Mother orangutan with her baby; Credit: Gavin Lautenbach

Endangered Orangutans of Borneo

Mother orangutan with her baby; Credit: Gavin Lautenbach
© Gavin Lautenbach

Known as “the man of the forest,” the unique, colorful, highly intelligent orangutan went from an estimated 300,000 individuals in 1900 to only a handful of remaining populations today. And nowhere else is there a better place to see—and save—these incredible creatures, than in the wilds of Borneo.

The slowest breeding of all primates, orangutans are also the largest arboreal mammal in the world, which means they mostly live in the trees, traveling with ease through the canopy and rarely descending to the forest floor. The inevitable downside to this is that the massive tropical deforestation occurring—largely due to produce cheap palm oil to feed our appetites, opens in new tab—has resulted in devastation of the Bornean orangutan population.

In fact, a recent report suggests that the orangutan could become completely extinct in the wild within 10 years, and the only remaining groups in Sumatra and Borneo are now both on the IUCN ritically endangered list, opens in new tab.

To learn more about this precious animal, to experience it first hand, and to help protect orangutans in the emerald depths of the world’s tallest rain forest on the island of Borneo, embark on a life-changing adventure to the exotic wilds of Borneo.

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