Orangutan

The Norwegian state pension fund has recommended excluding a major Chinese hydropower developer from further investment, due to its association with a dam in Indonesia that threatens the world’s rarest great ape.The dam is being built by a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned multinational Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd. (PowerChina)…

Scientists designated the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) as a new species in 2017, and it was immediately noted as being the rarest and most threatened great ape with fewer than 800 individuals in western Indonesia.The IUCN estimated the apes’ population fell by 83% in recent decades, and the species continues…

The Tapanuli orangutan was described in 2017 as a new great ape species, and with a population of less than 800, is the most endangered great ape on the planet.Its habitat has been drastically reduced by deforestation driven by mining, agriculture and logging.A Chinese-backed hydropower dam project, under construction since…

BALIKPAPAN, Indonesia — As the small red car came to a halt, the window slid down and a hand emerged, tossing some yellow crackers on the ground. Seconds later, a group of southern pig-tailed macaques, a monkey species native to the island of Borneo, swarmed the area and devoured the…

Deforestation in a protected wildlife reserve known as the “orangutan capital of the world” hit a record high in 2022, according to various analyses.The forest loss was driven by clearing for oil palm plantations by well-connected local elites, rather than smallholders, according to advocacy group Rainforest Action Network (RAN).RAN’s investigation…

Indonesia - Jakarta is congested, polluted, prone to earthquakes and rapidly sinking into the Java Sea. Now the government is in the process of leaving, moving Indonesia's capital to the island of Borneo. Indonesian officials say the new metropolis will be a "sustainable forest city" that puts the environment at…

The case of an orangutan that died shortly after its capture by farmers in northern Sumatra has highlighted the persistent problem of human-wildlife conflict and possibly even the illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia.The coffee farmers who caught the adult male orangutan on Jan. 20 denied ever hitting it, but a…

Villagers in the Batang Toru forest in northern Sumatra say orangutan sightings in their farms and settlements have increased recently.They attribute this to the animals being driven out of their forest habitat by ongoing construction of a hydropower plant and dam.The construction activity puts added pressure on the already critically…

Need a break from politics? If so, check out this video going viral of an orangutan grabbing some guy’s leg who got too close to the ape’s cage at a zoo in Indonesia: pic.twitter.com/6yhHjvDjgT — san (@sundaykisseu) June 7, 2022 They better not “Harambe” this orangutan because “he did nothing…

We know primates are among the most intelligent animals in the world, but today is the day we find out that they may know a thing or two about fashion, too ⁠— as seen in a hugely popular TikTok. The TikTok, originally posted by user Lola Testu who goes by…