Despite legal protection in Indonesia since 1931,
orangutans are still captured from the wild and kept in
households as status symbols. In some areas
orangutans are hunted for food. Investigations by
TRAFFIC, the global wildlife monitoring network, shows
that lack of law enforcement against this illegal trafficking
poses a serious threat to orangutans. Females give birth
to just one infant at a time every eight or nine years,
making their populations very susceptible to even very
low levels of hunting. Experts estimate that even as little
as 1% of females lost each year through hunting or other
unnatural causes could put a population on an
irreversible trajectory to extinction.
Description
The Sumatran orangutan is almost
exclusively arboreal, living among the
trees of tropical rainforests. Females
virtually never travel on the ground and
adult males do so rarely. Sumatran
orangutans are reported to have closer
social ties than their Bornean cousins.
This has been attributed to mass fruit
on fig trees, where groups of Sumatran
orangutans can come together to feed.
Adult males are typically solitary while
females are accompanied by offspring.
How Are We Helping
WWF works with TRAFFIC, the global wildlife
trade monitoring network, to help governments
enforce restrictions on the trade in live animals
and orangutan products. We continue to
investigate the root causes of this trade and
encourage stricter law enforcement.
Black Rhino
Threats
Habitat changes have contributed to population
declines, but this is a secondary threat
compared to poaching. In southern Zimbabwe,
privately owned rhino conservancies have been
invaded by landless people. This reduces the
amount of safe habitat for two large black rhino
populations and increases the risk of poaching
and snaring.
Description
European hunters are responsible for the
early decline of black rhino populations. It was
not uncommon for five or six rhinos to be
killed in a day for food or simply for
amusement. European settlers that arrived in
Africa in the early 20th century to colonize
and establish farms and plantations continued
this senseless slaughter. Most people
regarded rhinos as vermin and exterminated
them at all costs.
How Are We Helping
WWF launched an international effort to save
wildlife in 1961, rescuing black rhinos—among many
other species—from the brink of extinction.
Conservation efforts have helped the total number
of black rhinos grow from 2,410 in 1995 to 4,880 in
2010. We work to stop poaching, increase rhino
populations, improve law enforcement and tackle
illegal rhino trade.
Polar Bear
Threats
Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt seals, rest and breed.
For more than 20 years the summer sea ice has been decreasing in size and melting for
longer periods of time. Bears must move longer distances to stay with the rapidly
receding ice. In most areas, they come ashore when ice melts and rely on fat stores until
the ice refreezes so they can go back out to hunt. Some polar bears, especially in the
south of their range where sea ice is gone longest, now suffer from malnutrition. In
extreme cases—especially females with cubs— they may face starvation.
Description
Polar bears are classified as marine mammals
because they spend most of their lives on the sea ice
of the Arctic Ocean. They have a thick layer of body
fat and a water-repellant coat that insulates them
from the cold air and water. Considered talented
swimmers, they can sustain a pace of six miles per
hour by paddling with their front paws and holding their
hind legs flat like a rudder.
How Are We Helping
Scientists believe that a natural safety net of ice in the High Arctic of
Canada and Greenland covering 320 million acres—or twice the size of
Texas—may persist longer than the ice anywhere else. Since 1992, WWF
has been working with partners to sustainably preserve the rich
biodiversity of this region.
Blue Whale
Threats
Like other large whales, blue whales are
threatened by environmental change including
habitat loss and toxics. Blue whales can also
be harmed by ship strikes and by becoming
entangled in fishing gear. Although commercial
whaling no longer represents a threat, climate
change and its impact on krill (shrimp-like
crustaceans), blue whales' major prey, makes
this cetacean particularly vulnerable.
Description
The blue whale is
the largest animal on
the planet, weighing
as much as 200 tons
(approximately 33
elephants).
How Are We Helping
The International Whaling Commission (IWC)
is the body charged with regulating whaling
and addressing the vast number of other
threats to whales, dolphins and porpoises
in our oceans such as shipping, climate
change, and bycatch. WWF works to make
the IWC more effective in reducing all these
threats to whales.