Orang utans at risk as Indonesia floods devastate habitat
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Deforestation had affected the orang utans even before the floods.
PHOTO: EPA
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SIPIROK, Indonesia – Before the deadly landslides and floods hit Indonesia about two weeks ago
Mr Siagian, who has been working as a ranger to protect the endangered animal at the Orangutan Information Centre (OIC) for at least five years, remembers how the orang utans were fond of eating durian and other fruits from farms in the area.
But after the landslides hit Sipirok, the orang utans are nowhere to be seen.
The cyclone-induced floods and landslides have killed 962 people as at Dec 9
“They must have moved away, farther and farther away. I could no longer hear their voices,” Mr Siagian told Reuters.
Local leaders and green groups said deforestation linked to mining and logging aggravated the impact of the floods and landslides
In Sipirok, a village in the region of South Tapanuli, which was among the hardest hit by the disaster, large trees appear to have been cut down. Mr Siagian said a company had been logging in the area for at least a year.
The deforestation had affected the orang utans even before the floods, he said.
“The orang utans live by moving between forest canopy, from branch to branch. If the forest is sparse, it must be difficult for them,” Mr Siagian said.
OIC founder Panud Hadisiswoyo said there were about 760 orang utans living in the Tapanuli region.
“The major threat is the loss of forest due to plantations and extractive industry,” he said.
In total, around 119,000 orang utans live in Indonesia and Malaysia, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
“If there is no government help, the orang utans could go extinct here. Especially with this massive deforestation,” Mr Siagian said. REUTERS
