Climate change deals another blow to orangutans - Reuters

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Climate change deals another blow to orangutans
Wed Nov 28, 2007 6:57am EST

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Climate change will hurt
Indonesia's orangutan population, already under
threat from the rapid rate of deforestation, by
reducing their food stock, a leading conservation
group said on Wednesday.

Dubbed as the last of Asia's great apes,
orangutans once ranged the region but a recent
UN environment program estimate said only
between 45,000 and 69,000 orangutans remained
in Borneo and 7,300 in Sumatra. The WWF said
climate change would add to the pressure
already caused by human-induced activities
such as rampant illegal= logging and massive
conversion of forests into plantations.

"A longer dry season will reduce the abundance
of fruits and will negatively impact orangutan
populations because females are more likely to
conceive during periods when food resources are
not limited," the WWF report said.

"Climate-change induced fire will also negatively
impact orangutan populations by fragmenting their
habitat and reducing the number of fruit bearing
trees, which can take many years to mature and
fruit." Environmentalists say rampant illegal
logging, lethal annual forest fires and the
massive conversion of forests into plantations
for palm oil and pulp wood have helped place
orangutans on the world's list of endangered
species.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSJAK25824220071128

[phantom power]

1. Oh well. At least we have them on film.

With the meerkats.