Sumatran orangutan.

Sumatran orangutan.

Sadly, the ‘Old Man of the forest’ has been subjected to relentless pressures which has reduced the world’s population by as much as 50% during the last 10 years. Orangutans are losing their homes in the rainforest. Tropical rainforests are being cut down for wood to make paper and furniture and the land cleared to grow palm oil for using as fuel and as an ingredient in lots of foods. In addition, Hunting for meat and the demands of the pet trade gave been contributory factors but the more significant issue has been the large-scale clearance of rain forest throughout this region leaving very few habitats let for these apes (Wikipedia, 2011). According to Wikipedia dictionary, “the species has been assessed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000. It is considered one of “the world’s 25 Most Endangered Primates.” ” A survey in 2004 estimated that around 7,300 Sumatran orangutans still live in the wild. Some of them are being protected in five areas in Gunung Leuser National Park.

The decline of the orangutan in Borneo and Sumatra in recent years symbolises the devastation of one of the world's biodiversity hotspots - the lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia (Wikidepia, 2011). Across the orangutans' entire range, conversion of forests to oil palm plantations is occurring on a massive scale, logging continues even within protected areas, and planned road networks threaten to fragment the habitat of the last viable populations. These factors are responsible for the loss of almost half of Sumatra's forests in the last 25 years. In this view, I think this species will continue to decrease in population

References

Wikidepia. (2010) Sumatran Orangutan.

This page was last modified on 16 April 2011 at 21:24.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatran_orangutan