Orangutan pictures may soon be the only thing we have left to prove the existence of this remarkable animal. There are reported to be only 15 000 surviving in the wild so if you want to get some photographs of them in their natural habitat, the time is now.
They don't occur naturally in Africa but I decided to add them here to highlight their plight because they are in real danger of going extinct, which will be a very sad day for all mankind.
The major reason for their decline is the destruction of their environment by logging operators. Serious action needs to be taken to protect this species or soon you will only be able to see them in your local zoo.
These primates are closely related to humans and are highly intelligent animals, capable of creating and using tools and have the ability to solve problems.
How To Save Them
Africa has a number of success stories when it comes to bringing animals back from the brink of extinction such as the white rhino. Sharing the knowledge gained from these experiences may help wildlife in other parts of the world too and is a good first step along the long path back to sustainable survival.
Funding is of cardinal importance in this process and as Africa has proven, eco-tourism is an excellent way to generate an income for this purpose. A very important part of this is that the local population shares in the profits so that they have a vested interest in saving the wildlife too, otherwise it's a very difficult thing to do.
People today are so dislocated from the natural world that they can't see the value of wildlife unless it has an economic impact on their lives. They don't realise that everything is connected and the loss of even one species impacts humans further down the line.
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