Rainfall and landslides last year in Indonesia killed 7% of world’s rarest great apes – study
A study published in Current Biology reveals that extreme rainfall and landslides in Indonesia killed 7% of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan population. The habitat remains under pressure from mining, palm oil, and infrastructure projects.
Why it matters
The loss of such a significant portion of a critically endangered species highlights the devastating impact of climate-driven extreme weather on biodiversity.
The Tapanuli orangutans’ primary habitat is in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, where the ecosystem is threatened by mining, palm oil plantations and a hydropower project. Photograph: Nature Picture Library/Alamy View image in fullscreen The Tapanuli orangutans’ primary habitat is in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, where the ecosystem is threatened by mining, palm oil plantations and a hydropower project. Photograph: Nature Picture Library/Alamy Indonesia Rainfall and landslides last year in Indonesia killed 7% of world’s rarest great apes – study Critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan population falls after extreme weather – fuelled by climate crisis – in North Sumatra
The Guardian typically emphasizes the climate crisis as the primary driver of environmental degradation.
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