BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — The development of a highly anticipated captive-breeding facility for Sumatran rhinos in Indonesia’s Aceh province is advancing as part of conservation efforts to save the nearly extinct species. The planned facility, the third in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS) network, is one of Indonesia’s top strategies to help prevent the global […]
Tag: orangutans
Deforestation of orangutan habitat feeds global palm oil demand, report shows
JAKARTA — A major palm oil company supplying to global brands like Nestlé and PepsiCo continues to source the raw commodity from plantations responsible for deforesting prime orangutan habitat in Sumatra, according to a recent investigation. U.S.-based environmental advocacy group Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has found Singapore-based conglomerate Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) allegedly buying palm […]
Orangutan Confiscations Hit All Time High Due to Covid
During the past two months, The Orangutan Project has seen a significant increase in confiscations of orangutans that were being illegally kept as pets, the organization reports. The organization has worked with partners and authorities to rescue eight critically endangered orangutans. After being rescued, the orangutans are rehabilitated and given another chance to live in […]
Increased Poaching of Critically Endangered Orangutans During Pandemic
“Critically endangered orangutans, tigers, elephants and subsistence farmers, are now all struggling to survive in remnant forests,” said Leif Cocks, founder of The Orangutan Project, in an emailed statement. “Over 80% of native forest in Sumatra and Borneo have been cleared for large plantations. When you add in a global pandemic which has plunged more […]
A dedicated team of Malaysian rangers and veterinarians is part of global movement to rescue and preserve rainforest species
As Malaysians were in total lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, a sweet-natured baby elephant named Sahabat was found wandering near an oil palm plantation. Nearly blind from severe eye infections, he had become separated from his herd. In Malaysia’s Sabah state, the Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) swooped to the rescue. Thousands anxiously followed Sahabat’s story […]
Bears beg tourists for food at Thai zoo declared ‘hell on Earth for animals’ where tigers and other animals have been left emaciated during Covid lockdown
A notorious Thai zoo has sparked concern for the health of its animals after it reopened to visitors following the Covid lockdown. People found bears begging for food in tiny enclosures, emaciated tigers and cattle, crocodiles swimming in filthy water and orangutans desperately reaching out to tourists behind bars. A vet dispatched by the government […]
In Malaysian Borneo’s rainforests, powerful state governments set their own rules
Famed for its caves and karst ecosystems, Gunung Mulu National Park in Malaysian Borneo’s Sarawak state is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to more than 81 mammal species, 270 varieties of bird and more than 130 reptiles and amphibians. In 2018, a wave of protest erupted when the public learned that the Sarawak government […]
Deforestation spurred by road project creeps closer to Sumatra wildlife haven
JAKARTA — An upgrade to a road that cuts through one of Southeast Asia’s last great swaths of intact rainforest is driving deeper encroachment by humans into blocks of forest that may spread into a national park. The road runs 36 kilometers (22 miles) between the districts of Karo and Langkat in Indonesia’s North Sumatra […]