With a wild population of fewer than 7,000, the Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) may be the first Great Ape to become extinct. Once widespread throughout the forests of Asia, orangutans are now confined to just two islands, Sumatra and Borneo. Both species are highly endangered due to habitat loss and poaching.
The term "Orang Hutan" literally translates as "Person of the Forest," and indeed, the orangutan shares 96.4% of its DNA with humans, making it one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom. But while humans can reproduce and expand seemingly without limit, the orangutan breeds much more slowly than any other primate, making the population even more vulnerable to habitat disturbance and hunting.
The Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) has been working in Indonesia for years to both educate about the importance of conservation and to help reverse the damage of deforestation. By creating tree nurseries, SOS provides sustainable livelihoods for communities surrounding critical orangutan habitat. Communities therefore no longer need to rely on collecting wood and other forest products for an income. SOS has planted over a quarter million seedlings, and provides training so that communities can be self-sufficient in producing their own seedlings for future replanting.
Among SOS's projects are: Replacing coastal mangroves destroyed by the 2004 tsunami, replanting hardwood and fruit trees in degraded forest areas in Aceh province, and working to reforest the Leuser Ecosystem in North Sumatra, the most important remaining habitat for the Sumatran orangutan. In 2008, SOS is expanding to work within the borders of Gunung Leuser National Park, working with local government and communities to restore vital orangutan habitat that has been damaged by illegal oil palm plantations inside the protected area.
You can help. Purchase of this Gift That Gives More™ plants 50 native species tree seedlings to help reforest vital areas of orangutan habitat, helping ensure that this close cousin of humankind survives and thrives.
The Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) is dedicated to the conservation of Sumatran orangutans and their forest home. Its international branches raise awareness of the threats facing wild orangutans, and raise funds to support its grassroots conservation projects in Sumatra. Together with a team of committed Indonesian conservationists, it works with local communities living alongside orangutan habitat. It visits schools, plants trees and provides training to help the local people work towards a more sustainable future for their forests. Since 2003, SOS has planted over 270,000 treesBesides, we could save the orang utan starting from the schools. in the schools, they could have lots of activities on how to protect or save the orang utan from being extinct.
The activities are like
- Organize a poster drawing competition about orang utan
- Competition of designing websites or blogs
- Organize a camp
- Giving a speech or talk on assembly
