gunung Leuser and has been in operation since 1973. These semi-wild orangutans provide tourists with viewing opportunities as they arrive at a feeding station.

Jackie Leads Tourists to the Feeding Platform, Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia
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