3 Days to Stop Catastrophic Deforestation Planned in Sumatra

Catastrophic deforestation planned in Sumatra - from Sumatran Orangutan Society

We urgently need your help to stop the planned destruction of 1.2 million hectares of forest in Sumatra for gold mining, oil palm plantations, logging and roads. This is a conservation emergency for orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos – the forests under threat are the only place in the world where these critically endangered species still roam together. Indonesia’s President has the power to stop these plans. Please help us reach 1 million signatures in the next 3 days to make sure he gets the message loud and clear. This is a new petition, so please sign and share even if you have already signed others in the last few weeks. The fate of Sumatra’s forests will be decided in the very near future  - please help. CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION. Forward to a friend

Extinction risk as Aceh opens forests for logging

Reblogged from endoftheicons:

Extinction risk as Aceh opens forests for logging
Sydney Morning Herald

SOME of the richest and most biodiverse forests in Indonesia will soon be opened up for commercial exploitation under a plan drafted by the new government of Aceh.

The chairman of the Aceh parliament's spatial planning committee, Mr Anwar (who goes by only one name) has confirmed the plan would reduce the total forest cover from about 68 per cent of the province's land mass to 45 per cent.

Read more… 711 more words

This is heartbreaking. I'm glad Mike Griffiths is still fighting the good fight, at least.

Police Arrest Orangutans in Minnesota

Reblogged from endoftheicons:

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Laurel Sutherlin

In what has become an increasingly common sight in this upscale suburb of Minneapolis, homeless orangutans have once again been spotted protesting the agribusiness giant Cargill in locations across the Wayzata, MN region.

This startling orangutan invasion escalated significantly yesterday when a mother and her baby were arrested by police in downtown Wayzata. Bystanders captured video footage of a stern Long Lake Police officer loading the refugee animals into the back of a squad car (we’ll post it soon).

Read more… 394 more words

Taking to the streets over Cargill's participation in palm oil: who are these audacious primates?

Cabrillo College: Phil Kaplan’s “Making a Difference”

A great new addition to the Great Ape Conservation info – right in my backyard, so to speak.

Cabrillo College: Phil Kaplan’s “Making a Difference”: http://www.cabrillo.edu/~pkaplan/making_a_difference.html

“We are accepting (working or not plus accessories) cellphones, iPods, MP3 Players, laptops, digital cameras, all small computer accessories, inkjet printer cartridges, energy bar wrappers (foil inside), potato chip bags and corks to help raise funds for the Orangutan Conservancy, Santa Cruz SPCA and Save Our Shores. Over 2500 cell phones, 50,000 corks, and 19,000 energy bar wrappers have been kept out of the landfill and refurbished or recycled in environmentally-safe ways through our program. They can be given to Phil. Other out-dated or unwanted electronics, including computers and TVs, can be recycled for free at Grey Bears on Chanticleer near the old Skyview Drive-Inn and Flea Market. Read about the increasingly sad plight of the Orangutan (which is Malaysian for “person of the forest”).”

Painful Topics: Primate Conservation

I realize that the title of my blog probably makes some think that I’d be talking about non-human primates a bit more.  But, despite the fact that I could be called an expert on them, I find it very difficult to devote much time or thought to these creatures that I love.  It simply hurts way too much.

Bonobo (Pan paniscus) - photo by FJ White

I went to Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) to study female cooperation among bonobos in 1996.  I had to leave after a couple months, in part because a civil war was brewing (it continues to simmer).  War is bad for any primate that’s unwittingly caught in the middle – for large monkeys and apes in Africa, it means an increased threat of poaching as well-armed mauraders move through their habitats.  In Congo, a lot of the money that keeps the war going comes from coltan – essentially, people like us buying electronic gadgets.

Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) - photo by M Merrill

So I changed my research topic to social learning in orangutans, and went to Sumatra in 1999.  While I was there, one of the research sites where I lived was being logged illegally.  I wrote letters and set up a website about it, but I wasn’t able to do much to stop it.  I somehow managed to get through analyzing what data I had and get my dissertation done in 2004, and I haven’t really been involved in primate research since.  The wounds just never healed right.

I face the pain from this every semester when I come to the place in the Introduction to Biological Anthropology classes I teach where I have to talk about my research and primate conservation.  It’s always a hard week.

Now I’ve been asked to co-present on great ape conservation with some of my colleagues at Cabrillo College, so I’m facing it at least twice this semester.  This also necessitated putting together some resources (though Renee found more of them) – I’ve posted those here: Great Ape Conservation.

I keep hoping someday this will get easier, it will hurt less so I can do more, but the news keeps getting worse.  So I try to focus on the things I can do here, just simple stuff like changing the entire culture of consumerism that is driving the destruction.

Wish me luck!