Bornean orangutan

Little resilience in the face of logging and fire

Common Name		Bornean orangutan; Orangoutan de Borneo(Fr); Orangután de Borneo(Sp)
Scientific Name		Pongo pygmaeus
Habitat		Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Location		Borneo
Status		IUCN: Endangered (EN - A2cd) CITES: Appendix I
Population		Central Bornean = 38,000; NW Bornean = 3,000

Background

This information has been reviewed.

The Bornean orangutan is now recognised as a different species from its Sumatra relative. Three subspecies are recognized: Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus, P.p. morio, and P. p. wurmbii, the most common Bornean subspecies. Although extensive, the latter's habitat is increasingly fragmented in the remaining swamp and lowland dipterocarp forests of Central and West Kalimantan.

It is estimated that about one third of Borneo's orangutan populations were lost during the 1997/ 98 forest fires. On the Indonesian side of Borneo, populations of this subspecies are not faring well either.

Although some populations live inside protected areas, illegal logging still takes place within these area and hence remains a major threat to the survival of this species.

Habitat

Major habitat type
Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests

Biogeographic realm
Indo-Malayan

Range States
Indonesia, Malaysia

Geographical Location
Borneo

Ecological Region
Borneo Lowland and Montane Forests

Endemism

Borneo.