Today is International Orangutan Day; Happy International Orangutan Day!
International Orangutan Day is celebrated on the 19th of August every year.
International Orangutan Day, was established as a day to raise awareness about these cute animals, and the threats that they sadly face in the modern world.
The biggest threats that orangutans face in the modern world is the threat of their forest home being destroyed for palm oil plantations, and, the destruction of their forests for other reasons too. The destruction of their forest home has resulted in all orangutan species being critically endangered today.
How Many Orangutan Species?
There are three cute species of orangutan today in the wild.
The three species of orangutan are - the Borneo orangutan, the Sumatran orangutan and the Tapanuli orangutan. It was thought until recently that there were only two orangutan species - the Borneo orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan, however, recently it has been found that there are three species of orangutans.
Third Species Of Orangutans
A third species of orangutan were confirmed in late 2017. That orangutan species is called the Tapanuli orangutan.
The sad news about the announcement of the discovery of the Tapanuli orangutan was that they were already critically endangered when they were found and had only 800 Tapanuli orangutans found in the wild.
Conservation Statuses
Orangutans are critically endangered species.
Let us look at each of the three orangutan species individually, to see their conservation status and their population in the wild today.
Tapanuli Orangutan
This is the species we have just spoken about. They have a population of only 800 orangutans and are critically endangered today.
Sumatran Orangutan
Sumatran Orangutans also have a very low population. The population of Sumatran orangutans is only 13,846 orangutans today, they are also critically endangered.
Borneo Orangutans
Borneo orangutans are also critically endangered. Compared to the other two species of orangutans though, the Borneo orangutan has a much higher population than the other two species. The Borneo orangutan population today is estimated to be 104,700 orangutans, this is still a lot number and still makes them sadly at risk of extinction today.
All of these species of orangutans are at risk of extinction today.
Orangutans are adorable animals, who deserve to live on this earth too.
Their survival will depended upon what we do today and tomorrow. The future of orangutans will depended on the actions that we take today - saving their rainforest home is very important to the survival of these cute animals. Saving their forests home will help save them for the future and stop their extinction.
Orangutans are at risk due to the destruction of their rainforest home in Borneo and Sumatra. Sumatran orangutans are mainly at risk of extinction due to the destruction and loss of the Sumatran rainforest; they are also at risk of being hunted. Tapunuli orangutans are also found in the Sumatran rainforests, which means that they sadly also face the same threats to their existence as the Sumatran orangutans.
Borneo orangutans face similar threats. Borneo orangutans are mainly at risk of extinction to to the Borneo rainforest being destroyed. However, they also face other threats to their existence - threats where they come into contact with people.
There is still time to save orangutans and their rainforests. However, time is running out. All orangutan species are critically endangered today. Orangutans are also in decline today and, their rainforest homes are disappearing.
Orangutans are gentle and loving animals. They are also intelligent animals that can use tools. They are also very similar to us, sharing a massive 97% of human DNA, which means that they are very closely related to us!
Orangutans are adorable and lovable. They are also unique, with no other animals in the world like them, which makes them even more special.
Happy International Orangutan Day!
Fun Fact: Orangutan means 'man of the forest.'
You can help orangutans by adopting o
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