Orangutans face catastrophic habitat loss from palm oil and logging industries, creating one of the most acute welfare crises among great apes.
Orangutans in deforested areas face nutritional stress, forced movement through dangerous non-forest habitat, and deadly conflict with humans protecting crops. When forests are cleared, orangutans attempting to survive in fragmented habitat face persecution from villagers protecting crops, capture for illegal pet trade, and the physical trauma of trying to escape fires. Mother orangutans are killed so their infants can be sold as pets, with infants experiencing profound psychological trauma from separation. Rehabilitation programs for rescued orangutans require years of care to restore the survival skills normally learned from mothers over 7-8 years. Habitat protection is the highest-leverage welfare intervention, preventing the need for rescue and rehabilitation at the population scale.