Apes to stay at home as Malaysia tweaks 'orangutan diplomacy'

Orangutans are critically endangered, according to the WWF, with habitat loss due to logging and agricultural expansion – particularly palm oil plantations. – Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is inviting countries that buy its palm oil to adopt orangutans but leave them in their natural habitat, local media reported, tweaking a plan that originally sought to send some abroad.

In a scheme modelled on China's "panda diplomacy", Malaysia announced in May that it would send the great apes as gifts to palm oil-purchasing countries, sparking an outcry among conservationists.