How Many Black Rhinos Are Left? Mother orangutans are killed so their infants can be sold as pets, and many … Orangutans are among our closest genetic relatives – sharing almost 97% of their DNA with human beings. Today, Sumatran Orangutans are also critically endangered. The main threat to the Sumatran Orangutan, is a loss of habitat. Orangutans may be killed for the bushmeat trade, crop protection, or for use for traditional medicine. In 2017, there were 104,700 Bornean orangutans and 7,500 Sumatran orangutans left in the world compared to the 230,000 in the past century. Today, … How on earth could this have happened? They also don’t like to see these animals exploited in movies, commercials, and other ways to make money for people. Scientists are uncertain whether all orangutans are one species, or whether the Sumatran and Bornean populations have become so isolated from each other that they are two subspecies. A century ago it was estimated there were probably more than 230,000 orangutans in total. The number is significantly reducing as 2000-3000 are killed every year. It is clear that the number of orangutans is significantly reducing. Many are against that being part of how they live though. Pushed to the brink of extinction by habitat loss and the rapid expansion of palm oil plantations, there are an estimated 7,500 left. Recent studies show that some populations of orangutans also fashion tools to aid in the difficult task of foraging for food. Orangutans sadly face the same fate as Tigers and Rhinos in Sumatra. Orangutans are highly threatened primates that could soon become extinct if the threats to which these animals are subjected are not quickly removed. But they have managed to determine that only around 200 to 300 gorillas are left. Our Partner, the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation rescues and rehabilitates many orangutans – but some are too damaged to return to their natural habitat. Habitat loss. [ citation needed ] Orangutans are becoming increasingly endangered due to habitat destruction and the bushmeat trade, and young orangutans are captured to be sold as pets, usually entailing the killing of their mothers. Historically, they lived all over the entire island of Sumatra and further south into Java, but are now restricted to the north of the island. These animals in captivity seem to do very well. Orangutan bones are secretly traded in souvenir shops in several cities in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Hope is holding on after being shot 74 times with an air rifle. Some might say orangutans have four hands instead of … Scientists are uncertain whether all orangutans are one species, or whether the Sumatran and Bornean populations have become so isolated from each other that they are two subspecies. by Nina Finley on 12 June 2019 There are fewer than 50,000 orangutans living in the wild, while as recently as 100 years ago, 230,000 orangutans inhabited the forests of Southeast Asia. Many people are familiar with the studies that have shown chimpanzees using tools, such as termite-fishing sticks. The Bornean orangutan is more common than the Sumatran, with about 54,500 individuals in the wild, whereas about 15,000 Sumatran orangutans are left in the wild. With fewer than 800 Tapanuli orangutans estimated to live in the wild, further fractured into three small groups, this species has a particularly vulnerable head count; in comparison, Bornean orangutans number approximately 55,000, while Sumatrans number about 14,000. There are an estimated 30,000 orangutans left in the wild, about 20,000 on Borneo and under 10,000 on Sumatra. How many orangutans are left in the world? That’s just 104,700 orangutans in the wild, compared to 230,000 a decade ago. Many of them live in the Leuser Ecosystem, where the Gunung Leuser National Park is located. Humans all over the world grapple with this dissonance but in our search for belonging, we forget that we are not the only unsettled species. In 2017, there were 104,700 Bornean orangutans and 7,500 Sumatran orangutans left in the world compared to the 230,000 in the past century. (In Malay, orang hutan literally means ‘man of the forest’.) The most notorious cause of habitat loss …