A desperate orangutan was caught on video trying to fight off an excavator in order to save his jungle home from Indonesian loggers.
As the excavator crashed down on a pile of trees, the orangutan leaped down a large trunk to try and stop the machine digger with his hands.
The footage was shared on social media by the International Animal Rescue (IAR). The orangutan can be seen attempting to climb on the arm of the excavator, but falls back into the brush. The orangutan then attempts to climb up the back of the large machine.
Loggers were clearing a part of the Sungai Putri Forest in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, which is home to Bornean orangutans, which are endangered. Fortunately, the IAR team was near the site and managed to rescue the animal, relocating him to a remote and protected area of the forest.
The footage is proof that animals are being pushed out of their natural habitats due to extensive logging efforts.
The IAR reported:
This desperate orangutan is frantically seeking refuge from the destructive power of the bulldozer; a machine that has already decimated everything else around him.
Despite all the obstacles thrown at them, our team were able to rescue this orangutan and bring him to safety.
Unfortunately, scenes like this are becoming more and more frequent in Indonesia. Deforestation has caused the orangutan population to plummet; habitats are destroyed, and orangutans are left to starve and die.
Sungai Putri Forest is one of the few natural habitats left for Bornean orangutans, but it’s on the verge of destruction as corporate entities clear the forest to expand palm oil plantations and other projects.
In a recent Greenpeace Indonesia’s investigation report, at least six illegal logging settlements exist near Sungai Putri Forest. Many of these logging operations are done under the cover of darkness.
Bornean orangutans in Indonesia have already lost more than half of their habitats due to logging activities, since the 1970s. The animals are even at risk of being killed if they ever return to the lands after palm plantations have been established.
