Georgia+&+Chloe

=**Animals Special To Indonesia...**=

Indonesian Animals – Orang-utans & Sumatran Tiger ORANG-UTANS - Chloe Joseph

What are they? An orang-utan is a large ape that is found in Sumatra and Borneo in the country of Indonesia. The scientific name for the orang-utan is ‘Pongo Pygmaeus’. There are two species of orang-utan, the ‘Borneo orang-utan’ and the ‘Sumatran orang-utan’. In Indonesian, ‘orang’ means people and ‘hutan’ means forest, therefor orang-utan means ‘person of the forest’. Male orang-utans are bigger than females. The male orang-utan grows to weigh up to 120 kg and they are about 1.5m tall when fully grown. The female orang-utan is about 45 kg when fully grown and can grow up to 1m tall. In Indonesian orang-utan is orang hutan. In the wild an orang-utan will live for about 45 years and possibly more. Guas was the oldest captive orang-utan known was 58 years old. How many are there? In Borneo there are under 54,000 orang-utans left. In Sumatra there are less than 6,600 orang-utans left and it has been said that the Sumatran orang-utan might be the first great ape to be extinct unless we really start taking action. Which (if any) are endangered? Both the Borneo and Sumatran orang-utan are listed as Endangered to Critically Endangered. Where in Indonesia are these animals found? The orang-utans live in Indonesia and Malaysia. They are found in Borneo and Sumatra.

This is where the orang-utans are in Indonesia:



What are some of the problems being faced by both people and animals in the area? The main problem that both people and animals in Borneo and Sumatra are facing is the amount of deforestation. People are cutting down the forests for timber, pulp, rubber, minerals but mainly palm oil. This is affecting the animals because it is giving them no where to live and it is affecting humans because more and more people are leaving their jobs to help with the deforestation. Another problem is the illegal trade of wildlife. The more forests that are being cleared is creating more access to isolated areas where people can easily get the animals. This is affecting the animals because they aren’t being raised properly and aren’t being taught how to live in the wild and it is affecting humans because the ones who have orang-utans or any wildlife pets are getting them taken away from them as majority of the people don’t know how to properly look after the animals. What sort of environment do they live in? The orang-utans live in tropical rainforests in Asia, in particular Sumatra and Borneo. They build their nests in the trees around 70-100 feet off the floor of the forest. What are the animal’s requirements for food and shelter? Orang-utans eat mainly fruit, in particular Durian. They also eat flowers, honey, insects, bark and leaves. The orang-utan lives in a nest which they make out of any leaves and branches that they can find. Orang-utans spend majority of their time in trees. Factors which are affecting the animal’s ability to live in the wild. __ Deforestation: __ Deforestation is the major factor that is affecting the orang-utans ability to live in the wild. People are cutting down trees for timber, pulp, rubber, minerals and palm oil. This is destroying the forests and the home of the orang-utans leaving them to find somewhere else to live that is unfamiliar to them and might not have to food and water requirements that they need. Illegal Pet Trade: The illegal pet trade has seriously affected the orang-utans ability to live in the wild. When orang-utans are bought up as pets, they aren’t taught how to survive on their own in the wild. Majority of people who have a pet orang-utans, have got it illegally and therefore the orang-utans get taken off them. Once the orang-utans have been taken, they are most likely going to be out into an orang-utan sanctuary where they will be kept and the workers will do their best to try and teach the orang-utan how to live in the wild in the hope that one day it can be released.

My opinion: I believe that it is very important that we do our best to save the orang-utans. They are a much loved animal in many countries and they have done nothing to us and shouldn’t be treated how they are treated today. We need to protect the forests in Indonesia to give the orang-utans a home and somewhere safe that they can be out of danger and out of the way of the poachers. Being endangered, they should be one of the animals that is most important for us to look after and protect.



