A famous British company, Jardines, is profiting as the lowland forest – which shelters the few remaining orang-utans – is razed to make way for massive palm oil plantations, reports Kathy Marks in Tripa, Indonesia Full Story »
Posted by Dwight Rousu
The story of threatened extinction of one of the great apes in order to feed the oil addiction of the overpopulated apes is tragic.
As their territory shrinks, along with their food supplies, the apes are increasingly coming into conflict with humans. Farmers shoot those caught raiding crops; babies are captured and sold as pets. Adults discovered in oil palm plantations may be hacked to death with machetes.
Raluwan knows orang-utans live in the nearby forests. “I don’t care,” he says. “I’ve got to feed my family.”
Before, I heard animal calls. Now I hear only chainsaws."
“If nothing is done, there’ll be no forest left in one to two years.”
