• Orangutans are the only great apes that live in Asia (all the other great apes – gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos – live in Africa).
• Orangutans are found in only two places on Earth – on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in SE Asia.
• There are three species of orangutans: Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus), Sumatran (Pongo abelii), and Tapanuli (Pongo tapanuliensis). All three species are critically endangered.
• Orangutans have an inter-birth period of 8-9 years, so one female may only have 3 or 4 offspring in her lifetime. Orangutans are already vulnerable to extinction as their populations do not naturally grow quickly due to this slow reproductive rate.

Orangutans are found in the countries of Indonesia and Malaysia, both in SE Asia. Sumatran orangutans and Tapanuli orangutans live only on the island of Sumatra which is a part of the country of Indonesia. Bornean orangutans live only on the island of Borneo, and that island is transnational. Part of the island belongs to the country of Malaysia and the larger part belongs to the country of Indonesia. (A tiny part of the island belongs to Brunei but there are no wild orangutans in Brunei).

• Orangutans share approximately 97% of our human DNA and are very much like us.
• The study of orangutans gives us information about human evolution.
• If we cannot save an animal so closely related to humans, what hope do the rest of the species have?
• Orangutans are intelligent, sentient beings that deserve our compassion.
• As seed dispersers and nest builders, orangutans are important to the health of rainforests. And rainforests are very important to the health of the planet.
• They’re awesome. Once you get to know an orangutan you’ll never be the same.

In the wild, their average lifespan is 45-50 years, but it could be longer. They have been known to live longer in captivity.

Deforestation: The rainforests where the orangutans live are being cut down and cleared in order to collect the trees and to make space for agriculture, mining, and development. One of the major players of deforestation is the palm oil industry. The African oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) is planted across huge areas of Borneo and Sumatra. The fruit from these trees is harvested to obtain palm oil – a form of edible vegetable oil that is used in many foods and household products, and it is in huge demand.

Illegal capture: It is illegal in Indonesia and Malaysia to hunt, capture, harm, kill, or own an orangutan. However, infant orangutans are still sought after for sale in the illegal exotic pet trade. Local people go into the forest to find and capture baby orangutans. A baby orangutan will always be with its mother. The only way to get a baby orangutan away from its mother is to kill the mother.

Human-Orangutan Conflict: As more forest habitat is destroyed, orangutans are pushed closer to the areas where people live. Displaced orangutans may wander into palm oil plantations or mining areas. They may also come into local villages in search of food. Plantation owners, farmers, and villagers may see the orangutans as nuisance animals or as a threat to their livelihood or to the safety of their family. This can cause people to harm or kill the orangutans.

Being so closely related to humans genetically means that orangutans can contract many of the same illnesses and diseases as humans. These include: covid, influenza, chronic respiratory disease, arthritis, diabetes, malaria, hepatitis and tuberculosis.

If an illness is life-threatening or is contagious, a rescued orangutan cannot be released back to the forest. Fortunately, many illnesses are treatable, often with the same treatment used for humans. For example, orangutans can be treated for malaria with the same medicine as humans.

Much has been learned about Hepatitis B. There is a naturally occurring strain of orangutan Hepatitis B, which is different from human Hepatitis B. The apes with orangutan Hepatitis B are releasable and many of them do not even show clinical signs of the disease. Some orangutans do show clinical signs of the orangutan Hepatitis B, but they are much milder than the human Hepatitis B. The orangutans are simply treated and then are eligible for release. Orangutans can also contract human Hepatitis B, which is much more serious and dangerous. There have been breakthroughs in the research and it can be treated much more effectively than in the past. However, there is no guarantee that an orangutan can be cured and released.

If an orangutan has Tuberculosis or any other disease that could be transferred to other orangutans and cause significant illness, that orangutan will not be released. The orangutan will not be put down, as euthanasia of orangutans is against the law in Indonesia. These unreleasable orangutans remain at the rehabilitation facility and are housed separately from other orangutans. They are provided with lifetime care. Each of our partner organizations are designing spaces for the orangutans in their care that are not able to be released due to illness, injuries, or lack of survival skills.

The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme has completed their Orangutan Haven for unreleasable orangutans. YIARI has constructed a forested enclosure adjacent to their rehab centre for unreleasable orangutans, including Pingky, Neng and JoJo. The largest project will be that of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation who will be building a separate sanctuary for up to 100 orangutans. Orangutan Outreach has been and will continue to fundraise for each of these projects. Learn more about unreleasable orangutans here.

