The UN calls the current status of the remaining orangutans “a conservation emergency.”
The Red Ape, the orangutan (literally ‘people of the forest’) continues to suffer precipitous declines from deforestation. Sumatran orangutans are designated as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, with a population of just a few thousand, while the Borneo orangutan is considered Threatened. The UN calls the current status of the remaining orangutans “a conservation emergency.” Habitat destruction caused by the massive expansion of palm oil plantations is a primary reason orangutans are facing the threat of extinction.