The Bornean orangutan is a species of orangutan native to the island of Borneo. Together with the Sumatran orangutan, it belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia.
Unfortunately, this cute animal has joined the list of “critically endangered animals”, ccording to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The new IUCN assessment, which was published this week, finds that hunting, habitat destruction, habitat degradation and fragmentation are the biggest drivers behind the population loss.
Andrew Marshall, one of the authors of the assessment, told Mongabay: “This is full acknowledgement of what has been clear for a long time: orangutan conservation is failing.”
He added that “The problem with assessing a species like orangutans is there is such a long time-lag effect,” continuing “Many populations in these forest fragments may be heading toward extinction already, and the grim reality is there is little we can do to alter this trajectory. We could remove every threat right now, and many populations would continue to decline for several generations.”
What can we do about this?
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