All three species of orangutans are critically endangered and their population numbers continue to decrease. Orangutans need our help in order to survive. Orangutans may disappear forever unless humans fight hard to protect them. More people need to understand the importance of orangutans. As seed dispersers, orangutans are important to the health of rainforests. And rainforests are very important to the health of the planet. Additionally, orangutans are incredible animals. Orangutans share approximately 97% of our human DNA. If we do not care to save an animal so closely related to humans, what would that mean for other species? Orangutans are intelligent, sentient beings that deserve our compassion. More and more people are realizing this and more people are fighting to protect them. Working together, we can save the orangutan species.

Healthy and undisturbed rainforest habitat is critical for orangutans and it is vital that we protect what currently remains. Deforestation is a major threat to orangutans. The rainforests where the orangutans live are being cut down and cleared in order to collect the trees and to make space for agriculture, including small and large farms. As orangutans move away from deforested areas, they come into closer contact with villages, causing human-orangutan conflicts. Another problem from destroying forests is that less suitable habitat remains for future reintroduction of rescued orangutans. There are hundreds of orangutans in rehabilitation centers and there is not enough safe space to release them back to the forest where they belong.

Orangutans cannot survive without the rainforests as the trees of the forests provide orangutans their home and their food. It is also equally true that the rainforests cannot survive without the orangutans. Orangutans are the gardeners of the forest, and they keep it thriving. Orangutans are important seed dispersers, assuring that the trees will continue to grow. In addition, the way in which orangutans bend down tree branches to make nests allows light to penetrate down into the forest.

Humans as well as orangutans need healthy forests. Rainforests are the lungs of the Earth. The forests are full of trees that produce oxygen, store carbon dioxide, and help control climate. Forests play an important role in our planet’s carbon cycle. Deforestation causes carbon absorption to stop, plus, the carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide when the wood is burned. Likewise, when areas of peat swamp forest are destroyed, huge amounts of carbon dioxide is released since peat is such a significant carbon store. All this greatly contributes to global warming which is a part of climate change. The bottom line is that destroying rainforests is a huge driver of global climate change. Losing the forest will increase the rate of climate change which will drastically affect every person on Earth.

The short answer is “yes”. The bottom line is that orangutans are completely protected by law but the laws are not enforced. When we are talking about protecting Sumatran or Tapanuli orangutans, we are dealing with the Indonesian government. When we are talking about protecting Bornean orangutans, we may be dealing with the Malaysian government or the Indonesian government. Both countries have laws. However, corruption gets in the way of enforcing those laws.

The Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) is strictly protected by Indonesian National Law No. 5/1990 on the Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems. It is prohibited and illegal to capture, injure, kill, own, keep, transport, or trade an orangutan under this law. Sumatran Orangutans are also protected by international legislation, and listed on CITES Appendix I. The Tapanuli Orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) is also protected by international legislation by default because it is included within the concept of Pongo abelii.

The above acts are punishable by up to 5 year’s imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of IDR 100 million (approximately $7,100 US). These punishments rarely happen. International trade of orangutans is likewise prohibited under Indonesia’s Act Number 8, 1999. Nonetheless, killing, possession and trade (primarily national) of orangutans are widespread in Indonesia.
The Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) is fully protected by these Indonesian laws and similar laws in Malaysia, and is listed on Appendix I of CITES. Again, laws are not enforced. Also, orangutan forest habitat is not necessarily protected. This complicates matters tremendously.

Depending on the facility type, visitors are allowed in specially designated areas of several orangutan care centers. Typically this includes guided tours of orangutan sanctuaries, access to education centers, and boat tours of orangutan islands. In no circumstance is free contact with orangutans permitted for visitors. Visitors are not allowed in forest schools, infant houses, quarantine areas, or active medical facilities.

If you would like to ethically visit one of our partners we recommend visiting Sumatra or Borneo. In North Sumatra, tours of the orangutan sanctuary islands are offered at the Orangutan Haven. In East Kalimantan, at BOSF’s Samboja Lestari, they offer tours of the orangutan and sun bear sanctuaries, as well as volunteer opportunities. In Central Kalimantan, at BOSF’s Nyaru Menteng, they offer boat tours of the orangutan islands and volunteer opportunities.

Volunteer opportunities in Indonesia are available with our partner organizations, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation and The Great Projects. Please note, these do not include contact with orangutans. Any facility that allows visitors or volunteers to have any close contact with the orangutans is not following IUCN guidelines as this is detrimental to their rehabilitation. Ethical volunteer work may include helping to build enclosures or creating enrichment for the orangutans.

More detailed information about the volunteer opportunities at BOSF’s Samboja Lestari and Nyaru Menteng facilities can be found on our volunteer page or you can contact us directly.

To volunteer with one of Orangutan Outreach’s partners, you will be required to pass a health screening and quarantine period. The specifics of the screening may vary, but may include testing for Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B & C, HIV, or COVID-19. The quarantine period may also vary due to the nature of the planned activities, but all programs are designed to keep you busy during the quarantine programs with low-risk activities, excursions, and cultural experience.

