Mainly because of palm oil, the orangutans of Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia are in danger of disappearing soon.

Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world. It is used in more than half of the processed foods sold in supermarkets (cakes, crisps, etc.), in cosmetics (soaps, shampoo, etc.) and biofuel. Also replaces coconut oil traditionally used in Indonesia and peanut oil in Myanmar. This high global demand is leading to the massive destruction of hectares of rainforest in Indonesia and Malaysia, reducing the habitat of orangutans and three other large mammals, which are also on the verge of extinction, the Sumatran Tiger and Rhinoceros and the Borneo Elephant.

Only 45,000 orangutans remain in Sumatra and Borneo, and in twenty years’ time, we may never see them again. In Sumatra, near the village of Bukit Lawang, there is the Gunung Leuser National Park, where you can trek from one to five days in the jungle and see orangutans. Most of those we see are semi-wild.