Have we seen the last of the Bornean orangutans?
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress 2016 recently revealed that the gentle giants are just one step away from extinction.
theSun reports that the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) has been moved from the Endangered category to Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List, the highest risk category assigned by the Red List.
Wildlife Conservation Society Malaysia director Dr Melvin Gumal told the daily that the orangutans are now the rarest subspecies in the world.
“Across Borneo, the loss of orangutan numbers are big enough to push their status to the ‘critically endangered’ category,” he was quoted as saying.
Dr Melvin added that its population is sharply declining as the habitat they live in are turned into oil palm, rubber or paper plantations.
“They often are killed when they lose their habitats during forest clearing for plantations, young orangutans are sought as exotic pets and at rare occasions they are consumed by the locals as protein source,” he told theSun.
A native to the island of Borneo, the Bornean orangutans share approximately 97% of their DNA with humans. According to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), there are less than 1,500 Bornean orangutans remaining.
Last month, Borneo Rhino Alliance’s (BORA) executive director Datuk Dr John Payne revealed that there are only three Sumatran rhinos remaining in Malaysia.
