Palm oil deforestation in Borneo and Sumatra has destroyed over 80% of orangutan habitat in 20 years, leaving surviving individuals in degraded, fragmented forest with inadequate food and refuge.
Orangutans in fragmented forests face chronic stress, food insecurity, and direct persecution. Individuals venturing into plantations are often killed or captured. Mothers are frequently killed so infants can be taken for the pet trade. Rescued orangutans spend years in rehabilitation, many bearing deep psychological scars from captivity or witnessing maternal death. The welfare dimensions of deforestation extend far beyond individual deaths to encompass suffering endured by surviving populations.