Orangutan under threat

Survival at stake: The orangutan are forced to move to higher areas when food becomes scarce in lowland forests.

KOTA KINABALU: Climate change is causing a rise in temperature and the gradual destruction of plants, which are food sources to the orangutan, said Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu.

“When food becomes scarce, the orangutan will move to higher areas,” he said, adding that this would make it harder for them as forests were becoming more isolated and fragmented due to development.