The Orang-utans and Their Habitat

By Dr. Akira SUZUKI

Protection of the Orang-utans is based on the steadfast conservation of the forests which are their habitat. The Kutai National Park, where we base our research, is situated on the equator. As one of the few tropical rain forests inhabited by the Orang-utans, it was designated a National Park in 1985, the first of its kind in Borneo. When I first ventured into this area, access by car was impossible since there were no roads. After trekking for several days to the nearest village, we had to go upriver by boat for a further six hours to get to what is now our research centre.

This remote area has changed vastly over the past 20 years. One of the world’s largest open-cast coal mines has emerged opposite our camp, across the Sengata River. This major state project has brought dramatic changes to the forest. Bontang, the coastal town where the headquarters of the National Park is situated, has become the biggest port for shipping LP gas to Japan. With people moving into the area, there have been the inevitable fires as well as repeated incidents of illegal logging.

Research into the ecology of the orang-utan is proving to be a long and arduous task. Estimates have been made about how many of them live in the vast expanse of forest, but the real numbers have yet to be corroborated. Even researchers cannot agree, with estimates ranging from 10,000 to 60,000 orang-utans. The popular guess today is 60,000, but that is complete nonsense.

The Importance of Saving the Rain Forests

By Dr. Akira SUZUKI

It had always been thought that orang-utans lived deep in the natural rain forests, eating mainly berries. But huge fires spread through these forests in 1983 and 1997-8, destroying the apes’ habitat.

The trees in the lowland forests of Borneo, which are the home of the orang-utans, are mostly of the dipterocarp family, and they have been logged for the production of plywood ever since the 1960s, for export mainly to Japan. Indiscriminate logging led to a conspicuous change in the forests. What used to be an environment characterized by high humidity and plentiful rain has now changed to dry forest. The ecological balance of these forests was disrupted and the amount of rainfall diminished drastically. Even many of the trees that escaped being burnt to the ground have been sapped of life and turned into skeletons.

Although there is widespread concern about the destruction of the biodiversity of the rain forests that supported numerous life forms, there has been very little action and the forests are losing their vitality through illegal logging and the increase of settlements. It is up to mankind to protect the remaining forests and to give them new life.

Healthy secondary forests have emerged in areas that were targets of slash-and-burn farming or were destroyed in the great fires. Through our research, we have discovered that the orang-utans are thriving in these secondary forests, living on the vines, leaves and barks of the various trees that grow there. However, many people are convinced that the orang-utans were unable to survive in what remained of the burned-down forests, or that the rain forests are no longer of value after the fires, assumptions that persist even among conservation groups. Belief in these mistaken notions is actually encouraging the illegal logging and development, and hindering the recovery of the forests.

The orang-utans in the wild do not necessarily make their homes deep in the natural forests. They have found precious homes in the secondary forests that have sprung up in the aftermath of slash-and-burn farming and the great fires. Like the original natural forests, the new ones are also rich in biodiversity and re-emerging as vibrant forests. We need your help to continue our efforts to protect the orang-utans’ habitat.