Indonesia: Cyclone Kills 7% of Rare Tapanuli Orangutans
- On Wednesday, a new report revealed that climate change-fuelled landslides killed at least 58 critically endangered Tapanuli orangutans on Indonesia's Sumatra island.
- Rapid deforestation and extreme rainfall made hilly landscapes vulnerable to landslides, as Cyclone Senyar destroyed huge tracts of forest and killed more than 1,000 people in 2025.
- Research indicates the loss represents about 7% of the total Tapanuli population of fewer than 800, while humanitarian workers described the forest area as a "graveyard" for wildlife.
- Lead author Erik Meijaard of Borneo Futures stated, "This level of loss is substantial for a species," noting that ongoing habitat degradation and human-wildlife conflict increase extinction risks.
- Experts urged international partners to provide immediate biodiversity-recovery financing in Indonesia, emphasizing that preventing the first modern extinction of a great ape requires permanent protection of the Batang Toru ecosystem.
61 Articles
61 Articles
Atypical rain and landslides killed 7% of the remaining Tapanuli orangutans in four days
A new study on the world's rarest great ape suggests that one brief burst of extreme weather may have wiped out a significant share of the species. Researchers say climate-fueled extreme rains and the landslides that followed may have killed 7% of all members of the Tapanuli orangutan species in just four days, a toll they warn could carry consequences far beyond a single storm for a population of under 800 critically endangered animals. What ha…
How one devastating cyclone wiped out 7% of the planet’s rarest great apes
By Mustafa Qadri, CNN (CNN) — A cyclone that brought catastrophic flooding and devastating landslides to Indonesia wiped out more than 7% of the global population of the world’s rarest great apes, a new study has found. Nearly 60 of the 800 Tapanuli orangutans remaining in the wild were killed when Cyclone Senyar slammed into the Indonesian island of Sumatra last November, according to the study published this month in the journal Current Biolog…
Four days of extreme rain was enough to hit massively the already tiny population of tapanuli orangutans. Researchers speak of a catastrophe for the endangered species, with far-reaching consequences.
World's Rarest Orangutans Pushed Closer to Extinction As 58 Were Killed After Four Days of Extreme Rain
One of the world's rarest orangutan populations has been pushed closer to extinction after 58 individuals out of 800 were reported dead following four days of extreme rainfall in November 2025, according to conservation sources. The deaths are believed to have occurred in a highly restricted and already fragmented habitat, where the population exists in extremely low numbers and is considered one of the most vulnerable genetic groups of oranguta…
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