Inform Yourself and Sign a Petition for the Rarest Ape

Do a little: inform yourself and sign a petition for the rarest ape! As always, the slaughter of part of the natural world is heartbreaking. So, please, spend a few minutes reading and then sign the petition. Remember, it you don’t stand up and be counted, you will count for nothing.

The Conservation website carries the story of the discovery of the seventh Great Ape, an Orangutan: “The orangutan’s story began in November 2017, when scientists made a stunning announcement: they had discovered a seventh species of Great Ape, called the Tapanuli Orangutan, in a remote corner of Sumatra, Indonesia.” The discovery has come almost too late as “The plan to build a massive hydropower dam in Sumatra as part of China’s immense Belt and Road Initiative threatens the habitat of the rarest ape in the world, which has only 800 remaining members.” “In an article published in Current Biology today, my colleagues and I show that this ape is perilously close to extinction – and that a Chinese-sponsored megaproject could be the final nail in its coffin.”

“The most imminent threat to the ape is a US$1.6 billion hydropower project that Sinohydro (China’s state-owned hydroelectric corporation) intends to build with funding from the Bank of China and other Chinese financiers. If the project proceeds as planned, it will flood the heart of the ape’s habitat and crisscross the remainder with many new roads and powerline clearings.”

Read the whole article here, it’s not too long and take at least the small and quick action action of signing a petition found here.

From the petition: “Splitting the population in half will decrease the species’ chances of growth and survival. According to Erik Meijaard, the director of Borneo Futures, “a small population is more likely to go extinct than a large one;” fewer apes in the same area means fewer breeding opportunities. Worse, loss of habitat means loss of protection and food sources, which will lead to starvation and death by attacks from predators. It could also make them more vulnerable to diseases.”

Read the popular article here and the scientific one the popular one was derived from here . Sign the petition here. The Orangutan’s will thank you!