national geographic orangutan and hound dog

The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation was founded by Dr Willie Smits in 1991 with the support of researchers of the Tropenbos Kalimantan Program and the school children of Balikpapan, Indonesia, initially as the "Balikpapan Orangutan Society". Dr Smits, an ecologist and adviser to the Minister of Forestry in Indonesia, found a sick baby orangutan in the market in Balikpapan. He managed to care for the sick orangutan and was then given another. It formalised its existence as the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation in 1994. Since then its has received increasing recognition in Indonesia and globally, with sister organizations in 11 other countries. [2][3][4]
[edit] Orangutans endangered

The Bornean orangutans is endangered[5] according to the IUCN Red List of mammals, and is listed on Appendix I of CITES. The total number of Bornean orangutans is estimated to be less than 14 percent of what it was in the recent past (from around 10,000 years ago until the middle of the twentieth century) and this sharp decline has occurred mostly over the past few decades due to human activities and development.[5] Their habitat is so much reduced that they are now only to be found in pockets of remaining rainforest.[5] The largest remaining population is found in the forest around the Sabangau River, but this environment too is at risk.[6] According to the IUCN, it is expected that in 10 to 30 years orangutans will be extinct if there is no serious effort to overcome the threats that they are facing.[7][8]

This view is also supported by the United Nations Environment Programme, which states in its report that due to illegal logging, fire and the extensive development of oil palm plantations (see Environmental impact of palm oil), orangutans are endangered, and if the current trend continues, they will become extinct