4 Days of Rain Wiped Out 7% of Rarest Great Ape
Newser • • world
Key Points:
- A four-day heavy rainfall event caused by Cyclone Senyar in November led to landslides that destroyed about 20,000 acres of habitat for the endangered Tapanuli orangutans in North Sumatra, Indonesia.
- The landslides killed an estimated 58 Tapanuli orangutans, representing roughly 7% of the global population of around 800 individuals and 11% of those in their core West Block habitat.
- The study published in Current Biology notes these figures may be conservative, as they do not account for additional habitat damage like canopy breakage or food shortages caused by the storm.
- Researchers attribute up to a 50% increase in rainfall intensity to human-driven climate warming, exacerbating the impact on this critically endangered great ape species.
- In response, the Indonesian government has temporarily suspended major industrial activities in the Batang Toru ecosystem to allow scientists to assess and implement conservation measures.