Would you like to know how you can help save the orangutans and their rainforest home ? It might be easier than you think . To start with , look up some of the organisations that work with the orangutans – some of them , like World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ), Born Free and Orangutan Appeal UK , offer adoption packages so you can sponsor an orangutan for a year or more and receive your own cuddly toy to cherish ; others just need your support . Or you can take a look at One Green Planet for a list of outstanding orangutan charities that you could donate to . Try to buy Forest Stewardship Council ( FSC ) certificated wood and paper products and avoid products made with unsustainable palm oil . The WWF recommends contacting your favourite brands to let them know you want them to
Photo credit : Copyright of Orangutan Appeal UK ( www . orangutan-appeal . org . uk ) source sustainable ingredients for their products . Talk to other people about the orangutans – once we ’ re talking about problems , we ’ re starting to solve them .
Orangutans – people of the forest
Bornean orangutans are native to the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia . One of only three great apes native to Asia , their name means ‘ man ’ or ‘ people ’ of the forest in the Malay language . They are the largest tree-dwelling mammals in the world and they share around 97 per cent of their DNA with humans . Intelligent , strong , curious and affectionate , they are also known to make and use tools for various activities . Orangutans spend most of their lives in trees , swinging from branch to branch in search of food , nest sites , materials and mates . Mother and baby bonds are extraordinarily close ; a baby orangutan will cling to its mother as she swings and climbs and they are inseparable for the baby ’ s first six years or so .
FUN FACT TRUMPET The Bornean rainforests are also home to sun bears , binturongs , Sumatran rhinos , pygmy elephants , proboscis monkeys , hornbills , flowerpeckers , tree frogs , crested lizards and millipedes . Not to mention thousands of plant species , some of which grow nowhere else on Earth , and have been found to contain life-preserving medicines .
Words : Annalie Seaman . Illustration : Stacey Thomas .
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