Kids Canopy

Facing Extinction

While the exact population count of orangutans in the wild is difficult to determine, we estimate that there are currently between 50,000 to 65,000 orangutans left in the wild. We do know for certain that there are 2,000 to 3,000 orangutans killed each year. At this rate of loss, experts believe that orangutans could be extinct in the wild in less than 50 years. 

Never before has the existence of orangutans been threatened so severely. The combination of economic crisis, natural disasters, and human forest abuse has pushed one of humankind’s closest cousins to the brink of extinction. 

The main threats to the survival of orangutans are:

• Loss of habitat through deforestation
• Palm oil plantations
• Illegal hunting
• Illegal pet trade

If these main threats to orangutans are not addressed in a serious, urgent, and sustained manner soon, wild orangutans will be gone from this earth.