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The orangutan is the most highly endangered species of great ape.
Orangutans are threatened by deforestation, poaching, the illegal
pet trade, and the isolation and fragmen tation of dwindling wild
populations. Their conservation is impeded by certain aspects of
their ecology (e. g. , a rain forest habitat) and certain features
of their life history (e. g. , an eight-to twelve-year interbirth
interval). Added to the U. S. Endangered Species List in 1970, the
orangutan is now clearly on the road to extinction. The number of
wild orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra is currently estimated to
have decreased to between 12,300 and 20,571 individuals. Only 2% of
original orangutan habitat is protected and some of these areas are
now being destroyed. Clearly, attention to ecology, demography,
censusing, rehabilitation, and conservation is essential if the
orangutan is to survive in the wild beyond the next century. The
protection of orangutans is a complex, multifaceted problem,
involving such pressing issues as human poverty, overpopulation,
and the economic development of Southeast Asia. Although the
orangutan has been placed in Appendix I of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), more orangutans were sold illegally in Taiwan between 1990
and 1993 than are housed in all the world's zoos. In the past,
scientific and public attention has centered on the African apes.
For this reason, the sole Asian great ape, the orangutan, has been
called the "neglected ape.
Many of the papers in this volume were first presented at the Third
International Great Apes of the World Conference, held July 3-6,
1998 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The editors of this volume, the
first in a two-volume series, are world renowned, having dedicated
most of their lives to the study of great apes. The world's
premiere primatologists, ethologists, and anthropologists present
the most recent research on both captive and free-ranging African
great apes. These scientists, through deep personal commitment and
sacrifice, have expanded their knowledge of chimpanzees, bonobos,
and gorillas. With forests disappearing, many of these studies will
never be duplicated. This volume, and all in the Developments in
Primatology book series, aim to broaden and deepen the
understanding of this valuable cause.
Many of the papers in this volume were first presented at the Third
International Great Apes of the World Conference, held July 3-6,
1998 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The editors of this volume, the
first in a two-volume series, are world renowned, having dedicated
most of their lives to the study of great apes. The world's
premiere primatologists, ethologists, and anthropologists present
the most recent research on both captive and free-ranging African
great apes. These scientists, through deep personal commitment and
sacrifice, have expanded their knowledge of chimpanzees, bonobos,
and gorillas. With forests disappearing, many of these studies will
never be duplicated. This volume, and all in the Developments in
Primatology book series, aim to broaden and deepen the
understanding of this valuable cause.
The orangutan is the most highly endangered species of great ape.
Orangutans are threatened by deforestation, poaching, the illegal
pet trade, and the isolation and fragmen tation of dwindling wild
populations. Their conservation is impeded by certain aspects of
their ecology (e. g. , a rain forest habitat) and certain features
of their life history (e. g. , an eight-to twelve-year interbirth
interval). Added to the U. S. Endangered Species List in 1970, the
orangutan is now clearly on the road to extinction. The number of
wild orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra is currently estimated to
have decreased to between 12,300 and 20,571 individuals. Only 2% of
original orangutan habitat is protected and some of these areas are
now being destroyed. Clearly, attention to ecology, demography,
censusing, rehabilitation, and conservation is essential if the
orangutan is to survive in the wild beyond the next century. The
protection of orangutans is a complex, multifaceted problem,
involving such pressing issues as human poverty, overpopulation,
and the economic development of Southeast Asia. Although the
orangutan has been placed in Appendix I of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), more orangutans were sold illegally in Taiwan between 1990
and 1993 than are housed in all the world's zoos. In the past,
scientific and public attention has centered on the African apes.
For this reason, the sole Asian great ape, the orangutan, has been
called the "neglected ape.
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