I been researching a little more into other factors that cause the endangerment of oranguatans as a species, other than the destruction of their habitat.
- The hunting of orangutans is still a threat - where this occurs depends on tribal and village identity. As this is an indigenous tradition, it has been hard to counter this problem without becoming culturally insensitive and causing offence. They are hunted for a number of different purposes:
- meat
- perceived medicinal benefits by consuming certain body parts (alike to rhino horn)
- The illegal pet trade : there is an international and domestic market to keep orangutans as pets, again for a number of different reasons:
- Kept by families (as we would keep cats or dogs in western society)
- Status symbols - kept by local politicians, senior military and police staff.
- In order to obtain a baby orangutan, they need to shoot the mother.
- At a young age organutans are docile and sweet, but soon grow to have the strength of an adult human and can become increasingly aggressive.
- Orangutans are also poached to be kept in zoos or wildlife parks, often in appalling conditions.
- They are also poached to be used for entertainment purposes e.g. thai boxing.
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