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Once widespread in Asian tropical forests, orangutans now live only on Sumatra and Borneo, where forest loss is the greatest threat to their existence. Naturally occurring forest fires and those set by farmers and large companies to clear the way for plantations of oil palm, fast-growing pulpwood, and other crops, devastate forests. The destruction spreads even further during dry years.

In 1997, an area the size of New Jersey burned in Indonesia, and many of the fires occurred in orangutan habitat. Large reserves and strictly enforced wildlife protection laws are needed to keep orangutans safe from extinction.

Orangutans are endangered. In 1998 the world population was estimated at 27,000 (down from 315,000 in 1990). The estimate of the wild population of orangutans in Sumatra was 6,500 in 1999 (down from 12,000 in 1993). The last approximations for the population on Borneo, where they are found in six different localities, not all of which have been surveyed, was 10,000. Actual numbers could be higher or lower.

Orangutans are protected by law in their home countries of Indonesia and Malaysia. These governments are protecting orang utans as best they can, but it is difficult to enforce the laws. Compliance and enforcement remain problematic.

The primary threat to orang utans is loss of habitat. Appropriate orangutan habitat has declined by 80 percent in the last 20 years, and less than two percent of original habitat is protected. Loss of habitat is caused by commercial logging, conversion to plantations, and clearing for agriculture or logging roads.

Orangutan mothers are often killed so that their infants can be kidnapped for the illegal pet trade. Hunting for meat and trophy parts is also a threat to these beautiful animals.

A report in Science, May 2000, states that habitat is disappearing. From a total of 13 million hectares of orang utan habitat on Borneo, four million have gone to palm oil plantations, one million to rice fields, and the 1997 fires destroyed eight million hectares.

As of July 2002, the international zoo population of orangutans is about 600 individuals. In North America, the zoo population is 80 Sumatran, 81 Bornean, and 40 hybrid. The number of individuals held as pets and in the entertainment business is unknown.

There are international guidelines and laws to protect orangutans. Notably, the World Conservation Union has developed criteria to identify threatened species and published the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), under which trade in orangutans or orangutan parts is illegal.

There are also national laws and programs to protect orang utans. Learn about conservation organizations that work to protect primates.

North American zoos no longer take orangutans from the wild, thus all new animals are captive-born.

For information on how you can make a positive impact for animals and the environments where they live, read our tips on how to think globally and act locally.

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