Previously numbered in hundreds of thousands, today, the Sumatran orang-utan (Pongo abelii) is listed as critically endangered while the Bornean orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) is endangered. In Sabah, the Bornean orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) is listed under Totally Protected Animal.

There are only an estimated 7,300 individual Sumatran orang-utans left while the number of Bornean orang-utans is approximately 12,300. If the threats to the orang-utans are not addressed, experts predict that these great apes will be extinct in the wild in 10 to 20 years.

The largest threat to the orang-utan is the loss of habitat. Orang-utans prefer to live in lowland rainforests, also known as low dipterocarp forests, where fruit grow all year round and water is steadily available. These forests also grow excellent timber and have good soil, making them prime targets for loggers and palm oil plantations.

Forest fragmentation also poses a problem for large mammals like orang-utans, leaving individual animals isolated in patches of forest, unable to move freely to find food or mates. Orang-utans are also targets of poachers who hunt and kill adult orang-utans to take their young for the illegal pet trade. Drought, made worse by El Nino, as well as fire also threatens their homes and lives.

As orang-utans breed at a very slow pace, a drastic drop in numbers is difficult to overcome through natural means.

The threat to the orang-utan can impact other species of plants and animals as well. For instance, the orang-utan is thought to be the sole disperser of seed for some species of climber plants. The orang-utan’s threatened extinction radically affects the lifecycle of the plant.