The Orangutan

The Orangutan...click for snapshot

The only great ape that lives on the Asian continent, the orangutan is found on the Malaysian islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Its name means "person of the forest," and it is one of thousands of species of wildlife that live in tropical Asian forests.

The orangutan's story is similar to that of a large number of Asian animals: its forest habitat is being rapidly destroyed by conversion to agriculture, both by large commercial plantations and smaller subsistence farms. At the same time, humans are killing the orangutans prey species (birds and small mammals) for food and capturing it for the pet trade.

Estimates vary as to how many orangutans remain in the wild, but experts agreed they are disappearing at an alarming rate. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, orangutans are in danger of becoming extinct in the wild in as little as 10 years.

Click here for Full Story at Endangered Earth News

Giant Panda

The Giant Panda....click here for snapshot

It is estimated that there are somewhere between 700 and 1,000 giant pandas still alive in the wild.

Habitat loss is the greatest cause of the decline of the giant panda. Large areas of China's forest have been cleared for agriculture, timber and firewood to meet the demand of it's growing population.

Manchurian Crane

The Manchurian Crane....click here for snapshot

It is estimated the total wild population of the Manchurian Crane (also known as the Red-crowned Crane) is around 1500. The main breeding grounds and habitats for the crane are the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and northeast China and southeastern Russia.

The survival of the Manchurian Crane is under threat from agricultural development, dams, wetlands degradation, poaching, poisoning, industrial development and natural disasters.