THE report came as a surprise: the orangutan could become extinct by the year 2025. The report prepared by the Global Environment Network of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a forewarning of what could befall the big ape 20 years from now.

According to WWF records, up till 1987 the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abeii)—found only in Indonesia and Malaysia—numbered between 45,000 and 60,000. In 2001 the number dropped