23. Environmental and Social DataMammals Total number of species: 436 (1994) Number of endemic species: 201 (1994)Number of threatened species: 1996: 128 (25 % of total species);2000: 140 (32 % of total species)
24. Orang-utan Why Orang-utans are Endangered Orang-utan babies are very cute and social, making them tempting as pets. To get young orang-utans for this market, the mother is shot. It is estimated that for every orang-utan that makes it into the pet trade 4 or 5 die. Some fall to the forest floor when their mother is killed, others succumb to human disease, malnourishment or maltreatment in the hands of traders. As forests are logged for development, other adult orang-utans end up near villages, often drawn by cultivated fruit. They are shot as pests or taken for food, especially in years when the rice crops fail. Much prime orang-utan forest habitat was destroyed in fires which took place in recent years in Indonesia. Illegal logging and the development of palm oil plantations continue to reduce forests on the islands every day.
25. Effects of possible eradication of the orang-utans An orang-utan diet consists of a lot of insects and fruit. The fruit is the most important as the orang-utans do not eat the peel and just the seeds. The seeds are then distributed through the faeces and into the soil. Meaning that forests with orang-utans actually get help in return and eliminating them could lead to harmful destruction of ecosystems . Palm oil production is a harmful trade as many orang-utans live in these plantations and rely on them for shelter. By removing the palm oil and subsequent homes of the apes, we are eliminating the creatures chances at survival. Also the desire for them as pets mean that numbers are dwindling as their parents are being killed.
26. The orang-utan is surprisingly similar to human beings in that 97% of their DNA matches ours, our common gestation period is 275 days, and we both have fingernails rather than claws.(8) However, one main difference between orang-utans and human beings is that the orang-utan is a category 5 endangered species with approximately 10,000 to 20,000 remaining on only two islands in the world, that includes Borneo and Sumatra. Just like with the eradication of any animal, ecosystems cannot go unchanged, everything the apes do has an effect on something else and eliminating this creature can lead to harmful and irreversible problems that will effect the future generations.
