Rare orangutan species faces extinction after devastating Indonesia floods
Species pushed closer to extinction after flooding
- Indonesia’s deadliest floods in decades, triggered by extreme rainfall linked to Cyclone Senyar, have severely impacted the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan.
- The disaster devastated vast swathes of the orangutan's fragile habitat in North Sumatra, where fewer than 800 remain, pushing the species closer to extinction.
- Local rangers report that orangutans have vanished from areas where they were previously common, with conservationists estimating that between six and eleven per cent of the population may have been killed.
- Scientists warn that deforestation, linked to logging and mining, exacerbated the landslides and that any mortality in adult populations exceeding one per cent drives the species towards extinction.
- Conservationists are urging authorities to halt further development in the orangutans’ remaining habitat, expand protected areas, and conduct urgent population surveys to prevent their extinction.