Species profile
Pongo abelii
Sumatran orangutan
This is a curated published estimate, not a live census. Estimates may refer to mature individuals, wild individuals or a documented range and are not directly comparable between species.
CR · Critically Endangered — Critically Endangered — extreme risk of extinction in the wild
About this species
Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) is part of the curated SpeciesWatch catalogue and is classified as Critically Endangered. Sumatran orangutans build a brand-new sleeping nest of branches every night, and even construct leafy umbrellas when it rains. Its recorded population direction is decreasing, so the category needs to be read alongside continuing losses of individuals or local populations.
Habitat, behaviour and ecological role
This profile associates the species with terrestrial, forest. These labels summarise environments used during different stages of its life rather than drawing an exact range boundary. Orangutans are the largest tree-living animals on Earth; adults test branches carefully, spreading their weight to cross the canopy safely. Its anatomy and behaviour are responses to those environments, while movement can connect distant places requiring different forms of management.
Why this species is at risk
Male Sumatran orangutans develop huge cheek flanges and throat sacs that amplify their long calls, audible more than a kilometre through the forest. The catalogue records 3 principal pressures for this profile: Deforestation, Palm-oil expansion, Illegal pet trade. They should not be treated as isolated causes. Habitat change, exploitation, pollution, disease and climate stress can reinforce one another, while the importance of each pressure varies between regions and through time.
Conservation outlook
Protecting and reconnecting habitat is a priority, together with infrastructure planning that keeps feeding, breeding or migration routes functional. Direct protection needs to combine enforcement with conflict prevention, demand reduction and local benefits that make coexistence viable. Actions need long-term monitoring and revision as evidence changes; a positive intervention in one place does not by itself represent recovery across the species.
Editorial review: 2026-08-21
Threat factors
Known occurrences
Dots are georeferenced occurrence records from OBIS (marine) and GBIF (global), not individual animals and not a complete range map. Up to 500 recent API results are cached; the profile renders at most 500 points.
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