Orangutans are an endangered species according to most wildlife monitoring organizations and conservation groups. Ten thousand years ago, orangutans were found throughout Southeast Asia ranging all the way into southern China. Their populations probably numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

Unfortunately, the species today is found only in limited populations on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Due to the destructive activities of humans, the wild population may have diminished in the past decade by as much as 50%. Estimates of the current population are from less than 50,000 to 60,000 with more than three quarters of all orangutans found on Borneo.

The destruction and degradation of the tropical rain forest, particularly the lowland forests, is the main reason orangutans are threatened. This has been caused primarily by human activity (intense permitted logging, illegal logging, conversion to palm oil plantations and farm lands, mining, settlements, road construction) and also by natural phenomena (large-scale fires). Additionally, the illegal animal trade has been a significant factor in the decline the wild orangutan population. Finally, orangutans are occasionally hunted and eaten by some of the indigenous peoples of Borneo as well as immigrant loggers who do not have a dietary prohibition to eating primate bushmeat.

Illegal logging (Gunung Leuser National Park)
Photo © Ruwindrijarto/Environmental Investigation Agency