When customs officials at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port opened a shipping container flagged for inspection in February 2026, they expected to find sea cucumbers and instant noodles as indicated on the consignment paperwork. Instead, they found 3,053 kilograms (6,730 pounds) of dried pangolin scales destined for Cambodia. It was among Indonesia’s largest seizures of the […]
Tag: Gibbons
‘The toll is huge’: El Niño-driven wildfires overwhelm Indonesia’s orangutan population
The mother’s hands were peeling from walking on the torched ground. Her eight-month-old baby, which clung to her side, was dehydrated and thin. The pair, named Mama Abu and Abu (“ash” in Indonesian), were found in an oil palm subsidiary estate, rescuers say. The orangutan pair were saved last month from wildfires that are devouring […]
They’re the sopranos of the forest, so what’s silencing the gibbons’ morning chorus?
Dawn has broken, and the air is cool and still. It’s at about this time that gibbons usually erupt into song, wa-oo-ing and wa-ing from the highest branches and filling the tree tops with rich melodies. But in this corner of Malaysian forest, bordered by housing and roads, the resident white-handed gibbons are quiet. All […]
Indonesia’s native hornbills are being hammered by online and offline trade
Among the many inhabitants of Southeast Asia’s dense rainforests are hornbills — a group of birds that stand out with their raucous call, large, ostentatious beak and colorful feathers. Indonesia harbors 13 species, the most of any country in Asia, three of which are found nowhere else. Hornbills are rapidly losing their homes as large swaths of […]
‘Cries of delight’ as Sumatran orangutan filmed using canopy bridge to cross road for first time
The critically endangered Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time using a canopy bridge to cross a road. In 2024, conservationists in the Pakpak Bharat district of North Sumatra in Indonesia built the bridge high over the Lagan-Pagindar road, which provides an essential route for local people but which became a barrier for animals. Natural […]
Facebook shuts Indonesia groups after Mongabay and Bellingcat report illegal wildlife trade
This story was produced in collaboration with Bellingcat. JAKARTA — A new report by Mongabay and independent journalism organization Bellingcat has uncovered several Facebook groups selling protected species in Indonesia, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. In a Facebook group whose Indonesian name translates to “West Bogor Animal Selling and Trading Forum,” […]
Clouded leopard sighting raises questions about conservation and research in Bangladesh
Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, Ganges river dolphins, langurs and hoolock gibbons, along with a few other endangered and vulnerable animal species, have been prominent in Bangladesh’s wildlife conservation scenario for the last few decades. Now, new animals have grasped the attention of some wildlife researchers and conservationists, as camera traps and wildlife census reveal the […]
A Community’s Bond with India’s Endangered Hoolock Gibbons
In the village of Barekuri, Assam, Mohit Chutia and his community share a unique connection with the endangered hoolock gibbons, the only ape species in India. Chutia, often called “bandar” (monkey) by locals, has formed a deep bond with the gibbons, treating them like family. The village is home to just 19 of these apes, […]