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Orangutans
Orangutans are mammals that are divided into three species of apes.These animals are a critically endangered species that originated in Malaysia and Indonesia. It is estimated that there will only be about 47,000 apes left by 2025, and in 2016 there were only 100,000 in the wild. The main reasons for the rapid decrease in their population is due to deforestation and illegal animal trade. There were over 230,000 orangutans over a century ago, however this number had drastically dwindled. In 2017, it was estimated that there were only about 104,700 in Borneo and only 7,500 in Sumatra. A new species of ape known as the Tarpaulin orangutan was declared with only 800 members. Currently the Borneo Orangutans have decreased 60 percent in the last 60 years, and the Sumatra have declined 80 percent in the last 75 years.

=== Endangerment === The largest reason that Orangutans are endangered is due to the palm oil movement. The high demand of oil caused the deforestation of large national parks in Indonesia. Palm oil production is responsible for 38 percent of the worlds vegetable oil output. By 2022 it is estimated  that 98 percent will be destroyed. Indonesia and Malaysia alone outputs 80 percent of palm oil world wide. Just in the span of twenty years, orangutans have lost 90 percent of their habitat due to deforestation.

Food and cosmetic industries such as ADM, Unilever, Car gill, Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Kraft and Burger King, all demand the use of palm oil due to it being a replacement for oils high in trans fat. In 2012, it was statistically found that the main demand for palm oil is is from food companies and not from bio diesel. The reason that bio diesel is demanded for its use, is due to to the fact that its palm oil base reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. However, clearing peat land in order to plant palm oil trees results in the large emission of greenhouse gases.

Indonesia and Malaysia alone produced $40 billion dollars worth of revenue for palm oil production. It estimated that by 2050 the demand for oil will triple and by 2020 will easily double in demand. In 2006, Indonesia exceeded Malaysia in its total production of palm oil, while Malaysia remains to be the second largest. Although these are the two top countries to produce oil, other countries such as Nigeria, Thailand, Colombia, Benin, Cameroon, Kenya and Ghana also contribute to the world production of oil.

The Use of Palm Oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil that has many different uses. It is a red color and only contains 49 percent of saturated fats. It is found mostly in Africa, Southeast Asia and parts of Brazil. It is highly demanded from foo industry due to the fact that it  is low cost and has much less saturated fats than other oils. In 2015, it was reported that one person consumed about 17 pounds of palm oil a year. It has been recorded that palm oil has been used for thousands of years, and became most apparently used after the 1870’s as it became an export for African countries.

The reason for the high demand for palm oil is that it has many universal uses. For example, it is used to make soap, food, personal care products, cleaning products, animal feed, lubricants and paint. Not only is it very universally used, it is also cheap and does not spoil easily. From 1983- 2003, palm oil plantations in Borneo grew from 2,000 km squared to 2,700 km squared. Ten percent of the annual anthropocentric carbon emissions is due to the large scale of deforestation through burning trees.In 2004, the Round-table on Sustainable Palm Oil was established with the goal to promote the universal use of palm oil through global standards and credibility. However, it is criticized by many environmentalists due to the large amounts of deforestation that put both orangutans and indigenous people at risk. Logging for paper products is also a factor for the endangerment of orangutans.

Other Causes of Endangerment
Although palm oil and deforestation is the main cause for the endangerment of orangutans, it is not the only reason. Orangutans are also endangered due to the fact that they are poached in order to sell their bones, they are taken from captivity and are sold as exotic pets. One specific orangutan named Pony was found chained, shaved and prostituted. She was later rescued by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation where she was rehabilitated. Orangutans are also used for bush meat, trade, crop protection and used for traditional medicine. Often times the parents of baby orangutans are killed so that the babies can be sold as pets, but most do not survive without the nurturing of their mothers.

Conservation
Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation is an example of an nonprofit organization whose goal is to rescue, rehabilitate, and reintroduce orangutans. This is the largest organization known for taking care of orangutans, however there are also many other organizations whose goals are similar. There are also conservation organisations that are trying to work hand in hand with the palm oil industry. For example, Orangutan Land Trust is an organization that is trying to improve sustainability and encourages for palm oil factories to set up conservation land for orangutans.

There are ways in which people are able to help contribute to preventing the orangutan species from going extinct. There are many well known organizations such as the WWF. WWF is the world’s leading conservation organization that works in 100 different countries and has 5 million members worldwide. One way that people are able to help prevent the further endangerment of orangutans is through the contributions of donations to these types of organizations that strive to keep the species alive. Many individuals choose to avoid buying products that contain palm oil and may also choose to choose to by FSC certified products. These are wood and paper products that are meant to come from sustainable forestry. There are also many fundraiser and volunteer opportunities for those who may want to be more actively involved in saving the orangutan species.