A tragic moment was filmed by animal rescuer when huge bulldozers destroyed the rainforest in Borneo, an island in Southeast Asia’s Malay Archipelago – a starving pregnant orangutan clung to one of the final trees.
As massive machinery ripped apart her home, the traumatized animal, Boon-Mee, clung desperately to the tree trunk.
Orangutans On The Verge Of Extinction
The destruction of Palm oil plantations across Indonesia have left orangutans homeless. The vegetable oil extracted from the fruits and seeds of the oil palm is used in food, biofuel, and several household products.
About 66 million tons of palm oil is produced every year, leading to the destruction of forests to make room for plantations and contributing greatly to the global deforestation. It leads to the displacement of rural human populations and local animal species that are endemic to the region.
Orangutans have been driven to the brink of extinction due to palm oil production. They are now classified as critically endangered species. Each day, the orangutan population drops by up to 25.
There were over 2.3 lakh orangutans in Southeast Asia about 100 years ago. However, that number has now come down to 41,000 in Borneo and just 7,500 in Sumatra. In fact, every year, hundreds of apes are killed in the drive for profits.
However, in this case, the plantation owners reached out to UK-based charity International Animal Rescue (IAR), seeking help for the orangutan. To their surprise, the IAR team found three other frightened, hungry orangutans. These orangutans were released into a new area of forest.
IAR official Lis Key said that fortunately, this time, the company did the right thing and saved the animals’ lives, instead of chasing them off or killing them. All are the orangutans found are now recovering and have since been released into a new area of forest reported Healthy Food House.
