Researcher: Orangutans could go extinct in 20 years
Washington-AP -- A Harvard researcher warns that orangutans could go extinct within ten to 20 years due to illegal logging in their habitats. The researcher says the world's estimated 25-thousand orangutans live only in Indonesia and Malaysia -- and illegal loggers are shrinking their habitat.
Cheryl Knott says the apes depend on the forests for food, shelter and travel. They spend most of their lives in trees.
Knott says the Indonesian government periodically sends police in to protect the apes, but the loggers return when the police leave.
Her work is sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
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