Mystery Still Shrouds Alleged Orangutan Slaughter in E Kalimantan

"If one orangutan at a rehabilitation center represents 2 to 10 orangutans that have been killed, we estimate that in reality some 2.400 to 12.000 orangutans were exterminated," he added.

"Enough is enough. It’s time for us to enforce the law. This is a horrendous crime that needs to be stopped. If we do not enforce the law strictly, orangutans will continue to be killed. Indonesian laws should not be disregarded," he stated.

The NGO activist said that the COP was ready to give its full support to government efforts to find and present witnesses (to instances of orangutan killings) and dig up orangutans graveyards, so it can be used as evidence of the crimes against orangutans.

Indonesia is home to the world’s remaining population of critically endangered orangutans found only on Sumatra and Kalimantan (Borneo) Islands.

It is estimated that around 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans are left in the wild, 80 percent of them in Indonesia and the rest in Malaysia. Of the total number, about 7,300 orangutans are to be found in Aceh Darussalam and North Sumatra provinces, and many others in Central, West and East Kalimantan provinces.

The Bornean orangutan and Sumatran orangutan are classified by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as Endangered and Critically Endangered respectively, with the population of Sumatran orangutans down by 91 percent since 1900.