Indonesia floods decimated world's rarest great ape- Orangutan: Report

Deadly floods and landslides in Indonesia’s Sumatra last year have wiped out at least 7% of the total population of the critically endangered Tapanuli orangutan, a new report released on Wednesday showed. The cyclone-induced floods and landslides killed at least 1,200 people and damaged around 300,000 homes, with environmental groups blaming the extent of the damage on the rapid deforestation of Sumatra island. At least 58 Tapanuli orangutans, which are endemic to an area around north Sumatra’s Batang Toru forest, were killed in the floods, the report said, citing a survey of the western block of the forest that is home to a majority of the total population of 800 primates.
The report, a joint study by Brunei-based Borneo Futures, World Weather Attribution and Liverpool John Moores University, did not survey the other parts of the forest, which means the death toll could have been higher. The findings were derived from analysing satellite images of the damage to the West Block of Batang Toru and historical records of the orangutan population there. Human-induced climate change has likely increased the intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall around Malacca Strait, putting Tapanuli orangutan’s habitat at greater risk, the study said.
Erik Meijaard from Borneo Futures, who was the lead author of the study, said the heavy rain soaked the soil so much that large parts of hillsides in the primary forests collapsed in fast-moving landslides. “If you get caught as an orangutan… if anything comes down at great speeds, survival chances are going to be very minimal, so it became a real concern,” he said. The study links the severity of the disaster to climate change driven extreme rainfall combined with long term deforestation in the region.