<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/11/borneo-orangutan-killings-likely-still-occurring-numbers-research>
"Orangutans on the island of Borneo continue to be illegally killed, likely in
large numbers, even when there are nearby projects to save the critically
endangered primate, according to new research.
Despite the taboo and illegal nature of killing orangutans, researchers heard
evidence of a direct killing from at least one person in 30% of 79 villages
surveyed in Indonesia’s Kalimantan region.
The research – which involved interviews with more than 400 villagers – comes
more than a decade after a study claimed between 2,000 and 3,000 orangutans
were likely being directly killed every year.
Studies have estimated there are less than 100,000 Bornean orangutans left in
the wild. Females produce only one offspring every six to eight years.
The island of Borneo is divided between Malaysia, the state of Brunei and
Indonesia, which controls three-quarters of the island.
Staff from a community development organisation carried out the interviews in
2020 and 2021 and asked villagers questions about orangutan killing, such as
“When was the last time someone in your village killed an orangutan?”
Researcher Emily Massingham of the University of Queensland, who led the study,
said the reasons for direct killing were varied and “socially complex”.
She said: “We found that killing does seem to still be happening and a lot of
it had happened in the previous five years. I was shocked to see 30% of
villages had evidence of killing in the last five to 10 years.”
Experts said orangutans are killed for several reasons. People may kill out of
fear or because the animals are invading gardens or crops.
Mothers may also be killed so that babies can be caught and sold for the pet
trade or to be trained as performers. Orangutans are sometimes killed if they
enter plantations, and also for their meat and body parts.
Habitat clearing, including to produce palm oil, has also pushed orangutans
closer to human settlements.
The study, published in the journal
Conservation Science and Practice, also
found a village’s proximity to a conservation project had no effect on the
likelihood of killings being reported."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
