NEW HOPE FOR ORANG UTAN

Orang utan Profile
The Malay word orangutan means "person of the forest." These long-haired, orangish primates, found only in Sumatra and Borneo, are highly intelligent and are close relatives of humans.
Orangutans have an enormous armspan. A male may stretch his arms some 7 feet (2.1 meters) from fingertip to fingertip—a reach considerably longer than his standing height of about 5 feet (1.5 meters). When orangutans do stand, their hands nearly touch the ground.
Orangutans' arms are well suited to their lifestyle because they spend much of their time (some 90 percent) in the trees of their tropical rain forest home. They even sleep aloft in nests of leafy branches. They use large leaves as umbrellas and shelters to protect themselves from the common rains.

These cerebral primates forage for food during daylight hours. Most of their diet consists of fruit and leaves gathered from rain forest trees. They also eat bark, insects and, on rare occasions, meat.
Orangutans are more solitary than other apes. Males are loners. As they move through the forest they make plenty of rumbling, howling calls to ensure that they stay out of each other's way. The "long call" can be heard 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) away.
Mothers and their young, however, share a strong bond. Infants will stay with their mothers for some six or seven years until they develop the skills to survive on their own. Female orangutans give birth only once every eight years—the longest time period of any animal. The animals are long-lived and have survived as long as 60 years in captivity.
Because orangutans live in only a few places, and because they are so dependent upon trees, they are particularly susceptible to logging in these areas. Unfortunately, deforestation and other human activities, such as hunting, have placed the orangutan in danger of extinction.
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Orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus)
© WWF-Malaysia/Stephen Hogg
Man of the forest vulnerable to forest conversion
Common Name: Orang-utan (Eng & Bahasa Melayu)Kogiu (Orang Sungai language) Scientific Name: Pongo pygmaeus (Borneon orang-utan)Habitat: Lowland forests, also found in tropical, swamp and mountain forestsStatus: Endangered globally. Vulnerable in Sabah & SarawakPopulation: Estimated to be about 12,300 in Sabah & Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo
Background
Asia’s only great ape, the orang-utan or ‘man of the forest’ is found only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Globally classified as endangered due to their habitat being destroyed, fragmented and poaching, orang-utans in Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) are probably best classed as ‘vulnerable’. Much of their prime habitat has been converted to plantations and the rate of habitat loss has hit a very low level in recent years. There is almost no hunting of this species in Malaysia, and most of the remaining populations are found in forests that are protected or under natural forest management.Borneo is unique in that it has three distinct populations or subspecies of orang-utans:
· Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus (northwest populations)
· Pongo pygmaeus morio (northeast and east populations)
· Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii (southwest populations)
Orang-utans in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak occur mainly in the lowlands. In Sarawak, there are about 1,300 orang-utans, almost all in the Lanjak-Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary and Batang Ai National Park in the south next to West Kalimantan, Indonesia. In Sabah, there were five main areas of special importance with a total of 20,000 orang-utans in the mid 1980s (by WWF-Malaysia working with the Sabah Forestry Department, 1986). By 2004, the orang-utan population in Sabah had dropped to about 11,000 individuals (by Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project working with Sabah Wildlife Department, 2003). This decline in their numbers in the last twenty years was caused by planned conversion of forests to plantations in the eastern lowlands. Physical and species description Orang-utans generally have brown and rust-coloured shaggy fur. Weighing in at an average of 50 kg, female orang-utans grow to about 1.1 m in height and weigh 30 - 50 kg. Males weigh 50-90 kg and stand 1.2 - 1.5 m tall.
Ecology, Habitat & Distribution
Fruit eater sleeps in new nest every nightImagine sleeping 2 storeys and above up in the trees every night. The arboreal orang-utan lives up in trees where they bend twigs and small branches together to make a large nest-platform for sleeping. They are the largest tree dwelling mammal in the world. Adult orang-utans are solitary, except during mating. Orang-utans are not territorial, maintaining a loose relationship in a given area although adult males are hostile to one another. Crowding may cause them to fight over the limited supply of fruits. An adult female gives birth about once every six years.DietOmnivorous, orang-utans eat both plants and animals but feed mainly on fruits, young leaves, bark and insects. By about the age of ten, an orang-utan can recognise over 200 different food plants. The orang-utan’s favourite food is fruit.Population decline of 40% in last two decadesOrang-utans in Sabah and Sarawak live mainly in lowland rainforests but are also found in tropical, swamp and mountain forests. Sarawak has about 1,300 orang-utans, almost all in the Lanjak-Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary and Batang Ai National Park to the south bordering West Kalimantan, Indonesia. In Sabah, there are about 11,000 individuals today, the population having declined by over 40% in the last 20 years due mainly to planned conversion of forests to plantations in the eastern lowlands. Drought and forest fires, especially during the El Nino events of 1982-83 and 1997-98, but also 1987 and 1991, contributed to the decline.
Threats
Destruction of natural forests and unreliable food sourcesWild orang-utan populations need a reliable source of a variety of fruits and young leaves to survive. They can survive only in extensive natural forests. The availability of food all year round means not all forests can support long-term breeding populations. We now know that this gentle ape can survive only in lowlands - where fertile soils and constant water availability allow steady food production - or where there are several forest types with different fruiting and leaf-producing seasons. There is little point in putting orang-utans where they have historically not existed, as lack of food supply may eventually cause them to die. There are six areas in Malaysia with quite large populations but this does not mean that any one of these places is unimportant. There is always the risk that one or more populations could be devastated by disease, drought or fires.Maintaining natural forests with viable wild breeding populations and restoring degraded forests is vital for the continued survival of orang-utans in Malaysia. Hence, the Sabah government’s initiative to retain the largest orang-utan population in the Ulu Segama-Malua Forest Reserves under sustainable forest management (SFM) deserves full support. The Deramakot forest management model, which produces controlled amounts of timber for international auction, certified according to international standards since 1997, shows what can be done. SFM could reduce forest damage and provide enough time for the forest to regenerate. In SFM, reforestation is necessary to ensure the forest rehabilitation or restoration take place in any sustainably managed forest. In the Lower Kinabatangan, various isolated forest patches need to be joined through restoration. Helen Harvey has special reason to support ITV’s Extinct campaign… she adopted baby Orangutan Nopi four years ago.
ITV’s Extinct programme is offering millions of viewers across the UK the chance to save some of the world’s endangered species as part of a campaign backed by celebrities and fronted by presenters Trevor McDonald and Zoë Ball.
Viewers are calling in their millions to save the Mountain Gorilla, the Bengal Tiger, The Hyacinth Macaw, the Polar Bear, the Giant Panda, the Asian Elephant, the Leatherback Turtle and the Orangutan.
Actress Sadie Frost is the celebrity championing the movement to save the Orangutan and she visited Camp Leakey in Tanjung Putting National Park, which was the same place where Helen and husband Tom have spent a total of 12 weeks volunteering in and meeting Nopi and other Orangutans.

