Sumatran and Bornean orangutans are critically endangered, with populations devastated by deforestation for palm oil and timber. Orphaned individuals require specialist long-term rehabilitation.
Orangutan welfare operates at two scales: individual animals orphaned by forest clearing or the pet trade, and populations facing existential threat. Individual orangutan welfare during rehabilitation is complex — animals need forest skills, social experience, and psychological recovery from early trauma. Released animals face a degraded forest fragment with limited food and potential for human conflict. Long-term welfare requires landscape-level action: habitat protection, corridor restoration, and palm oil industry reform that makes orangutan-safe production the norm.