The Bornean orangutan is now listed as critically endangered. With this update, both species of orangutan (the other being Sumatran) are now at extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published an assessment that found hunting, habitat destruction and degradation, and habitat fragmentation to be the biggest drivers of Bornean orangutan population loss.

The World Wildlife Fund reports that there are currently 41,000 Bornean and 7,500 Sumatran orangutans in the wild. Sumatran orangutans have been listed on IUCN’s Red List as critically endangered since 2000.

• IUCN assessment has found that population of Bornean orangutans has dropped by nearly two-third since the early 1970s. It has projected that their population will further decline to 47,000 animals by 2025 representing population loss of 86%.
• These new IUCN Red List assessments emphasise how urgent it is for the conservation community to act strategically to protect our planet’s incredible diversity of life.
• The world’s oceans and forests will only continue to provide us with food and other benefits if we preserve their capacity to do so.”

Things responsible for the decline in population?

• In past 4 decades, about 2000 and 3,000 of Borneo’s orangutans were killed every year for meat.
• They are slow breeders and produce only one offspring every six to eight years on average.
• Bornean orangutan populations are declining as the forests they live in are turned into oil palm, rubber or paper plantations, and others are killed by humans.
• It has dramatically shrunk habitat of Bornean orangutan. About 40% of Borneo’s forests lost since the early 1970s to plantation agriculture and it will continue.

Bornean orangutan

• The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) is a species of orangutan native to the island of Borneo.
• It belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia. Like the other great apes, orangutans are highly intelligent, displaying advanced tool use and distinct cultural patterns in the wild.
• Orangutans share approximately 97% of their DNA with humans.

 International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN)

• The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
• IUCN has a membership of over 1200 governmental and non-governmental organizations.
• IUCN was established in 5 October 1948. It was previously called the International Union for Protection of Nature (1948–1956) and the World Conservation Union (1990–2008). Its full legal name is International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
• Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland
• CEO: Inger Andersen