Orangutans in danger of extinction 2001.03.20

The Wildlife Conservation Society of the United States has released a research report indicating that wild orangutans are in danger of extinction over the next 10 years. This is due to the shrinking of their habitat due to deforestation, poaching, and other factors. In the southern part of Sumatra, Indonesia, the largest habitat of the orangutan, there were approximately 12,000 orangutans in 1993, but by 2000, the number had plummeted to nearly half of the original population. In particular, in 1998 and 1999, the number of animals decreased by as much as 1,000 per year.