Some of the world’s biggest companies are failing in their pledge to stop deforestation by 2020. Don’t let them forget itFew who watch the documentary Red Ape: Saving the Orangutan tonight on BBC2 could fail to feel some sense of responsibility for the desperate situation faced by Indonesia’s orangutans. These extraordinary creatures are our closest relatives, sharing 97% of our DNA. Their similarity to us is astonishing. They are intelligent, inquisitive, smile and show empathy. They even laugh when tickled, like us, when most other animals have evolved to be ticklish only in an itchy, irritating sort of way as a protective reflex. Encountering orangutans in the wild is like nothing else I’ve experienced.They once thrived in Indonesia’s lush, green rainforests but over the last 50 years they have been forced from their home and killed. In the last 16 years alone, 100,000 Bornean orangutans have been lost. All three species – Bornean, Sumatran and the Tapanuli, a species discovered only last year – are now on the critically endangered list. The reason? It started in the 1960s as forests were logged for timber, but now it’s palm oil. Continue reading…
Via: Palm oil is wiping out orangutans – despite multinationals’ promises | Chris Packham
Categories: English News