CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -They are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN at present, with less than 14, 000 individuals in the wild. Sumatran orangutans face similar threats to their Bornean and Tapanuli counterparts.

Detailed explanation-2: -In addition to humans, there are 3 genera of great apes: chimpanzees and gorillas in Africa, and orangutans in Asia. They are all endangered, at a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future, probably within our own lifetime.

Detailed explanation-3: -Over the past few decades, 60 percent of gorillas have vanished, killed by disease and poachers. All great apes; gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos are Endangered or Critically Endangered and are facing a near universal decline.

Detailed explanation-4: -With no more than 800 individuals in existence, the Tapanuli orangutan is the most endangered of all great apes.

Detailed explanation-5: -Although the Act primarily aims to protect those species from extinction by restricting the national and international commercial trade in apes, it also regulates the treatment of “endangered” apes in the U.S. by making it illegal to “take” (meaning harass, harm, wound, or kill) captive apes.