Orangutans are critically endangered great apes losing their rainforest habitat to palm oil and paper plantations at an accelerating rate, with rehabilitation centers struggling with an overwhelming influx of orphaned individuals.
Orangutans are highly intelligent great apes with complex social and ecological knowledge transmitted through extended maternal care. Deforestation for palm oil plantations kills adults and creates an influx of orphaned infants who require years of intensive rehabilitation. Rehabilitation centers must teach orangutans the forest skills their mothers would have taught them, including identifying food plants and building sleeping platforms. Many rehabilitated orangutans cannot be released due to habitat unavailability or behavioral problems from captivity. Orangutans in zoos show stress behaviors including repetitive swaying and self-directed behaviors. Habitat protection is vastly more cost-effective than rehabilitation in welfare terms. Consumer demand for sustainable palm oil can reduce deforestation pressure.