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Orangutan Desperately Fights off Excavator That Is Destroying His Home in The Forest

Thankfully, the heartbreaking scene of the orangutan's struggle came to the attention of an animal welfare charity that rescued him.
PUBLISHED DEC 2, 2024
(L) Sumatran male orangutan swinging from a vine in a forest. (R) An excavator felling a tree in a forest. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Anup Shah, (R) Photo VS)
(L) Sumatran male orangutan swinging from a vine in a forest. (R) An excavator felling a tree in a forest. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Anup Shah, (R) Photo VS)

Inside the heart of Sungai Putri Forest in West Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia, the rain was pouring down. Sitting on a branch, an orangutan was startled as he found himself surrounded by the sounds of hissing motors and clenching metal machines cutting down the trees. Swarmed below on the forest floor, some humans were yelling. The orangutan needed to stop them because he knew that they were here to demolish his home. He crawled to an upper branch and tried clinging to the bulldozer blade. But as it moved, the mechanical hand pushed him away, throwing him down on the ground.

Wild Orang Utan in Borneo Danum Valley Sabah (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Khaichuin Sim)
Wild Orang Utan in Borneo Danum Valley Sabah. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Khaichuin Sim)

The orangutan didn’t give up. He kept tugging the machine with his paws. But before he could do anything, the cold metal of the machine catapulted its grip away from him and in another moment, the great ape heard the sound of a crackling tree log. The heartbreaking scene was captured by International Animal Rescue (IAR) in 2013. Just as humans mercilessly destroyed the magical "home tree" of the Omatikaya clan in the 2009 film Avatar, some loggers destroyed the entire forest, leaving this powerless orangutan stranded. Unlike humans, he couldn’t express his rage in words. He fought to save his home, but the ruthless tree-cutters deluged him with a trauma that he will never forget. 

An excavator felling trees in a forest in Forks, Washington. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Cavan Images)
An excavator felling trees in a forest in Forks, Washington. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Cavan Images)

Luckily, IAR’s team was nearby and as soon as they noticed the orangutan’s plight, they rescued him and shifted him to another protected part of the forest. "This desperate orangutan is frantically seeking refuge from the destructive power of the bulldozer- a machine that has already decimated everything else around him," IAR wrote after posting the footage, according to The Independent. They added, “Unfortunately, scenes like this are becoming more and more frequent in Indonesia. Deforestation has caused the orangutan population to plummet; habitats are destroyed and orangutans are left to starve and die.” 

Sad Young Orangutan Lying Down (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Emma Holman)
Sad Young Orangutan Lying Down (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Emma Holman)

While the charity found a new home for the orangutan, they warned how deforestation causes animals to move to areas where humans live - leading to conflict. This is not the only orangutan who suffered from the endless appetite of humans’ desires. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the number of wild Bornean orangutans has gravely decreased in the past century, mainly due to illegal tree-cutting, habitat loss, and deforestation. A century ago, there were about 230,000 of these beasts were there, while now only 104,700 are left. Forest News states that 6.04 million hectares of old-growth forest have been chopped down in the past few years. About half of the area was covered in industrial plantations, leaving so many animals helpless and deserted.



 

On X, where the footage was reposted by Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema), a climate change campaigner, he reflected, “Time to protect the planet and everything on it.” @Ben0277987 expressed that this was “monstrous.” @jonralstonlmt commented, “This absolutely breaks my heart.” @plovercox said, “Heartbreaking to see the desperation in this orangutan's eyes. We must act now to protect our planet and its incredible wildlife.” @deboerk07 called out to all these loggers, saying, “We are at war with nature, if we win we lose everything.” 



 

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