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Partners for Wildlife
GUNUNG PALUNG ORANGUTAN CONSERVATION PROGRAM
Orangutans are often orphaned when their mothers are poached by hunters or when areas are deforested for logging or palm oil plantations.
Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program is working to save:
Orangutan (Pongo pygameus wurmbii)
Endemic to the island of Borneo (the other species, Pongo abelii, is endemic to the island of Sumatra). With an estimated 2,500 estimated individuals, Gunung Palung National Park has the largest population of the wurmbii subspecies, and an estimated 5-10% of the remaining wild orangutans worldwide. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listing is Endangered.
Habitat
Gunung Palung National Park is 90,000 hectares (about 222,000 acres), and encompasses seven habitat types, including one of the last intact lowland rainforests on Borneo. GPNP obtained national park designation in 1990, but has continued to face threats from illegal logging and hunting. In addition to illegal logging, the areas surrounding the park are particularly threatened by the establishment of oil palm plantations and clearing for agricultural activities.
Critical threats to wildlife
GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE FIELD
Dr. Cheryl Knott and the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program team.
Environmental education is an important part of this project. Although often living in the midst of orangutans, many children have never seen one.