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The extinction of the world's great apes, taking place in remote rainforests and seemingly out of our control, is much closer than you might imagine -- and the solution is nearer still.
Massive fires, intentionally and unconscionably started by palm oil companies as a means of clearing forests, are, right now, ripping apart the world-renowned Tripa rainforest of Indonesia. This man-made inferno inside one of the world's most ecologically important forests is still smoldering, and has killed more than 100 critically endangered Sumatran orangutans -- a third of the local population -- so far.
The Tripa rainforest fires are a wake up call to the world that the iconic orangutan is in serious danger of becoming the first of the great apes to be pushed to extinction.
If this unspeakably sad fate were to come to pass, no one would be able to say we did not see it coming.
A recent investigation by the Indonesian government has confirmed ...