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'Last stand' for Tripa orangutans |
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Indonesia
The number of orangutans in Aceh's Tripa forest has fallen to a mere 200, according to Ian Singleton, Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) head. He suggested last week that in the 1990s some 2,000 orangutans had inhabited the protected Tripa peatland forest, spanning nearly 62,000 hectares. He attributed the shrinking numbers of apes to the forced conversions of forested regions and peatland within Tripa forest into palm oil plantations, which he said continue to this day. "Tripa is one region which used to have the highest concentration of orangutans in the world," Singleton said. He added that on June 16, SCOP officers had rescued a baby orangutan from local communities, who were attempting to sell the baby off. "The rescue is a result of a successful collaboration between the police and other institutions involved," Singleton said, adding that the rescue came a day after yet another rescue of a young orangutan which had to be relocated because it had lost its habitat, which was converted to a plantation.
By Adi Warsidi
Tempo
No. 44/12, June 26, 2012
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