Steps You Can Take To Help Endangered Wildlife

                    I became an animal lover when I was a child. My parents were veterinarians and I spent a lot of my childhood helping them care for sick animals. My first dog was a mutt that had been hit by a car and brought in by a driver passing by. He had a broken leg and I bonded with him as his leg mended. Since no one claimed him, my parents let me keep him. It's because of Rusty that I developed my baseball pitching prowess, since I would throw the balls and he would tireless retrieve them for me. Now that I'm a little league coach, I suggest to the parents of my charges that they should get their children a dog to do the same.

I am very concerned about the endangered species of the world. I had been looking for a way to do something to prevent their extinction and realized I could adopt them the way I adopted Rusty, not by bringing them home of course, but by contributing to the World Wildlife Fund, (WWF). This is a great organization that has dedicated itself to the protection of endangered wildlife. You choose the animals that you want to help protect and send them a set amount of money each month. They use the money to safeguard the animals within their ordinary environment.

They offer a range of animals to choose from, such as the Black Rhino, Bengal Tiger, Bottlenose Dolphin, Orangutan, Giant Panda and the Asian Elephant. All of these animals need protection from the threats presented by mankind.

When you adopt an animal through the WWF, you receive a picture of the animal, a plush toy and a certificate. By displaying them in your home, you can show them to your visitors and educate them about the plight of these animals. My daughter has confiscated the toys, and my wife has put the pictures on the fridge. I do keep the framed certificates in the family room and never hesitate to ask my friends to consider adopting an animal.

Everyone in my family has adopted their own animal. My daughter chose the Giant Panda and my wife chose the Bottlenose dolphin. I chose the Black Rhino.
The Giant Panda has become endangered due to the forests that they live in being cleared for agriculture and lumber. This has also become a problem for the Orangutan and the Asian Elephant. The Black Rhino is being killed for its horn, which is used for medicinal purposes, and poachers have also focused on the Bengal Tiger. The Bottlenose Dolphin is a victim of the commercial fishing industry. They get caught in the nets used for other fish and are also suffering from polluted waters.

These beautiful animals need to be protected because they are in danger of becoming extinct and once that happens, they are gone forever.

Orangutan - An Endangered Species

                       Orangutan, which literally means 'forest people' in the Malay language, is in danger of becoming extinct in the near future. The greatest threat to their survival today is the rapid loss of their natural rainforest habitat in Sumatra and Borneo. Large areas of virgin rainforest in Sumatra and Borneo have been cut down for its timber and the land cleared and replanted with palm oil plantations and other cash crops. Plantation owners and their workers often kill orangutans when they trespass into human areas in search of food as they are considered as a threat to the valuable crop. They have also fallen prey to illegal hunting and sadder still, baby orangutans are often hunted down by illegal hunters who considered them as a highly prized commodity as they are a very cute creatures and bear a lot of resemblance to a human baby. These baby orangutans are often taken and sold into the illegal pet trade after their mother is killed.

Orangutan is the largest tree-dwelling animal in the world with the largest males capable of growing to a height of more than 5 feet and weighing more than 200 pounds. Females are normally much smaller than the males where the matured females can grow to a height of about 4 feet and weigh about half of the males. Most of their times are spent living on top of tree branches and swinging from tree to tree where they get their food and other needs. Although they have strong legs, it is not very often use for walking as they seldom come down to the ground to avoid being prey to predators such as tigers, leopards and snakes. Since they need to spend most of their time on top of trees, they have developed long and powerful arms and legs to enable them to swing from branches to branches with ease. They also have a hook-shaped fingers and toes so that they can easily hang and swing on the tree branches.

Orangutans are omnivores but their favorite diets are mainly tropical fruits from the rainforest such as durian, jackfruit, mangoes and other fruits, which make up over 90% of their diet. Beside from fruits, they also eat other food such as leaves, tree shoots, honey, small insects, bird eggs and small animals such as birds. They are also known to eat tree bark and soil or rock that is rich in minerals. Orangutans are considered as loners who like to keep to themselves as much as possible. Adult of both sexes normally wander and travel alone. They are normally active during the day and spend much of their adult life alone and avoiding others of their own species. The exception to this is during feeding time where they will congregate to share the same fruiting tree, during mating and during the weaning period between a mother orangutan and her kid where they will be in close contact with each other for the first seven to eight years of the kid life.

