Palm oil expansion in Borneo and Sumatra is the primary driver of orangutan habitat loss and welfare decline.
Orangutans displaced by deforestation face starvation, predation, and conflict with plantation workers who kill them. Orphaned infants suffer severe psychological trauma from witnessing maternal death. Rehabilitation of orphaned orangutans requires years of intensive care. The fundamental welfare solution requires halting deforestation, which is an economic and political challenge that requires consumer pressure.