According to the United Nations, palm oil is found in approximately half of all products in supermarkets. But palm oil is destroying forests and killing animals. Orangutans, especially, are losing their homes and lives to the production of palm oil. Palm oil is taken from forests that house 10% of the world’s biodiversity and provide […]
Tag: borneo
From Elephant Conflict to Coexistence
This article was written by Nadiah Rosli, Communication Lead for Malaysia of Earthworm Foundation. Support Malaysian people and Bornean elephants with Plan A. The villagers of Ulu Muanad, in Beluran, Sabah on Borneo Island, Malaysia are predominantly farmers – first-generation smallholders who harvest rubber, rice, fruits, vegetables and palm oil. Sometimes birds and even monkeys would disturb their crops, but these […]
Heartbreaking images show endangered orangutans driven from homes by forest fires
These heartbreaking images show endangered orangutans made homeless as farmers jeopardise their habitat. The pictures show a troop of these magnificent creatures gathered near water at their reserve on Salat Island, Borneo, after being driven from wooded areas by illegal land clearing. Satellites show that the number of such blazes across Borneo and Sumatra are […]
Pregnant orang-utan pictured clinging to final tree as bulldozers destroy rainforest around her
A starving, heavily pregnant orang-utan clings to a solitary tree high above what had been pristine rainforest for millennia – till giant bulldozers moved in and flattened it in days. Boon-Mee was too weak and frightened to leave the trunk where she had sought sanctuary as the machines tore down her jungle home in Borneo, […]
Ground-feeding birds in Southeast Asia may be going extinct outside protected areas
Nature reserves in large parts of Southeast Asia may be the last strongholds for charismatic ground-feeding birds such as quails, partridges and pheasants, together called galliforms, according to a recent study in Conservation Letters. Researchers estimate that five species of galliforms no longer survive outside protected areas in Sundaland, a region comprising the Malay Peninsula […]
Video: A Rare Look at the Secret Life of Orangutans
In the vanishing lowland rainforests of Borneo, new research is underway to uncover and understand the unique cultural behaviors in wild orangutans. Photographer Tim Laman, researcher Cheryll Knott, and National Geographic Young Explorer Robert Suro have documented rarely-seen unique orangutan behaviors such as making pillows, fashioning umbrellas, and displaying regional greetings. With orangutan habitats disappearing […]
Facebook video shows orangutan defending forest against bulldozer
Dramatic footage released last week by an animal welfare group shows a wild orangutan trying in vain to fight off destruction of its rainforest habitat in Borneo. The video, filmed in 2013 but posted on Facebook on June 5th for World Environment Day by International Animal Rescue (IAR), was shot in Sungai Putri, a tract […]
War dancing Pygmy elephants of Borneo’s Deramakot Forest Reserve
While looking for the Clouded leopard in Borneo, we came across the herd of Borneo Pygmy elephants in Deramakot Forest Reserve a few days in a row. Unlike most pygmy elephants that would retreat at the first sight of a vehicle, this herd was very relaxed. They were happy to stay on the road and […]