Orangutans have a very similar genetic makeup to human with about 96.4% identical and they are an intelligent animal. Recent research has shown that the orangutans are more intelligent than the chimpanzees, which were previously thought to be the most intelligent creature in the animals' world. They are the only creature in the animal kingdom that can make and utilize a variety of simple tools to aid them in their everyday life. They make their own sleeping nest every night from tree branches, twigs and foliage. They also make tools for extracting insects from tree holes or cavity and can use seed-removal tools for extracting seeds from hard-skin fruit. Adults' orangutans are also known to teach their young the art of making tools and how to find food.

The future survival of orangutans in the wild will depend on human intervention, as they are likely to become extinct in the wild without our intervention and help. The governments of Borneo and Sumatra have taken the first step to ensure their survival by declaring large areas of rainforest as a forest reserve where logging and land clearing for plantations is prohibited. Wildlife protection laws are also in place to keep them safe from extinction. Many sanctuary and rehabilitation centers have been opened to treat and care for sick, injured or orphaned orangutans. These rehabilitated apes will then be released back into the tropical rainforest so that they will re-populate back the forests.

Sepilak Orangutan Sanctuary - Refuge For an Endangered Species

                        Near the town of Sandakan, Sabah lies the Sepilak Orangutan Sanctuary, a "must see" for families traveling with kids. This 43 sq. mi. rehabilitation reserve in lowland rainforest was established in 1964 as a refuge for orphaned and injured orangutans living only in Borneo's wilderness or in Sumatra. Here, allowed to roam free, these lovable animals are protected from logging and hunters, and are trained to live in their natural surroundings. Over the last 20 years, orangutans have become an endangered species on their way to extinction with over 90% of their habitat having been destroyed by logging and deforestation in favor of palm oil plantations.

A visit to Sepilak starts wit a video detailing the plight of orangutans. The scenes of traumatized orangutans are heart wrenching, and the rehabilitation efforts of the sanctuary are uplifting! From here, a walk on a series of boardwalks leads to the orangutans' natural habitat. The walk through the virgin rainforest with its dense undergrowth, its towering trees and the cries of animals and other jungle sounds is awesome. High up in the trees, we spotted a group of macaques and were reminded to hold fast to our bags and cameras and anything loose, as these monkeys are notorious thieves! The screeching birds, perhaps hornbills, accompanied us on our way to the viewing areas.

As these primates clamber toward the feeding area, swinging through the branches, their movement and noise herald their appearance. While the park rangers make their way to the feeding platform, the orangutans congregate in groups of two or three. Some come hand in hand and cling to each other. We are told that often the newer members of the group have a partner to guide them until they feel secure enough to venture out on their own.

From the viewing area, we watch as the rangers pour out fruit and milk and all hell breaks loose! The orangutans, who aren't used to scavenging in the forest for their food, are fairly well-behaved, but the monkeys are comical in their antics as they try to steal the food. The shy orangutans, who run a constant battle to keep the monkeys away, are no match for these crafty thieves.

All this activity happens just in front of us, making not only for a spectacular show but endearing these charming and lovable creatures to all of us. These "orange men" (indeed, they are our closest relatives with 96% DNA of humans) are both lovely and lovable. Shy, rare, astoundingly gentle and solitary, orangutans made great fans of all the adults, and more so, made a grand and lasting impression on children, who were excited to see them at close quarters and were ready, on the spot, to join the "adopt an orangutan" program!

Orangutan: An Endangered Primate

                          Orangutans are the only remaining Asian genus of the present day living great ape. Orangutans are the largest living arboreal animals. They have longer arms as compared to other great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates who use a vast variety of tools and also make sophisticated nests every night from leaves and foliage while sleeping. Most part of their lives in spent in food searching and they are not aggressive animals. The body hairs are typically reddish-brown very different from the black hairs as found in apes.

