The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) is one of two orangutan species native to Asia and the largest arboreal mammal on Earth, spending the majority of its life in the forest canopy of the island of Borneo. Three subspecies are recognized across the island's Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, the Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan, and the small sovereign nation of Brunei Darussalam, each occupying distinct geographic ranges within lowland dipterocarp forests, peat swamp forests, and montane forest up to roughly 1,500 meters.
Bornean orangutans are keystone dispersers: they consume and deposit the seeds of hundreds of tree species across wide territories, a function that actively shapes the structure of Borneo's rainforest. The IUCN Red List classifies the species as Critically Endangered, driven by decades of habitat loss to palm oil agriculture, illegal logging, and land conversion for smallholder farming, compounded by hunting and the live capture of infants for the pet trade. The species' exceptionally slow reproductive rate, with females typically giving birth no more than once every seven to eight years, means populations recover very slowly from any losses.
No projects have listed this species yet. If you run a project that protects the Bornean Orangutan, you can add it to Wildlife Connect.
