Illegal Logging Could Wipe Out Orangutans
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Habitat destruction by illegal loggers could mean the extinction of orangutans within 10 to 20 years, a Harvard researcher studying the apes said.
Logging has been increasing in recent years, moving away from river edges into the interiors of the forests where the orangutans live, Cheryl Knott said. Knott studies orangutans in Indonesia’s Gunung Palung National Park, home to about 2,500 of the animals, about one-tenth of those in the world.
Orangutans live only in Indonesia and Malaysia, said Knott, whose work is sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
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