Study: Orangutan populations declining sharply

July 5th, 2008 in Biology /
Study: Orangutan populations declining sharply (AP)

In this Nov. 8, 2007, file photo, Moni, a 17-year-old orangutan, carries her four-day-old baby at Gembira Loka zoo in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The numbers of orangutans in Indonesia and Malaysia had declined sharply mostly due to illegal logging and the rapid expansion of palm oil plantations, a researcher said. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

(AP) -- Orangutan numbers have declined sharply on the only two islands where they still live in the wild and they could become the first great ape species to go extinct if urgent action isn't taken, a new study says.

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