Sobering Footage Shows Orangutan Fighting Off Excavator to Protect His Home

Every year, as a direct result of deforestation for palm oil, approximately 6,000 orangutans are killed. Not only is the ingredient (which is common in household products) devastating animals’ natural habitats, it is polluting the environment. Activists aren’t the only people distraught by this fact. Orangutans and other animals who are being forced from their homes are also less than pleased by humanity’s rampant greed. This was made evident when International Animal Rescue captured footage of an orangutan attempting to defend his home from loggers.

As The Independent reports, the footage was captured in 2013 but was only recently released. The short clip shows a distraught orangutan walking toward a bulldozer which is destroying his habitat in the Sungai Putri forest in Borneo, Indonesia. After slapping the machine’s bucket, he frantically tries to escape. 

Watch the video below:

The organization wrote on Facebook:

“This desperate orangutan is frantically seeking refuge from the destructive power of the bulldozer; a machine that has already decimated everything else around him.”

While the orangutan was rescued by the animal welfare group, his home was, unfortunately, destroyed. In the same post, the charity warned of the effects logging has on animals’ homes, as it often forces them to areas with humans nearby which “frequently leads to conflict.”

The plight of the orangutans is a cause everyone should be passionate about. Why? Because humans are responsible for the mass amount of suffering taking place in Indonesia, as well as rainforests around the world. According to the World Wildlife Fund, worldwide orangutan populations have halved in the past 60 years. And in the last 20 years, 55 percent of the animals’ natural habitats have been destroyed.

Enough is enough. If you’d like to take action, support organizations like International Animal Rescue and donate to support their efforts. Finally, share this article to raise awareness about the issue.