World Orangutan Day – an unusual and interesting holiday that takes place every year on August 19.

An orangutan is a great ape

Translated from Malay and Indonesian orang-utan is a forest person. These animals live only on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in Asia and are the only great apes.

The threat of extinction

In Asia, one of the areas of local industry is the production of palm oil. In order to obtain the product, forests are actively cut down on the islands, which are the natural habitat of orangutans. Only during 1992-2000, the number of “forest people” halved in Sumatra. And during 1996-2006, the number of Kalimantan orangutans decreased from 36,000 to 20,000 animals.

The purpose of World Orangutan Day

Every year, deforestation and poaching lead to the destruction of more than 3,000 orangutans. In order to prevent the complete destruction of the entire population, environmental protection organizations introduced World Orangutan Day. Holding a holiday promotes awareness of this serious problem and allows active actions to be taken to correct the situation.

Best friends of orangutans

The Sumatran Orangutan Society, the Orangutan Protection Center, the International Humane Society, the Orangutan Outreach organization, etc. participate in the provision of aid and protection of animals. It is not known exactly in which year this day began to be celebrated, but the event is celebrated on August 19. Orangutan Week is held in November to help animals.