Orangutan Conservancy Press Release

ORANGUTAN CONSERVANCY SENDS FUNDS TO BATTLE BORNEO CRISIS

The Orangutan Conservancy, which raises funds and awareness on behalf of orangutan projects in Southeast Asia, today sent $25,000 to the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project in Borneo in order to buy food, medicine and vital supplies for orphaned apes.

Nyaru Menteng is home to over 600 injured and unwanted orangutans, many of which have been confiscated from poachers or illegal traders. But rampant deforestation, hunting and human encroachment in Borneo have caused a recent surge in orphaned orangutans. Nyaru Menteng confiscated 80 infant orangutans and rescued 223 adults last year, the highest number since the facility opened eight years ago.

At the current rate of decline, experts predict that orangutans will cease to exist in the wild within 25 years. As few as 50,000 are believed to remain in Borneo and Sumatra, two islands that are governed by Indonesia and Malaysia .

The Orangutan Conservancy has supported Nyaru Menteng since 2000, and believes the orphanage – which was created to care for less than half its current orangutan population – is emblematic of Indonesia ’s deep environmental crisis.

“Every day, orangutans move that much closer to extinction,” said Norm Rosen, acting president of the Orangutan Conservancy. “We are pleased to be able to help Nyaru Menteng in this current crisis, but for how much longer can they keep taking in orphans at this rate? Something has to be done to protect the forest as well as the animals that live there.”

It is estimated that Indonesia has already lost more than 72 percent of its original frontier forests, and continues to clear another one percent each year. Much of the recent devastation has been caused by fires and the rush to cultivate palm oil for overseas markets. Meteorological forecasts for 2007 warn that El Nino weather patterns across Southeast Asia could produce some of the worst fires in a decade.

The Orangutan Conservancy was established in 1998 to support projects that focus on wild orangutan protection, reintroduction, education, and research.