Orang Utan

Monday 30 Nov 2009
National Geographic Channel on Astro is featuring a programme on the Orang Utans, premeiering Dec 9 2009. Orang Utans are native to only Malaysia and Indonesia. A century ago, their estimated population was 315,000. Today, only 50,000 remain - a decrease of more than 80 per cent. The greatest threat to this endangered species is the loss of their rainforest habitat, which are being cut down for timber and and the land cleared for mining and oil palm plantations. However, the Malaysian government has embarked on various programmes to protect them. The Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre in Sabah is renowned for its work in rehabilitating orphaned orang utans and releasing them back to the wild. The latest effort is the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, a forest reserve which will be part of the world's first post-rehabilitation monitoring programme.