Orangutans are Wonderful Creatures: They even Play Peekaboo

Orangutans are Wonderful Creatures: They even Play Peekaboo

No doubt you’ve seen kids do it: seeking the attention of their pal, they don an old sack and begin larking around. They playfully accost their friend, and when their friend just doesn’t get it, they carry on clowning around inside the sack so as to draw some laughs and…

Borneo’s Orangutans are on the Retreat

Borneo’s Orangutans are on the Retreat

Orangutans in Borneo’s jungles have been facing grim prospects. Relentless deforestation has been depriving them of their traditional habitats. All they can do in the face of encroaching development is to seek refuge in denser vegetation in the hope of staying out of sight and out of harm’s way. Unless…

Pedal away for Sharks and Orangutans

Pedal away for Sharks and Orangutans

You can run for sharks. And now you can ride for sharks too. On bicycles, that is. This year’s Ride for the Wild 2017 in Kuching will take place at Swinburne University of Technology’s Sarawak campus on May 20, and its organizers are inviting local bicycle enthusiasts to come and pedal away…

A Baby Orangutan is born at a Wildlife Center in Sarawak

A Baby Orangutan is born at a Wildlife Center in Sarawak

It’s a boy! And a beautiful one at that. An orangutan baby boy, that is. A 12-year-old female orangutan called Tingsaan has given birth to a baby boy at the Matang Wildlife Centre in Kuching. The birth has delighted animal lovers and officials alike. Baby orangutans are among the most endearing creatures, but the primates are slow-breeding animals,…

Killing Orangutans for their Meat is an Appalling Crime

Killing Orangutans for their Meat is an Appalling Crime

Orangutans in Borneo are critically endangered, suffering as they do from a variety of existential challenges. The grave challenges they face in the wild include habitat loss, forest fragmentation, encroaching development and the exotic wildlife trade. Now you can add another threat to that list: being hunted for their meat. Yes, you’ve read that right. According…

Scrambling to Save Malaysia’s Wildlife

Scrambling to Save Malaysia’s Wildlife

In its newly released Living Planet Report 2016, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has painted an alarming picture of the impending prospects of the planet’s wildlife. Unless we change course, the numbers of wild animals will have declined by a staggering 67% by the year 2020, a mere…

We destroy Biodiversity at our own Peril

We destroy Biodiversity at our own Peril

For most people, especially those living in urban areas, “biodiversity” is an abstract concept. It’s a term they may hear used by biologists and environmentalists but one that does not seem to have any relevance for their own lives. How wrong they are. The loss of biodiversity affects us all….

Bornean Orangutans are ‘Critically Endangered’

Bornean Orangutans are ‘Critically Endangered’

Borneo’s orangutans have long had it bad in the wild. This we have known. But here comes a bit of news that may shock you: they are now critically endangered. The iconic apes, which are endemic to Borneo, have seen their numbers drop by as much as 60% since 1950,…

New Sabah Road Project Threatens Habitats of Elephants and Orangutans

New Sabah Road Project Threatens Habitats of Elephants and Orangutans

The Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in Sabah state is home to rich and varied ecosystems of exotic species, featuring a photogenic kaleidoscope of iconic animals: proboscis monkeys, several species of hornbills, the Asian pygmy elephant and Borneo’s emblematic orangutan. The reserve’s forests are at constant risk of further environmental degradation…