Wild orangutans are found on the islands of

Sumatra and Borneo, where they spend most of their time high in the treetops. These impressive great apes depend on the diverse fruits and plants of the rainforest to survive, but illegal logging and the conversion of natural forests to oil palm plantations has destroyed much of their habitat. As a result, Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelli) are currently listed as critically endangered with fewer than 7,000 remaining in the wild, while the number of Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) has plummeted over the past two decades from 300,000 to less than 55,000 today.

Research teams working in Indonesia and Sumatra have been studying the ecological and biological needs of the orangutan for nearly two decades. The Philadelphia Zoo has recently joined the efforts of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme and the Tuanan Orangutan Research Project to protect this elusive primate.

Palm oil is the world’s most widely produced vegetable oil. It’s found in almost 50% of the packaged foods we eat and is also an ingredient in many other items such as shampoo, cosmetics, lipstick, lotion and laundry and cleaning products.

Today, the rapid increase in non-sustainable palm oil production is one of the greatest threats to orangutans and the forests they need to survive. In Malaysia and Indonesia, it’s now the primary cause of permanent rainforest loss. Even worse, illegal logging occurs in 37 of the 41 national parks of Indonesia, and satellite imagery confirms that in the worst cases, up to half the protected area has been exposed to heavy logging (Curran et al. 2004).

With virtually no suitable habitat left and depleted food sources, all wild orangutans living inside or outside of protected areas are now at risk of extinction, UNLESS...

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Dr. Meredith Bastian, the Zoo’s Curator of Primates, spent seven years working with wild orangutans in Indonesia. During her years in the field, she collected behavioral, botanical, and genetic data at Tuanan and compared it with data collected at her own field site, Sungai Lading. She also participated in the training and management of Indonesian field assistants at three field sites and conducted extensive research on the behavior, genetics and reproduction of wild orangutans. Much of her research continues to be published together with the work of her colleague, Prof. Dr. Carel van Schaik.

Learn more about the orangutans at the Zoo.

You Can Help

Join the UNLESS Campaign and become part of a growing community of advocates for orangutans.

Save orangutans while you shop! The Saving Orangutans wallet card will help you make more informed consumer choices as you get to know the companies committed to using certified sustainable palm oil.

The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) is a collaborative program of the PanEco Foundation, working with the Indonesian government's Department of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation, the Foundation for a Sustainable Ecosystem and the Frankfurt Zoological Society. Learn more about the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme.