14 DAY TRIAL // Orangutans are now in danger of going extinct, and habitat destruction is the main culprit. In an attempt to help them escape this fate, celebs have joined hands and have launched a fundraising campaign which they hope will collect at least ₤1 million (€1.19 million / $1.62 million) in donations.
The campaign runs from October 2 to October 16, and is supported by Sir David Attenborough, Bill Oddie and Chris Packham. The campaign is titled the Big Match Fortnight.
Mongabay tells us that the money raised during this campaign will serve to protect secondary forests in the Malaysian Borneo, where hopefully orangutans will not just survive, but also thrive.
For those unaware, secondary forests are basically patches of land that logging, be it legal or otherwise, has stripped of their biggest trees.
Wildlife researchers say that, contrary to expectations, orangutans have no issues living in these thinned forests. On the contrary, they actually enjoy setting up camps in such regions.
Apart from providing orangutans with a home, these secondary forests are expected to act as corridors and help different orangutan populations keep in touch with one another, thus ensuring that the species can successfully breed.
“WLT [World Land Trust] has identified a corridor of adjoining parcels of land along the north bank of the Kinabatangan River, between two existing reserves.”
“By making strategic purchases to secure this land bridge between reserves, the overall area of forest for Orang-utans will be greatly increased,” conservationists write on the official website for this fundraising campaign.
The best part about this initiative is that the World Land Trust has promised to double whatever donations are made during these two weeks that do not exceed ₤500,000 (€598,086 / $810,080). All the more reason to get involved and contribute to this green project, many would say.
Commenting on the importance of this project, Sir David Attenborough said that, “Every bit of the rainforest that is knocked down is less space for orangutans. They have been reduced very seriously in the past decade, and we must do all we can to reverse this devastation.”
“I fully support World Land Trust in its bid to save this important land,” he added.