There Are Roughly 7,000 Sumatran Orangutans Left ... And Yet They’re Still Being Hunted

Sumatran orangutans number less than 7,300, according to a 2004 survey -- and their population is falling. The loss of these great orange apes stems largely from two threats: habitat loss and hunting.

The destruction of the orangutan's habitat is well-documented. Only about 20 percent of the orangutan's forests remain because of palm oil plantations and logging. (In response to this habitat depletion, orangutans are now nesting in oil palm plantations). Deaths from hunting are well-known, but, because hunters kill fewer orangutans than habitat loss, this threat doesn't receive much attention. But because there are so few orangutans left, it should.

In parts of Sumatra, orangutans are killed for their meat. To farmers, they're also a source of misguided fear. A survey of more than 800 Sumatran farmers found that 28 percent perceived orangutans as a physical threat, according to a 2010 study in the American Journal of Primatology -- and that fear leads to more killings.

"If you find an orangutan sitting in your garden or eating the fruit from your fruit tree or pulling up your oil palm, the logical reaction is either to scare it off or to kill it. That's what people do," conservationist Erik Meijaard told The Guardian in 2011, after a rash of orangutan killings in Borneo.

There is still hope for these great apes, however. Taking a 100-year look down the line, funding from donors "should be allocated primarily towards habitat protection and management," Australian and Malaysian conservationists write in a recent PLOS ONE study. The scientists argue that protecting the orangutans from hunting -- and protecting their forests -- is the best (and ultimately, cheapest) strategy, rather than trying to reintroduce new orangutans.

Palm oil, an ingredient in nearly half of all packaged products in the U.S., is usually produced on large plantations of oil palm trees. Growing these plants involves clearing the forest that was once there, often jeopardizing the habitat of wildlife like orangutans, rhinos and tigers. Join us in pledging to avoid products made with unsustainable palm oil, and pressure food companies to do the same.

[rebelmouse-campaign notopalmoil title="Add your voice: tell food companies to stop endangering orangutans and start using sustainable palm oil." theme="sidebar" total="supporters have added their voice." cta="Sign Now" pastCta="Signed" sendButton="Sign" why="Add your voice: Tell food companies to stop endangering orangutans and use sustainable palm oil.." addPost="Post Now!" shareText="Join @dodo and me in saving orangutans, demand food companies use sustainable palm oil. #NoToPalmOil {{link}}"]