25 August 2009
THE federal Forestry Minister, Tony Burke, has approved changes to an election promise to ban imports of illegally logged timber to instead ''promote the trade'' of legal timber.
There are numerous threats to the viability of the remaining wild orangutan population in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Loss of habitat The most important risk factor for orangutans is the loss of habitat. Suitable orangutan habitat in Indonesia and Malaysia has declined by more than 80% in the last 20 years. It is estimated... View Article
Illegal pet trade Wild orangutan numbers are also affected by the illegal pet trade – particularly the socially inclined baby. Estimates suggest that more than 1000 orangutans are smuggled into Java and overseas each year. Indeed, a recent... View Article
Poaching Easier access and encroachment of people into the orangutan forests also leads to increased hunting of orangutans for meat, babies, skulls or, more recently for orangutan penises. As well as being consumed as bushmeat, body parts find... View Article
Timber products Some 70% of all timber exported from Indonesia is illegally logged. In Australia, it is estimated that 9% of wood imports or $400 million is from illegal sources. (Jaakko Poyry Consulting 2005: Overview of... View Article
The name orangutan derives from the Malay and Indonesian phrase ‘orang-hutan’, meaning ‘person of the forest’. Orangutans are highly intelligent with an ability to reason and think. These large, gentle red apes are one of our... View Article
Biology An orangutan’s lifespan is about 35-40 years in the wild, and sometimes into the 50’s in captivity. Orangutan females only give birth about once every eight years – the longest time between births of any... View Article
Behaviour The orangutan is the only strictly arboreal ape and the largest tree-living mammal in the world. Although other apes do climb and build sleeping nests in the trees, they are primarily terrestrial (spending their lives... View Article
Diet The orangutan diet is made up of bark, leaves, flowers, a variety of insects, and most importantly, over 300 kinds of fruit.Termites and ants are part of their diet to obtain protein and for minerals... View Article
23 August 2009
Palm oil is a controversial component of everything from cosmetics to confectionery. Its use has been blamed on the destruction of tropical rainforest and habitat for the Sumatran tiger and orang-utan. Public discontent is growing. Just last week, Cadbury New Zealand announced it had shelved plans to use palm oil in its Dairy Milk chocolate. But oil is not the only product that comes from palm.
31 August 2009
Forest fires are breaking out in the Sabangau forests in Central Kalimantan jeopardising the lives of the estimated 8,000 wild orangutans living there.
Zoos Victoria has launched a community advocacy campaign called "Don't Palm Us Off". Find out how you can help.
17 August 2009
Consumers secured an important victory today with Cadbury reversing its previous decision to put palm oil in its dairy milk chocolate. This will include all dairy milk chocolate made in Australia and New Zealand.
10 August 2009
AS SUMA, one of Melbourne Zoo's oldest orang-utans, fixes her trusting eyes on a playful toddler from the sanctuary of her enclosure, thousands of kilometres away her relatives in Sumatra and Borneo watch with fear the activities of the humans who come their way.
5 August 2009
Like Bruce Wayne switching to his Batman voice, orangutans may be going deep to deter predators, and some are even using tools to sound more intimidating, a new study says.
2 August 2009
A hundred or so orangutans have just returned from a day at "forest school," where they learn to find food, use tools and fear snakes.
28 July 2009
Movement through a complex meshwork of small branches at the heights of tropical forests presents a unique challenge to animals wanting to forage for food safely.
July 2009
Separated from land by rivers, the large red orangutans of Samboja Lestari forest park, East Kalimantan, are completely off-limits to humans.
24 July 2009
Asia Pulp & Paper’s proposal to convert the Bukit Tigapuluh ecosystem into pulp paper production in Sumatra - destroying critical Sumatran orang-utan, tiger and elephant habitat – continues to receive media attention.
23 July 2009
An article in New Scientist (22 July, 2009: Issue 2718) reports that October this year will see an unprecedented meeting of Malaysia's palm oil producers, conservationists and local government to figure out how to protect the world's last orangutans.
15 July 2009
European consumer groups and nongovernmental organizations have said they want environmentally friendly palm oil. Malaysian producers of palm oil that have made the switch are discovering that it is still a hard sell.
12 July 2009
A consumer backlash is mounting over Cadbury's decision to add palm oil to its chocolate, with Auckland Zoo pulling the confectionary giant's products from its shops and restaurant because of concern over the damage palm oil production does to rainforests.
It’s membership renewal time, with subscriptions for 2009/2010 falling due in July.
5 July
Thank you to the walkers and their sponsors for a successful Big Walk in aid of the orangutans.
4 July 2009
ENDANGERED orang-utans being raised in Australian zoos for return to Indonesia are about to have their rainforests razed to supply the global market for toilet and photocopy paper.
1 July 2009
In an effort to help save some of the world's disappearing tropical forests the United States is offering Indonesia some much needed debt relief.
30 June 2009
MALAYSIAN wildlife authorities have rescued three baby orangutans believed to have been smuggled into the country, in raids on a zoo and an ostrich breeder, a report said on Tuesday.
26 June 2009
As Borneo's rain forests are razed for oil palm plantations, wildlife centers are taking in more and more orphaned orangutans and preparing them for reintroduction into the wild. But the endangered primates now face a new threat — there is not enough habitat where they can be returned.
26 June 2009
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the World Climate Change Conference in Bali in December 2007: "The key understanding is to save the orang utan. For that, we must save the forest and by that, we are doing our part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
23 June 2009
A famous British company, Jardines, is profiting as the lowland forest – which shelters the few remaining orang-utans – is razed to make way for massive palm oil plantations, reports Kathy Marks in Tripa, Indonesia
20 June 2009
Within a vast deforested area on Borneo island, Australia and Indonesia hope to turn an ecological disaster into a global lesson on how to help local communities save tropical forests and fight climate change.
18 June 2009
A University of Pittsburgh anthropologist argues in a paper published today that humans most likely share a common ancestor with orangutans, and not chimpanzees, which is the prevailing belief.
16 June 2009
The nation's most recalcitrant fast food chain has capitulated. Yum! Restaurants, makers of KFC, will ditch its artery- clogging palm oil for a healthier alternative, two years after the company stared down the Federal Government and refused to change its ways.
In conjunction with the Sydney Film Festival's screening of The Burning Season, Sydney's Customs House is sceening documentary trailers on its Digital Media Wall and displaying still photographs of the orangutans highlighted in the film along with stills from the film.
10 June 2009
Next month, Zoos Victoria, which manages Melbourne Zoo, Werribee Open Range Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary, will release its postcard campaign, Don't Palm Us Off. The campaign is designed to raise awareness about the destruction of forests in South-East Asia, home of the orang-utan.