The baby house facilities are fully staffed by Indonesian caregivers who work for our partner organizations. It is very important that these jobs go to local people. There are no opportunities to work or volunteer at the baby houses. The babies are very susceptible to illness since they have been separated from their mother. It is vital that the number of people near the babies remain very limited.

Palm oil is a type of edible vegetable oil which can be used in many foods, as well as in cosmetics and household products, and as a source of biofuel. The African oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) is planted across huge areas of Borneo and Sumatra. The fruit from these trees is harvested to obtain palm oil and it is in huge demand.

The unsustainable way in which the palm oil industry functions has caused a crisis. Palm oil itself is not the enemy. It is a good crop and is able to produce more oil per hectare than other crops, such as soy. The problem is the way the palm oil industry operates. It is possible to produce palm oil in a more sustainable way, starting with reusing degraded land rather than clear cutting more and more forest. Deforestation for palm oil will continue until the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia demand and enforce sustainable practices.

Palm oil itself does not affect orangutans. It is the unsustainable way the palm oil industry functions that harms the orangutans. Palm oil manufacturers destroy the rainforest in order to create palm oil plantations. To put it simply, the orangutans’ home is being destroyed, leaving them nowhere to go. Massive deforestation is the result of the palm oil crisis. While hundreds of other bird, mammal, and fish species are affected by the palm oil industry, orangutans suffer more due to their ecology.

Loss of habitat means loss of living space and loss of fruit trees that are the orangutans’ main food source. Creation of more and more palm oil plantations also fragments the orangutan habitat. The patches of forest that are left are separated by roads and plantations. This makes it difficult for the orangutans to get from one patch of forest to another to find food or mates.

Orangutans are arboreal and they do not want to come down out of the trees to cross an area on land. Their survival skills are also compromised. A mother is not able to teach her offspring how to find food when the forest is fragmented.

Orangutans are also at risk from the fires set to clear the land for palm oil plantations. They suffer from smoke pollution. Burnt landscape means the orangutans become displaced and may starve. The roads created to access palm oil plantations make the orangutans more accessible to poachers who want to hunt or capture orangutans. As orangutans move to avoid all these problems, they come into closer contact with villages causing human-orangutan conflicts.

One final problem from the palm oil industry destroying forests is that less suitable habitat remains for future reintroduction of rescued orangutans. There are thousands of orangutans in rehabilitation centers and there is not enough safe space to release them back to the forest where they belong.

Yes, there are other edible oils that can be used for some products. However, some other crops could be more damaging than palm oil. Palm oil itself is a productive crop. It produces 5 – 10 times more oil per acre than other crops such as soy or canola. So, if we got rid of palm oil and soy took its place, even more land would be needed. The better option is to demand that the palm oil industry function sustainably.

Palm oil can be produced sustainably. That would include using degraded land for plantations rather than continuing to destroy more forest. It also includes being environmentally responsible.

Plantations that are considered sustainable also have a commitment to protect wildlife. They will not harm the orangutans that wander into the plantations. We must put pressure on the palm oil industry to function sustainably. We must contact palm oil manufacturers and purchasers and demand sustainable practices. We must write to companies that use palm oil in their food and household products and demand that they use only certified sustainable palm oil. We also must put pressure on the Indonesian and Malaysian governments to stop allowing the destruction of rainforests. Laws regarding sustainable land use and protection of orangutans must be enforced.

To help the orangutans affected, you can support the rescue and rehabilitation centers caring for the displaced and orphaned orangutans. It is also important to support the organizations working to protect forests. Donations to Orangutan Outreach support organizations across Indonesia. You can also virtually adopt an orangutan on the Orangutan Outreach website and the money from the adoption will go straight to the center caring for that orangutan.

Palm oil is a major cause of deforestation but is definitely not the only cause. Everything from small scale farming to large scale agriculture plays a part. Deforestation for paper and pulp as well as rubber is significant. Mining, logging, and large scale projects such as the creation of roads and dams also contribute. In Indonesian Borneo, forest fires are also a huge factor in forest loss. Fires are not as much of a problem in Malaysian Borneo. Indonesia has a yearly fire season that is sometimes manageable. However, climate change has intensified the fires in certain years which have had a devastating impact on the land and the wildlife.

Other factors that contribute to the loss of orangutans are hunting and capture. Orangutan babies are sought after to be kept as pets and/or to be sold in the illegal wildlife trade. The only way to capture an infant orangutan is to kill the mother. To be clear, the hunting, capture, harm, killing, or captivity of orangutans is illegal. However, the laws are ignored by citizens and not enforced by the local authorities and government.