Orangutans face extinction

2005-07-07 11:37

Jakarta - An environmental group has warned that orangutans - an endangered species in Indonesia - will become extinct within a decade unless serious efforts are made to stop illegal trading and poaching, a local media report said Thursday.

According to ProFauna Indonesia, there are now only about 14 000 orangutans left in the country's jungle, with the population living on Sumatra island estimated to become extinct in the next five years, and those on Kalimantan island in the next 10 years.

"There are only 7 518 orangutans left on Sumatra now," said Hardi Baktiantoro, the co-ordinator of ProFauna's campaign division.

The state-run Antara news agency quoted Baktiantoro as saying the results of a survey showed that at least 1 000 orangutans in North Sumatra and Aceh jungles have disappeared every year.

The results of an investigation by the organisation showed that the same number of orangutans in Kalimantan on Borneo island were caught and brought to Java each year, he said.

A recent report by Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring network, a joint programme of the World Wildlife Fund and the World Conservation Union, said gibbons and orangutans were still being illegally traded in Indonesia, mostly in bird markets on Bali and Java islands.

Most of the gibbons and orangutans found at the bird markets originated from Sumatra and Kalimantan, their main habitats, the report said.

The animals from Sumatra are mostly transported overland to Java, while those from Kalimantan arrive in Bali and Java by sea. Most of them were then smuggled to other countries by air from Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta International Airport, the main exit point for primates, the report said.

According to existing Indonesian laws, orangutans have been declared a protected species and may not be caught, killed, owned or traded. Violators can be given up to five years in prison and fined 100 million rupiah.

Conservation groups have said that in addition to the threats caused by hunting and trading, habitat loss and environmental degradation also threaten the orangutans' survival in Indonesia.

A baby orangutan can fetch up to $110 if bought in the local areas where they live. The price can increase to between $300 and $1 000 when sold in Java and some $50 000 on the international market.

Last year conservation groups demanded Thailand return to Indonesia more than 100 smuggled orangutans used in controversial kick boxing bouts in Bangkok. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA