Annual Malaysia Maybank Report
Orangutans are listed as an endangered species with only 50 000 thought to be living in the wild. The island of Borneo is the home of the orangutan (pongo pygmaeus) the gentle, red ape that was once found in such abundance in the jungles of Kalimantan, Sarawak and Sabah (the island of Borneo) that early hunters were, reportedly, able to shoot, and capture them continuously over weeks at a time.
Today orangutans struggle for survival. Pristine and regrowth jungle areas are disappearing daily across Borneo. Orangutans have the misfortune to live where forest clearing and logging activities, in both Malaysia and Indonesia, abound.
A recent study, by researcher Erik Meijaard and others, 2010, indicates that orangutan numbers may have declined 6-fold from earliest records to the present time. Data from early records of encounters with orangutans recorded sightings every other day whilst sightings on recent field trips recorded one orangutan sighting in every thirteen days. These findings, according to the researchers, suggest that earlier populations of orangutans may have been much denser than commonly thought. Therefore the loss of orangutan numbers in the wild is probably much higher than acknowledged.
Orangutan numbers are now significantly depleted across Borneo with orangutans under stress from:
- logging of both pristine and regrowth forests
- the pet trade and hunters
- changing land usage to palm oil plantations and other agriculture
- population growth including migration
- urbanisation
Other factors may also have contributed to the orangutans reduced numbers. Meijaard and others (ibid) cite hunting practices during and since colonial times which may have adversely impacted on orangutan numbers. Head hunting was banned making it safer for all hunters to move further into the jungle away from settlements. Native hunters, themselves, have traditionally taken orangutan for food.
Studies are needed urgently to improve the conservation prospects for the remaining orangutan. Rapid increases in logging and the ferocity of logging methods pose more serious and immediate threats to the sustainability of the orangutan today than hunting poses even though hunting of orangutans still persists for meat as pet food or as agricultural pests. Between 1999-2000 and 2000-2005, deforestation rates in Malaysia alone rose some 86%, with 149,200 hectares lost annually since 2000 (figures published on mongobay,com). This is a serious issue for conservation and preservation of species.
Rehabilitation Centres
Both Indonesia and Malaysia have rehabilitation centres for displaced, injured and rescued orangutans. On a recent trip to Sarawak, this personal encounter, at the Semmenggok Rehabilitation Centre, outside Kuching, Sarawak, highlighted the joy of encountering orangutans albeit in reserve conditions where ex-captive animals roam freely.
- Delta Airline File Bankruptcy
- Bankruptcy Cases California
Published by Howard Law, P.C. ... "You don't have to file bankruptcy to get a loan modification. Let us show you how!"
- State Bank And Trust Fargo Nd
- Bank First Oklahoma Porter State
- Ocean First Bank Toms River