Helen, 28, from Trowell Grove, Trowell, who has recently joined the University of Derby as PA to Pro Vice-Chancellors Professor Musa Mihsein and Professor Michael Gunn, hopes the public get behind the campaign to save the species.
Some key facts about the Orangutan:
· In the last 100 years, 90% of the Orangutan population has disappeared. If this decline continues, it is likely that they will become extinct in the wild in 20 years time.
· Orangutans cannot reproduce fast enough to keep up with their losses. Females become mature at 10-15 years old and will only have three or four offspring in their lifetime.
· Illegal trading of Orangutans for the pet trade continues today. It is thought that five or six animals die for every one that is traded.
Helen said: “It was very moving to watch Sadie visit the village where we have spent time volunteering.
“While some people may say the campaign is quite a controversial way of raising awareness it is still a way of reaching people and making them aware of some of the issues surrounding wildlife conservation.
“The “winning” animal will get 50% of the prize money the other 50% is being divided between the other seven animal charities so they all are set to benefit from it.
“As well as the programme raising awareness of the plight of endangered species I am hoping more people decide to get involved in The Orangutan Foundation and become members as the Foundation will continue to need support even when the programme has finished.”
Helen’s husband adopted Nopi through The Orangutan Foundation in Christmas 2002. The following year the pair decided to travel to Kalimantan in southern Borneo to see Nopi in the village of Pangkalan Bun where the species are rehabilitated in a Care and Quarantine Facility.
They tied the trip in with a 15 month world tour and were so enchanted by the experience that they returned again for another six weeks on their way back to the UK, in 2003.
The main threats to Orangutans and their habitat is the clearing of forests for palm oil plantations, illegal logging, illegal gold mining and forest fires. Baby Orangutans are often orphaned and are taken to Pangkalan Bun where they are kept in cages at the Care and Quarantine Centre to be rehabilitated and eventually released back into the wild, so long as there is protected jungle to do this in, and this happened to Nopi after their second visit. There are approximately 200 Orangutans at the Centre and when that represents around 2% of the total population, it shows how important it is to maintain funding and support for Centre.
As well as visiting the Centre, they helped build a new patrol post for local workers to stay in to protect the National Park from illegal logging, and went on patrol with the police to catch illegal loggers – teenagers driven by poverty to chop down trees to sell to the West for furniture, chip board, fences, etc.
Helen has since become somewhat of an ambassador for The Orangutan Foundation here in the UK – as she promotes the charity at fairs across the East Midlands and offers advice to volunteers who travel out to Pangkalan Bun to tell them of her experiences.
Further, her husband Tom is the UK Account Manager for i-to-i – another organisation which can offer animal welfare expeditions for as little as two weeks at a time.
Russell Scott, The President of Derby's Students’ Union, is also championing People And Planet as part of his environmental brief at the University and welcomed Helen’s work.
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