August 19 - World Orangutan Day!

How many of us living on the Borneo island know that yesterday, 19th of August, was World Orangutan Day? Including myself wasn't aware of that until reading the post Today is World Orangutan Day on Tree Hugger.

According to the IUCN Red List, the two main subspecies of orangutans are in big trouble: the Sumatran orangutan is critically endangered and the Bornean orangutan is endangered. The official World Orangutan Day website writes:

From 1992-2000, the population of the Sumatran orangutan declined by more than 50% and only an estimated 7,000 animals are left in the wild. Its relative, the Bornean orangutan population fell nearly 43% in the past decade and estimates place their population at about 45,000 animals. Since the last population estimates were done, deforestation rates have continued to climb which means the actual populations could be well below these.

Few actions were taken by the Sabah state government in hope to assist the survival of orangutan in North Borneo. You can read:
- Embedded-Type Tracking Device For Orangutan In Sabah
- Malua Biobank Key Area For Orang-Utan Conservation In Sabah