News in Brief Anthropology

In Borneo, hunting emerges as a key threat to endangered orangutans

Humans target the apes for food, or to prevent them from raiding crops, scientists say

orangutan mom and baby

COUNT DOWN  From 1999 to 2015, numbers of orangutans on the island of Borneo declined by nearly 150,000 individuals, a new study estimates.

Marc Ancrenaz

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

Orangutan numbers on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo plummeted from 1999 to 2015, more as a result of human hunting than habitat loss, an international research team finds.