Destruction from logging nearly wiped out the orangutan population years ago, and now a large paper company wants to log a biologically important area that has been used since 2002 as a place to release rehabilitated orangutans.  

The Asia Paper & Pulp company has received a license from the Indonesian government to clear hundreds of acres of trees on the island of Sumatra, where an estimated 10% of the 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild reside.

Orangutans- because of human folly, of course- need a lot of protection. They are kidnapped as babies to be sold as pets, have already been negatively impacted by palm oil plantations that originally nearly wiped them out, and are orphaned when mother orangutans are slain by humans. Preserving the orangutan's habitat is another important step in ensuring the survival of the species, and the Indonesian government has a wonderful opportunity to either further endanger the species or make more of an effort to aid the species.

You see, Orangutans are arboreal (they dwell strictly in the trees) and rely on trees completely for their survival. Without them, they have no home, nowhere to go, nowhere to get there, and nothing to eat, resulting in death. Which eventually, if not stopped, leads to their extinction.

And we don't want to see something as cute as these poor creatures disappear, now do we?

For now, here is what we can all do to try to help the survival of the orangutans:

1. Don't use (or buy anything that is made with) palm oil (vegetable oil) that was harvested unsustainably. Use sustainably harvested palm oil or another oil- such as sunflower or olive oil.
2. You can "adopt" an orangutan through websites such as www.redapes.org. 
3. Purchase sustainably harvested or recycled paper and paper products.
4. Support zoos that help with orangutan conservation efforts and captive-breeding.