MagazineR95

It is widely known that ourclosest relatives, the great apes,which hold some of thepotentially richest geneticinsights into our own evolution,are under threat in their naturalenvironments. But a newassessment of our only Asiancousin, the orangutan, by theWorldwide Fund for Naturesuggests numbers have declinedby 90 per cent over the pastcentury and that extinction in thewild may occur within the nextgeneration or two. Recentestimates suggest the populationmay comprise little more than30,000 individuals.

Orangutans, like most of theother apes, are found across arelatively local range but havebig demands. Orangutans arefound only in Sumatra andBorneo where they live inlowland rainforests and rarelycome down to the ground. Witha body weight of up to 90kg,they are dependent on a densenetwork of mature, mixed treespecies for their diet of fruit,leaves and insects.

Unfortunately, dense mature,lowland rainforest is the primetarget for human logging andagricultural development andtheir habitat has declined at analarming rate. Uncontrolled firesto clear land for developmentpresent a grave threat. WWFIndonesia estimates that nearlytwo million hectares of land wereburnt in the country in 1997, andthat thousands of fires occurredin southern Sumatra. Although160 companies were accused ofinvolvement in the fires, only 46were investigated fully and only ahandful faced prosecution.

Major conservation effortshave been launched by the WWFand other bodies, in partnershipwith governments and otherlocal organisations. Action planshave been developed in an effortto conserve habitat andresources for the apes, alongwith all the other species thatwould benefit from such actions,but until the economics of

logging and agriculturaldevelopment and the economicsof maintaining biodiversity can

be brought more in kilter, thefuture for this species inparticular looks bleak.

Future imperfect

Losing it: An adult orangutan and offspring face an increasingly bleak future in theirnatural environment as estimates suggest their numbers are falling dramaticallyaccording to the WWF. (Photograph: Oxford Scientific Films.)