Apes
‘Cursed’ dam project in orangutan habitat claims 16th life in less than 2 years
JAKARTA — Indonesian police are investigating possible negligence in the death of a Chinese construction worker at the site of a controversial hydroelectric dam in the only known habitat of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan. The victim, identified as 52-year-old Wang Jian, died on the morning of Aug. 21 when the tunnel he was working […]
Plantations threaten Indonesia’s orangutans, but they’re not oil palm
JAKARTA — The vast majority of orangutan habitat in Indonesia is located outside of protected areas. That can be bad news for orangutans living in corporate concessions, where a new report finds many companies lack safeguards and commitments to protect these critically endangered apes. The report, by Amsterdam-based sustainability consultancy Aidenvironment, found that Indonesia has […]
U.K. conglomerate Jardines ‘caught red-handed’ clearing orangutan habitat in Sumatra
BALI, Indonesia — Satellite imagery has detected deforestation in a gold mining concession in Indonesia that overlaps with the habitat of the most threatened great ape in the world. U.S.-based environmental advocacy group Mighty Earth said it had detected 13 hectares (32 acres) of forest loss within the Martabe gold mining concession in North Sumatra province […]