With smoke from a distant forest fire in the air, a female orangutan named Sumi sits alone on a railroad track. Human encroachment is one of the main threats against orangutans.

Experts say that unless action is taken, orangutans could be extinct in the wild within 20 years. They once roamed across thousands of miles of rain forest in Southeast Asia, but now survive only in small pockets on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. According to The Orangutan Conservancy:

• Orangutans have lost approximately 80 percent of their habitat in the last 20 years.

• Illegal logging, poaching and habitat destruction in Borneo and Sumatra, and the burgeoning pet trade across Asia, are the most critical threats to orangutan populations.

• In recent years, huge tracts of the Borneo and Sumatran rain forests, where orangutans once flourished, have been cut down to plant palm oil trees. Palm oil is increasingly being used as a good ingredient and cooking oil in a variety of baked goods and candies. Though palm oil is very high in saturated fats that can clog arteries and increase the risk of heart attacks, it is low in trans fat, so many companies are racing to use it in order to advertise “no trans fat” products to consumers.

• About 5,000 orangutans in Borneo (their primary habitat) die annually.

• Approximately 48,000 orangutans remain in the wild.

Source: The Orangutan Conservancy