Lately, forest-fires and deforestation are a regular worldwide occurrence. Deforestation of tropical rain forests is particularly concerning, as these forests are home to most of the world’s biodiversity. Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest has lost around 17% of its lush wilderness in the last 60 years to forest fire, monoculture, mining, and illegal logging. Though deforestation in this region is particularly rampant near the populous areas, the remote areas are also being encroached for valuable mahogany, minerals, and oil reserves. According to WWF, the world’s most ecologically important forest landscapes that are home to orangutans, tigers, and elephants will suffer cataclysmic damage or loss (of about 80 percent) globally by 2030. Up to 420 million acres of forest is estimated to disappear between 2010 and 2030, if the current deforestation trend continues. The hot spots are located around the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest, Gran Chaco, Borneo, Cerrado, Choco-Darien, the Congo Basin, East Africa, Eastern Australia, Greater Mekong, New Guinea, and Sumatra.o
About Orangutans
The orangutan is the only member of the The orangutan is the only member of the Giant Apes family found in Asia, in the Borneo and Sumatra islands. Three co-generic species, Pongo Pygmaeus, Pongo Abelii and Pongo Tapanulis are reported in Southeast Asia. Most of the orangutans (90%) are found in Indonesia, while the remaining 10% are found in Malaysia. Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmyus) is found in Borneo Island, Indonesia (Kalimantan) and Malaysia (Saba and Sarawak) but the Sumatran Orangutan (Ponco Abeli) and Tapanuli orangutans are found in the Sumatra Island in Indonesia.
The Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmyus) has a large body and is characterized by dark or reddish-brown hair. Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo abeli) are smaller in size and have bright orange hair. Tapanuli orangutans are more similar to Sumatran orangutans than BorneanOrangutans in physical features and hair color. In all the three species, male orangutans are much larger than the females, usually two to three times their weight. Male orangutans develop large cheek pads (flanges) that enhance with sexual maturity. Both male and female Tapanuli Orangutans have beards, while only the male have beards in the case of Bornean Orangutans.
Bornean Orangutan
The Bornean orangutan is classified into 3 sub-species: Pongo Pygmaeus Pygmaeus, Pongo Pygmaeus Wurmbii and Pongo Pygmaeus Morio.
They are mostly found in the tropical dryland and the mangrove forests in the lowlands, up to 500 m of elevation. The orangutans are the largest arboreal animal; however, males do spend time on land as they usually travel to other territories to find their mates. They make a sleeping bed or platforms with tree branches and leaves. Orangutans are predominantly moderate eaters whose broad diet includes flowers, leaves and bark of the trees. They also eat insects, ants, honey, fungi and in rare cases small mammals.
Orangutans live a very secluded life; the sole potential kinship exists between the mother and the infant. In fact, they live in very loose clusters of related females which occasionally meet in twos and sometimes more during periods of higher food-availability to maintain the bonds and enable the offspring to play and learn together. Males disperse away from their mothers’ home ranges to prevent inbreeding and become sexually mature at around 15 years of age. Between 18 and 20 years of age, they grow much larger and develop secondary sexual characteristics of cheek flanges and large throat sacs which can be used to lure women and to alert other males and make them produce longer sounds. Female orangutans give birth to a baby after eight and a half months of pregnancy, and another child is not born until the first child reaches seven years of age. It is the longest birth interval known in the animal kingdom, enabling the mother to give full attention to her children as the offspring learns the skills necessary to survive on their own. Orangutans are very intelligent creatures with advanced problem-solving skills. They can use things in their environment for equipment and medicines. They exhibit cultural traits, and different populations treat a single problem in different ways. They learn from other orangutans and pass on their own skills when they meet each other, which is more frequent when food availability is high.
Female Bornean Orangutan
The need for conservation “When we lose orangutans, we risk losing forests and all life within them – and then the whole world pays the price”
The primary reason I chose to write about Orangutans is my staunch belief that we should stand for these voiceless beings among us while we still can. The charismatic and intelligent big apes of Asia are facing a steady decline in population and are on the top of the list of endangered species. The specie has been facing mass destruction and loss of natural habitat during the last decade. The have been losing their homes to Illegal encroachment by the monoculture farmers. The Orangutan / Orang Hutan is called ‘The Men of the Forest’, owing to their intelligence and similarity to human beings. As this species is in the brink of mass extinction, it is imperative that we attempt conservation now, before it is too late. Of the above-mentioned species, the Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli orangutans fall under the endangered category. Statistics suggest that The Bornean Orangutan population has declined by 80% over the past three generations, the highest rate of extinction reported across all species in the world. Both the species are listed in the The World Conservation Union’s data and in the appendix of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora.
Orangutans are legally protected under the national and international law; but the conservation of orangutans require the concerted efforts of all stakeholders in the region and the political arena to ensure its success.
The glimpse of an unforgettable moment
Going out in the woods and taking pictures during leisure time is a passion; I love to grab lovely moments from the life of wild animals without disturbing them or their natural habitats. Recently I chanced to behold a spectacular sight during a safari at BOSF(Bornean Orangutan Survival Foundation) survival forest; an Orangutan challenged the humanity in me. Another reason that urged me to write this article is this unusual incident that I witnessed during my trekking in the survival forest.
