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When trees are cut down or roads are built through rainforest, the canopy is no longer continuous. It has been fragmented, which leaves orangutans and other arboreal species enable to move through the landscape.
As a result, orangutans may have to come down to the ground to reach fruiting trees or reach new areas of the forest. This sets them on the path to becoming functionally extinct: surviving for now but heading towards extinction in the long-term.
This challenge is especially true for male orangutans, as they are double the size of females. They can weigh almost 200 pounds (that’s about 14 stone). If the surrounding trees are too weak to support he male orangutan’s weight, he must come to the ground. This is when they are at their most vulnerable to predators, such as tigers.
For these reasons, seeing a Sumatran orangutan on the forest floor rings an alarm bell for conservationists. It means something is wrong.
We must provide safe routes for orangutans. At SOS we support our frontline partners in Sumatra to protect standing forests. Together, we work to connect orangutan habitat through canopy bridges and establishing forest corridors. Help us to connect fragmented forests — please donate now.
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