English Project – Endangered Species

Orangutans

Submitted by: Ishay Shalem

12 Grade/2
I chose the orangutans because I think they are one of the most interesting
and intelligent animals on the plant. The orangutans are a relative of the
humans so I found them very intriguing.

The Orangutans are great apes originally from Southeast Asia and South
China. Today they can be found in the rainforests of Indonesia and
Malaysia. The Orangutans are divided into three species: the Bornean, the
Sumatran and the Tapanuli. Orangutans spend most of their time in trees
because Of their physic, long arms and short legs.

Of all the great apes, The Orangutans are the most solitary, their only social
bonds are between the mother and the descendant. Adult male
orangutans weigh about 75 kg, adult females weigh about 37 kg. The
dominant males have distinctive cheek pads and make long calls that
attract females and rivals. The most important food in the orangutan’s diet
is fruits, but they also eat honey, insects and bird eggs. The orangutans can
live over 30 years, in the wild and in captivity.

Orangutans are among the most intelligent non-human primates.

Experiments suggest they can track the displacement of objects both visible
and hidden. An adult orangutan has been documented to pass the mirror
test, indicating self-awareness. Orangutan whistling suggests laughter
derived from a common origin among primate species and therefore
evolved before the origin of humans.

Orangutans depend on trees more than any other rainforest animals. Their
bodies are adapted to swing through trees, rather than walk. Over the past
20 years, orangutans have lost over 80% of their habitat in Southeast Asia.
Destruction and degradation of the tropical rain forest, particularly lowland
forest. Slash and burn methods used by local farmers to prepare land for
large palm oil plantations are a large threat to orangutan survival.

Farmers often kill orangutans when they come too close to their crops.
Fires also pose a threat as the drought season combined with unethical
deforestation create extremely flammable and dangerous conditions.

Trading of baby orangutans, though illegal, it is continuing. Hundreds of

infants are taken from the wild for the pet trade every year. This practice is
done by killing the mother and taking the baby. The infants often die as a
result of injury from falling several hundred feet after their mother is shot,
contracting diseases from humans, or from poor conditions.

In the diagram, the

population of the Bornean
Orangutans from 1930 to
2020.
During the past decade orangutan populations have probably decreased by
50% in the wild.

The rapid decline and extinction of orangutans cause by deforestation in

orangutan habitats. Scientists have estimated that the only way of reducing
the high rate of population decline is by ceasing deforestation and putting
extensive protection methods of current populations in place.

In 2011 a agreement was signed by Wilmar International, Central

Kalimantan government, and Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation to
provide long-term protection for the Bornean orangutan population.

Palm oil accounts for 40% of global vegetable oil demand, but plantations
occupy just 6% of the total landmass currently utilized to produce
vegetable oils. Alternative crops would require 4 to 10 times the amount of
land to produce the same amount of oil. The solution to palm oil-induced
deforestation lies in establishing sustainable practices for plantations to
follow and local governments to enforce.

Sustainable Palm Oil is an independent standard for the sustainable

production of palm oil. Major corporations such as Kellogg's, The Body
Shop, Nestle and Ferrero have begun executing policies of zero-
deforestation.

Northern Sumatra comprises an area of 65 000 km2 that is both the site of
Indonesia's first planned RED (reduced carbon emissions from
deforestation) initiative and 92% of remaining orangutans. New roads are
currently under construction, while companies are converting lowland
forests into oil palm plantations. Satellite-based deforestation model
predicts that 1313 km2 of forest would be saved from deforestation by
2030.

Reflection

The process of writing the project was hard, most of the websites gave the
same information and a lot of it. I had to filter the information that was not
important, some websites gave different information on the same subject,
so I followed the information that was from researches.
From this project I learned that orangutans are a solitary animal, not like
most animals who live in packs, also orangutans are one of the only animals
who uses tools on daily basis for finding food.
Bibliography
https://earth.org/endangered-species/orangutan/
https://orangutanfoundation.org.au/why-are-orangutans-in-danger-of-
becoming-extinct/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orangutan#Status_and_threats
https://healthinharmony.org/2016/11/11/why-orangutans-are-going-
extinct-how-to-stop-it/
https://www.orangutan.com/orangutan-facts/threats-to-orangutans/
https://www.cifor.org/knowledge/publication/2841/