During my trek near the Island Forest, the wildlife guard who was our guide and I were engaged in a casual conversation about Orangutans and the conservation initiatives at BOSF. I suddenly noticed another wildlife guard plunge into the muddy river. The BOSF Warden’s main responsibility in the Conservation Forest is to secure the Orangutan’s habitat and ensure that it is free of snakes and predators. Turned out that the Guard was scouting the river for poisonous snakes as part of the routine maintenance activity. While the warden was at his job, a female orangutan got closer to the riverbank, watching the guard amusingly. I clicked a few closeup photos of the Orangutan. As the guard kept searching for snakes and cleaning the riverbanks, his feet seemed visibly stuck in the muddy river floor. As he struggled to move further, the female Orangutan who until then was a quiet spectator, suddenly got up. She came closer to the riverbank and stretched out one of her hands towards the guard, as if she were offering him assistance to get out of the thick mud. She stood there; arms reached out to the guard for three to four minutes. Absolutely awe-struck at this unexpected, sweet gesture from the Orangutan, I somehow managed to fix my camera and captured 4 frames of this heartwarming, unique moment. I watched on as the guard declined her kind gesture and managed to move away from there. He later explained that there are strict guidelines in place for the staff to avoid unwanted interaction with the Orangutans. This is considering the animal’s ‘wild’ and ‘unpredictable’ nature and to avert hazardous circumstances that adversely affect the safety of the orangutan.-
As heartwarming as that image was, the irony of it really shook me. We human beings, with all the power of reasoning and the inherent virtue of “humanity” are on a wild spree destroying the natural habitat of these animals and pushing them towards extinction. These animals on the other hand, are still lending us a helping hand. It got me thinking how we need to make serious efforts to protect our values and our nature for posterity. I posted the picture on social media platforms in January 2020 with a caption:
Let me help you? Once Humanity is dying in Mankind, sometimes animals are guiding us back to our basics
The picture received global recognition and was featured in CNN, BBC, and SWNS. I was fortunate to have been offered platforms to share my story with the world. I feel grateful that I could witness and capture this spectacle and could be instrumental in spreading awareness on the criticality of Orangutan conservation. The Bornean Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) was founded in 1991 and has been working relentlessly towards this cause since. They work in partnership with the local communities, the Indonesian Forestry Ministry and international partner organizations. The organization’s primary objective is to rescue the Orangutans displaced from their natural habitat, provide medical and rehabilitative facilities, and prepare them to be returned to the wild.
The younger orangutans are taught survival skills in their ‘Forest School’ and the older and disabled ones are cared for in the facility. The foundation ensures medical care, nutrition and shelter similar to their natural habitat. The severely impaired or critically ill animals are provided with intensive care facilities as well.
BOSF is instrumental in protecting the remaining natural ecosystem for Orangutans through their reforestation initiatives. They also collaborate with the local authorities and other stakeholders to prevent activities that lead to environment damage and natural human-Orangutan conflict. The efforts of BOSF towards the conservation of this critically endangered species is truly commendable. After the photograph was published, BOSF management contacted me and published a statement about this incident, announcing the names of Orangutan (Anih) and the wildlife guard (Syrhul). I feel very fortunate to have been given this opportunity; to do my share in spreading awareness towards the conservation of this remarkable species.
There is a universal message that Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, the renowned writer from India gives us in one of his great works “The Inheritors of the Earth” (Bhoomiyude Avakashikal) where he reiterates the concept of heterogeneity in this world. The universe is a Noah’s Arc for all creatures of the world. Human beings aren’t any more significant than insects and beasts who share the earth with us. Earth is a haven for ants, snakes, lizards, termites, birds, bats and worms just like man. This philosophy goes hand in hand with the tenets of Zen Buddhism. The world is not man-made. Instead, man is a part of the Nature. Man has no right to infringe upon the laws of Nature. Man Made things are artificial, fragile, and transient. But Nature is awe-inspiring, eternal, apocalyptic, guileless, and real.
It is important to emphasize that the severity of the current environmental crisis is highly alarming. There are issues like climate change due to global warming, groundwater depletion, holes in the Ozone layer, destruction of rainforests, extinction of species and sharp decline of biodiversity. Most of these alarming situations are created by human attitude and their reckless behaviour. We should realize that these environmental problems adversely affect the human population as well. The ongoing threats due to the occurrence of natural disasters such as landslides, floods, tsunamis, wildfires, and earthquakes act as catastrophic hazards causing widespread damage though they may be naturally occurring. It is important to understand that human vulnerability to natural disasters is generally increasing day by day. Increase in population density and lack of safer settlements pose a direct threat to human life leading them to build their shelters in the floodplains, hill slopes and coastal belts. Hence it is important for all of us to take up this challenge to protect our nature and its assets with a hope to regain and restore the earth’s equilibrium, for us and the generations to come.
