Every year more than 3,000 great apes are victim to people's urge for entertainment. They are brutally captured in the rainforests and sold illegally as pets, for entertainment or prostitution – a terrible life far away from their natural habitat in the rainforest.
The endangered orangutan's high intelligence and human-like appearance makes it one of the most popular apes in this shady business and thousands of infant orangutans have lost their lives.
The illegal trade in animals is a massive problem. We must do something to change these animals' tragic fates in captivity!
The very young and vulnerable orangutans are the most popular as they can be better trained to do tricks. When the baby orangutans are captured in nature, they desperately cling to their mothers and the orangutan mothers are therefore often killed in the capturing process.
In the rainforest the baby orangutans are dependent on the care and protection of their mothers for their first 6-8 years of life, so many baby orangutans die following this separation. It is estimated that for every orangutan that survives the capture, five or more will die.
Many people are unaware that this illegal trade exists. They are unaware of the suffering and death of baby orangutans, a heartbreaking tragedy.
Save the Orangutan helps to combat the illegal animal trade. Please sign now and pledge to help spread awareness of this awful crime. Together, we can help save amazing orangutans from this grievous fate!
