Human activity has resulted in many orphaned orangutans. Here’s why that matters and what you can do this INTERNATIONAL ORANGUTAN DAY.
One of the strongest, most enduring bonds in the animal kingdom is between a mother orangutan and her young.
Unlike other species, who rely on extended familial ties and group parenting, baby orangutans have only their mothers to depend on. For nearly the first decade of their life, orangutan mothers work around-the-clock teaching their young all they need to know to survive — such as which fruits to eat, how to swing from branches, and the art of nest building — even altering her teaching tactics depending on the age of the child.
It may take some young orangutans as long as 12 years to master all the techniques they need to survive. No other animal in the natural world is a single parent for one child for this amount of time. And these powerful bonds last even after a mother has finished her teaching — with some young orangutans “visiting” their mothers until they are 15-16 years old.
But today, so many of these bonds have been broken, leaving orangutans as defenseless orphans — with only 1 in 6 “lucky” enough to be rescued. Today, because of disappearing rainforests, mass forest fires and poaching, over 1,000 orangutan orphans live in rehabilitation centers, such as those established by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation.
While these “schools” help orphaned orangutans overcome the trauma of losing their mother and teach them the skills necessary to be released back into protected forests, it cannot replace what has already been lost.
This INTERNATIONAL ORANGUTAN DAY, let’s keep orangutan bonds strong — donate to help.
