Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus, Pongo abeli)
Status: Endangered and Critically Endangered

There are two species of Orangutan, the Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus) and the Sumatran (Pongo abeli), so called after the two islands they inhabit. Orangutans are amongst the most intelligent primates, distinguished by their reddish-brown hair they are the largest arboreal mammals found on earth today. By leading passive, solitary lives they make themselves easy targets for hunters. Poaching and deforestation combine to form an immense threat and it is estimated that orangutan populations have decreased by over 50% in the last 60 years. A decline in the species is expected to continue at this rate.

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