Orangutans are native to Indonesia and Malaysia but at present they are found only in the rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Their fossils have been discovered from Java, the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Vietnam and Mainland China. Only two species are alive today and both share the category of endangered. These two extant species are Bornean Orangutan and the critically endangered Sumatran Orangutan. These animals have derived their name from Malay word which means man of the forest.

Adults attain a height of about 4-7 ft while standing. The body weight may vary from 33-82 kg. Males may attain body weight up to 110 kg or more. Their hands resemble with that of humans consisting of four long fingers and one opposable thumb. They also have four long toes and one opposable big toe. They are able to grasp things both with the help of their hands as well as feet.

Orangutans have bulky body, a thick neck, very long, strong arms, short, bowed legs, and no tail. Sumatran have light coloured coat. They have large head with prominent mouth area. Adult males have large cheek flaps that demarcate their dominance among other members of the group. The females attain maturity at the age of 12 years. They have an average lifespan of 35 years but in captivity they can live up to 60 years. Both the sexes have throat pouches near the vocal chords which are used to generate calls in the forests. They are arboreal and spend most of their time on the trees. They make sleeping nest in the night. Generally they are solitary and male and female come together only for the purpose of mating. The young ones remain with the mother for about 7-8 years. There is a well developed sexual dimorphism. The females are 4 ft in length and weigh about 45 kg while males are 5 ft and weigh 118 kg.

Fruits make their 65-90% diet. Fruits carrying sugary and fatty pulp are most favoured. Ficus fruits are mostly prefer as they are easy to harvest and digest. They are opportunistic foragers and their food composition varies from month to month. They are known to rape human females. Actress Julia Roberts had an orangutan try to have sex with her, and was saved by a film crew. The Sumatran species are considered to be critically endangered while Bornean species is endangered according to the list of IUCN. They have 48 diploid chromosomes and the whole genome sequence was identified in January 2011.

Why Is the Orangutan Endangered?

                     With its distinctive red/brown fur the Orangutan has become an icon for conservation, with images being used around the world to highlight the threats that many species face. Orangutans are known to be one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom sharing almost 95% of our DNA.

In the wilds of Borneo and Sumatra orangutans have very few natural predators. This is because they spend much of their life living high in the trees, only rarely venturing to ground level. However if an orangutan does spend too much time on the ground they face threats from leopards and tigers.

Why then, is the Orangutan one of the most endangered animals on the planet?

It is not natural predation, which has led to them becoming one of the world's most endangered species but encroachment from humans. We are responsible for the destruction of around 80% of the rainforest habitat in Borneo and Sumatra in the last 20 years alone. Conservationists predict, that by 2020 almost 98% of the Indonesian rainforest could have been destroyed.

There are several reasons behind the large-scale destruction; Borneo and Sumatra have become densely populated in recent years, with the growing population requiring ever more space in which to build their homes. The rainforest has provided that space at the cost of habitat for the animals.

Furthermore the pet trade in orangutans is huge with many people in Indonesia seeing them as status symbols. Adult females are often killed so their young can be sold on the booming black market.

Perhaps the biggest contributor to the large-scale habitat destruction has been the world's insatiable appetite for palm oil. Palm oil is used in a huge variety of products consumed by humans and as the demand has increased so too has the space needed to harvest the palm oil. Currently around 6.5 million hectares of rainforest in Indonesia has been cleared to make way for these plantations.

As their habitat is destroyed the orangutans are being forced into smaller and smaller areas forcing them into greater conflict with other animals, including humans. When an orangutan comes into conflict with humans carrying weapons there is only going to be one outcome.

Unless swift action is taken to reverse the downward trend in orangutan numbers, we face losing one of our most loved animals in the very near future which would be a tragedy, not only for conservation worldwide but for the fragile Indonesian ecosystem in which they live.