Up to 90 Rare Orangutans Feared Dead in Indonesia Floods

Conservation scientists warn that recent deadly floods in Indonesia were an "extinction-level disturbance" for the Tapanuli orangutan. This is the world's rarest great ape species. The disaster killed over 1,000 people. Experts now fear it may have also killed up to 11% of the entire Tapanuli orangutan population. Fewer than 800 of these apes exist in the wild. The species was only identified by scientists in 2017. It lives in one small forest area on the island of Sumatra. The floods caused catastrophic damage to this critical habitat, threatening the species' survival.