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Orangutans under threat

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Published Date: 05 July 2008
ENDANGERED orangutans could become the first great ape to become extinct if action isn't taken to protect the species from human encroachment in south-east Asia, a new study says.
Research from scientist Serge Wich from the Great Ape trust and 15 of his colleagues showed the number of the species in Indonesia and Malaysia has declined sharply since 2004, mostly because of illegal logging and the expansion of palm oil plantations.





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  • Last Updated: 05 July 2008 10:27 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

AD in sunny Livingston,

05/07/2008 12:36:52
Check the ingredients of the foods you buy - if it says Palm Oil put it back - vote with your feet.

Patersons - who have obviously done a lot of research on this subject - oatcakes are now made with olive oil 'n' they're fab.
2

Unimpressed one,

05/07/2008 13:00:56
But this is as daft as trying to boycott Chinese goods as a protest again their human rights record - it can't be done. Palm oil is in 80% of all processed foods.

A better way would be to convince the US and EU that palm oil for fuel is to be ended. However since biofuels are being produced in the name of 'tackling climate change', I wouldn't hold out much hope.
3

Horrible Cankers at the Cyber Shebeen,

05/07/2008 16:23:20
1...I'll be doing that from now on...
4

Michaela,

Canada 05/07/2008 17:16:02
One great ape is close to extinction and another great ape is responsible.
5

Michelle Desilets, Founding Director, BOS UK,

Oxford UK 07/07/2008 16:45:27
It is often asked, "How many orangutans are left?" The numbers themselves do not matter. What matters is that the rate of decline is increasing, and unless something is done, the wild orangutan will go extinct. Once remaining populations become so small and fragmented, there will be no way to recover the species, as these small populations will be genetically unviable in the long run.
What also matters is the welfare angle of this decline 5000 are dying unnaturally--either from starvation as a result of habitat destruction or from human-wildlife conflict. Working with orangutans for 14 years now, I see them as individuals capable of emotions and pain. The loss of just one of these is heartbreaking. 5000 is genocide.
We have a moral obligation to save these sentient, intelligent cousins of ours from this brutality. I do not subscribe to the view that we need to keep orangutan numbers up so our children have a chance to see them in the wild. Orangutans do not exist for our benefit. They themselves have a right to life, regardless of whether we get the added benefit of gazing upon them in their world one day.
The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation is the largest primate rescue project in the world. We look after close to 1000 rescued orangutans presently, and have rescued and released more than 1000 others so far. We are the only organisation actively rescuing the wild orangutans from certain death in these oil-palm plantations. 2 weeks ago we released a further 25 wild orangutans rescued from oil-palm plantations into a remote protected forest in the north of Central Kalimantan. This release site could potentially support more than 1000 orangutans, making it a viable population. BOS also manages the Mawas Reserve, a forest of 360,000 hectares, home to some 3500 wild orangutans. If BOS can continue to protect populations like those in our release site and in Mawas, we can prevent the extinction of the orangutan in the wild. Find out more at www.savetheorangutan.c

 

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