Bornean and Sumatran orangutans face extinction driven largely by palm oil plantation expansion that destroys their forest habitat, leaving individuals to starve, be killed as pests, or be captured for the illegal pet trade.
Deforestation causes orangutan suffering across multiple dimensions. Individuals lose food sources and must range farther and farther into increasingly dangerous agricultural areas. Orangutan mothers killed as pests leave dependent infants who cannot survive alone and either die or are captured for illegal wildlife trade. Confiscated orangutans in rescue centers often carry lasting physical and psychological trauma from their capture and pet trade experiences. The systematic destruction of their habitat is causing a slow-motion welfare catastrophe affecting tens of thousands of individuals.