Orangutans in the News - March 2026

Latest Research on Cultural Learning in Orangutans to Recognise Foods

Have you had a chance to read our blog from guest author Dr Elliot Howard-Spink of the Max Planck Institute whose research focusses on how apes structure ecologically-relevant skills, and how they acquire and retain skills throughout their lifetimes? His latest paper investigates how different forms of social learning influence the development of feeding repertoires in wild orangutans (from birth to approximately 6-8 years old, when they reach independence). Results indicate that orangutans’ diets are ‘culturally dependent repertoires’: sets of knowledge that are broader than any individual could produce through their own exploration. This reaffirms the need for rehabilitation and reintroduction programs to continue to teach orangutans what to eat prior to release into the wild, thus ensuring that released individuals can successfully identify available food items.

Read more: https://www.orangutanlandtrust.com/post/orangutans-turn-to-cultural-knowledge-to-learn-the-foods-of-the-forest​

Trafficking of Orangutans Remains an Issue

Sadly, orangutans, particularly infants and juveniles, continue to be trafficked out of Indonesia with alarming regularity. “Infant orangutans are especially lucrative because demand is fueled by the exotic-pet market and the attention economy — private collections, social media status, and closed online,” says Onrizal Onrizal, Professor of Tropical Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation at Universitas Sumatera Utara. “Every time a baby is trafficked, an adult — often the mother — is usually removed from the forest in the process.” With a great deal of bureaucratic red tape, successful repatriations of some orangutans have taken place recently. But as Dr Onrizal points out, Indonesia needs a new approach to illegal wildlife trafficking that does more than intercept and repatriate animals to their home habitats. In this op-ed for Mongabay, Dr Onrizal outlines what is needed to reduce trafficking at scale. Indonesia must (1) close opportunities where capture and movement happen, (2) raise risks for the people who finance and control networks — not just couriers, and (3) strengthen legal incentives so communities living alongside wildlife are better off protecting it than capturing it.

Read more: https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/indonesias-orangutan-trafficking-cases-reveal-need-for-a-change-in-approach-commentary/​

World’s Rarest Ape Receive “Extinction Level” Blow

Many of you will have seen the devastating consequences of extreme flooding ;late last year and earlier this year in Sumatra.In addition to the loss of many human lives, the destruction of property and the wreckage of wild areas, the fate of the world’s rarest ape, the Tapanuli orangutan, was described by Orangutan Land Trust lead Scientific Advisor, Dr Erik Meijaard as nearing “extinction level” with an estimated 11% of the population of less than 800 individuals wiped out as a result of these floods. The extreme weather event which continued for several weeks is said to be caused by climate change, and massively exacerbated by deforestation in the region, for timber, mining and oil palm. A number of companies were found complicit in the deforestation by the Indonesian authorities.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/23/tapanuli-orangutans-floods-indonesia-government-mining-extraction-companies-aoe .

Improving Outcomes for Orangutans in Rehabilitation

We’re so excited to see our friend Fransiska Sulistyo continuing her studies to help orangutans. Siska worked with Lone Droscher Nielsen as a vet at Nyaru Menteng for many years, and helped save many orangutan lives. She is now leading a PhD project with Adelaide University examining health challenges of orangutans in rehabilitation centres in Indonesia to improve long-term outcomes for their survival.

Siska will travel back to her native Indonesia in May to visit multiple orangutan rehabilitation centres to collect and analyse data from medical records and biological samples for pathogen testing.

“Understanding the main health problems (of the over 1000 orangutans in rehabilition centres) will help us to make better plans to prevent and address them, and in turn we can improve the success of orangutan reintroduction and conservation,” Siska says.

Read more: https://www.newswise.com/articles/improving-outcomes-for-orangutans-in-rehab​

Children’s Book The Rimba Raises Funds for Orangutan Land Trust

Have you picked up your copy of The Rimba yet? This gorgeously illustrated book tells a tale of hope through poetry and empowers people to take action to save orangutans and other wildlife. Written by long-time friend of Orangutan Land Trust, Jane Griffiths, and illustrated by orangutan scientist, Emma Lokuciejewski, this book is getting loads of 5-star reviews from readers. The creators of the book are donating all proceeds to orangutan conservation, and our first payment has already arrived! Why not order a copy today?

Read our interview with Jane and Emma here and follow the link to order your copy and support orangutan conservation:https://www.orangutanlandtrust.com/post/the-rimba-interview​

Disneynature’s upcoming Earth Day Release of Orangutan

We are eagerly anticipating the release of the new programme ‘Orangutan’ on Disney+ on Earth Day (22April). he programme “introduces Indah, an inquisitive adolescent orangutan learning how to navigate life as she prepares to leave her family and venture out on her own for the first time.” We hope the programme inspires more people to support orangutan conservation!