August 19th is World Orangutan Day! The day is to help encourage the public to take action in protecting this amazing species in the wild.

Orangutans are losing land at an extremely rapid rate to make way for Palm Oil Plantations and are also being sold on the black market into the illegal pet trade.

Orangutans are “gardeners” of the forest, playing a vital role in seed dispersal in their habitats. They live in tropical forests and prefer forest in river valleys and floodplains of their respective islands. Orangutans’ extremely low reproductive rate makes their populations highly vulnerable. Females give birth to one infant at a time about every 3-5 years, so these species can take a long time to recover from population declines. With human pressure only increasing, orangutans face an increasing risk of extinction.

You can learn more about lions on the official website.

Make sure you mark this date on your PR calendars and prepare your media pitches accordingly. Get involved with any initiatives or take it as a chance to learn more about the subject.