Nearly 150,000 Orangutans Lost to Logging, Palm Oil, and Human Conflict

Nearly 150,000 orangutans vanished from Borneo over a 16-year period, a new study found. Between 1999 and 2015 more than half of the entire island's population disappeared due in part to habitat loss driven by palm oil harvesting and logging.

Poaching and human interaction also contributed to the dramatic loss. Over the next 35 years, researchers predict an additional 45,000 orangutans will be lost.