SUMATRAN TIGER- Georgia Hammond



What are they? The Sumatran tiger is a big cat and is a subspecies of the Tiger. The Sumatran tigers have black and orange stripes, which are darker than any other species of tiger and if you shave it, its stripes are printed on its skin. No two tigers have the same print of stripes. The male grows to about 2.4 metres in length and weighs about 120 kg; the female grows to about 2.2 metres in length and weighs about 90 kg being the smallest subspecies of tiger. Harimau Sumatra is the Indonesian word of Sumatran Tiger. They live from 10-15 years in the wild however they can live from 15-20 years in captivity. How many are there? The Sumatran tiger is critically endangered with approximately 350 left in the wild and 361 in captivity and zoos around the world. Which (if any) are endangered? It is not only the Sumatran tiger, which is endangered. There are 8 different subspecies of tigers the Sumatran, Amur, Bengal, Indochinese, south Chinese, Malayan, Javan and Balinese all of which are in endangered except for the Javan and Balinese, which are extinct. The Amur tiger reached as low as 40 left in the wild but that has increased dramatically with now 500 left in the wild. The Bengal tiger has the largest population of the tigers with only 2500 left. The Indochinese tiger is more endangered than the Sumatran with 250 left today. In the 1950 there were estimated to be 4000 South Chinese tigers but now there are 30-80 individuals all of which are in captivity being the most endangered subspecies of tiger. There are around 500 Malayan tigers left in the wild today and until DNA testing proved differently in 2004 the Malayan and Indochinese tigers were thought to be the same subspecies. Over the past century we have lost 97% of tigers with as few as 3200 tigers existing in the wild today. Where in Indonesia are these animals found? The Sumatran tigers are found in Sumatra.



What are some of the problems faced by both people and animals in the area? Problems faced by both people and animals in the area include the habitat destruction for this causes the Sumatran tiger to go into the farmers land searching for food. This can end in the death of a tiger or a human.

What sort of environment do they live in? The Sumatran tiger inhabits lowland forests, swamps and mountain ranges, however only approximately 130,000 square km of their habitat remains in Sumatra a third of which is protected from development and logging.

Factors, which are affecting the animals ability to live in the wild. There are less than 300 Sumatran tigers left in the wild today, there are many factors which contribute to this including:

Due to humans logging, and clearing for agriculture and plantations the habitat of the Sumatran tiger is decreasing dramatically. In 1985 until 1997 over 67,000 squared km of lowland forest (which is where the Sumatran tiger lives) was cut down for plantations. Only 130,000 squared km of the forest remains today on the island of Sumatra of which 42,000 km squared is protected as conservation area however this doesn’t stop the illegal logging and clearing.
 * Deforestation/ Habitat loss: **

Hunters/Poachers: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Most of the tigers which are killed are killed deliberately for their skin and bones.



Human conflict: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Due to deforestation the tigers can’t find food causing them to move into the villages in search for food. The farmers get angry shooting them.

My opinion: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I don’t understand how and why we let the loss of tigers get to this extent, we should have realised earlier. I believe everybody should be doing all they can to help the tigers survive.

[|__http://lion_roar.tripod.com/SumatranTiger.html__] [|__http://worldwildlife.org/species/sumatran-tig__][|__er__] [|__http://www.tigertrust.info/sumatran_tiger_tiger.asp__] [|__http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/tigers/about_tigers/sumatran_tiger/__] [|__http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/tripIndtiger.htm__] [|__http://www.orangutans-sos.org/kids/orangutan_facts__] [|__http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/great_apes/orangutans/__] [|__http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/borneo_forests/borneo_deforestation/__]
 * Bibliography:**


 * Comments: **

I found out what the Orang-Utan eats. It eats fruit, flowers, insects, honey, leaves and bark. I realised why illegal pet trade is so bad for Orang-utans because they are not taught how to survive in the wild. - Phoebe Carr

I found out that just fewer than 54,000 orang-utans are left in Borneo. Also the male orang-utan can weigh up to 120kgs and when the females have fully grown they only weigh up at 45kgs. I now realize how people are cutting down the forests for timber, pulp, rubber, minerals and palm oil are affecting the orang-utans because it’s giving them no where to live. Also it’s affecting more humans because they’re leaving there jobs to help with deforestation. - Caitlyn Finn