US EditionSumatran Floods May Have Killed 11% of Rare Tapanuli Orangutans
Cyclone Senyar destroyed up to 7,200 hectares of habitat, possibly killing 35 Tapanuli orangutans, over 4% of the species, experts warn of extinction risk.
- A carcass discovered on Dec. 3 in Pulo Pakkat village shows humanitarians found it semi-buried in mud after Cyclone Senyar swept Sumatra; it remains there as of Dec. 12, Panut said.
- A spatial analysis estimates 4,800-7,200 hectares were destroyed on the western Batang Toru block, which was home to an estimated 581 tapanulis before the disaster.
- Panut Hadisiswoyo, founder and chairman of the Orangutan Information Centre, said `The loss of even a single orangutan is a devastating blow to the survival of the species` and OIC reported none of the 10 monitored orangutans have been seen since.
- Officials suspended operating permits for projects pending review, nearly 1,000 people were killed, and several orangutan research centres including Ketambe must be rebuilt soon.
- Scientists on December 12, 2025 warned that fewer than 800 Tapanuli orangutans remain, with an 83% population decline over three generations and adult mortality above 1% risking extinction, urging Batang Toru ecosystem protection.
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15 Articles
Indonesia floods pose ‘extinction-level’ threat to world’s rarest great ape, the tapanuli orangutan
Bangkok, Dec 12 — Indonesia’s deadly flooding was an “extinction-level disturbance” for the world’s rarest great ape, the tapanuli orangutan, causing catastrophic damage...
Dnevni list Danas
vijesti.meThe carcass of an animal believed to belong to a tapanuli orangutan, the world's rarest ape, has alarmed conservationists.
Conservation news
ecotopical.comSumatran flood disaster may have wiped out key Tapanuli orangutan population
JAKARTA — A Tapanuli orangutan, the world’s rarest great ape, has been discovered dead in mud and log debris in a village in northern Sumatra — a grim sign of how severely recent floods and landslides may have devastated the species’ fragile habitat. A group of scientists has described the catastrophe as an “extinction-level disturbance” […]
An unusual silence rests over the Batang Torus mountain forests of northern Sumatra, where the world's rarest ape, the Tapanuli orangutan, usually roams.
Indonesia floods 'extinction level' for rare orangutans
Indonesia's deadly flooding was an "extinction-level disturbance" for the world's rarest great ape, the Tapanuli orangutan, causing catastrophic damage to its habitat and survival prospects, scientists warned on Dec. 11.
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