Victims of humans
Many populations of these apes are found in areas where civil wars are raging, making conservation difficult if not impossible. The hunting of forest animals for bushmeat, once a subsistance activity, has become a major commercial enterprise throughout west and central Africa. Poaching for the live animal trade, and susceptibility to disease also threaten some species and populations.
The only Asian ape is losing its home
Asia's only ape, the orang-utan, is also in deep trouble. Its last remaining strongholds in the rainforests of Sumatra (Indonesia) and the island of Borneo (Indonesia and Malaysia) are being destroyed by illegal logging, a proliferation of oil palm plantations, and by widespread forest fires, many set by plantation owners. The orang-utan, the red "man of the forest" may be extinct in the wild in a few decades unless we act quickly.
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Find out about the WWF African Great Apes Programme
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Environmental conservation projects
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