Please visit our conservation page at http://www.saveGPorangutans.org

Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) are internationally recognized as endangered. Their numbers in the wild have dropped dramatically by 30-50% over the past 10 years, with about only 50,000 individuals remaining in Borneo and 7,300 in Sumatra, the only places worldwide they are currently found. Experts estimate that, without drastic interventions, orangutans could become extinct in as little as 20 years. It is for this reason that we combine our research studies with an intensive conservation program.

Orangutans face threats to their survival from numerous fronts, all related to conflicts with rapidly expanding human populations. Illegal logging activities have been rampant in Indonesia and lead not only vastly reduced orangutan habitat but contributes to further threats of drought and fire. Open-pit mining and burgeoning palm oil agriculture have also produced significant losses in orangutan habitat. In addition, orangutans continue to be poached for food and captured for the pet trade. Rehabilitation facilities are now overwhelmed with orangutans confiscated from deplorable and abusive captive conditions.

To read more about these threats, the hope for the future, and how you can help us realize a future with orangutans, please visit our companion site for the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program.