Orangutans are losing habitat to palm oil plantations at a catastrophic rate, with rescue centers caring for increasing numbers of injured, orphaned, and displaced individuals.
Orangutans in degraded habitat face starvation as forest food disappears. Those fleeing into plantations face deliberate killing or capture. Infant orangutans whose mothers are killed face years of intensive rehabilitation - they require constant social stimulation, skill teaching, and emotional support that mirrors the needs of human children. The psychological impact of losing mothers, the violence of capture, and the disorientation of confinement is severe for these highly intelligent, cognitively sophisticated animals.