PHOTO VIA WIKIPEDIA, CC BY-SA
The picture
Orangutans are the only great apes in Asia and spend most of their lives in the trees. All three species are Critically Endangered, mainly because their rainforest is cleared for palm oil and timber.
The science
Genus Pongo. Orangutans use tools and pass learned skills between generations - a form of culture.
In numbers
Worth repeating at dinner
Orangutans build a fresh sleeping nest in the trees almost every night.
- WWF
They are among the few animals shown to use tools culturally.
- WCS
What they face
Forest clearing destroys their only habitat.
Rainforest Alliance
Infants are taken after mothers are killed.
IUCN
What is already working
Demand for RSPO-certified oil reduces forest clearing.
Rescued orangutans are rehabilitated and returned to protected forest.
Reasons for hope
Reconnecting forest fragments gives orangutans room to move.
Meet them
Small actions that reach them
People doing the big work
Hopeling is also a pocket companion: one fact, one small act a day. Open the app