Orang- utan numbers get a boost

According to today’s Telegraph orang-utan numbers have been boosted after a team surveying forests nestled between jagged, limestone cliffs in eastern Borneo island counted over 200 orang-utan nests.

This , indicates a "substantial" number of the animals, accordgin to Erik Meijaard, a senior ecologist at the US-based The Nature Conservancy."We can't say for sure how many," he said, but even the most cautious estimate would indicate "several hundred at least, maybe 1,000 or 2,000 even".

There are an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 orang-utans left in the wild, 90 per cent of them in Indonesia and the rest in neighbouring Malaysia. The countries are the world's top producers of palm oil and rainforests have been clear-cut and burned at alarming rates to make way for lucrative palm oil plantations.

The steep topography, poor soil and general inaccessibility of the mountains appear to have shielded the area from development, at least for now, said Meijaard. Its trees include those highly sought after for commercial timber.

Conservationists say the most immediate next step will be working with local authorities to protect the area and others that fall outside of national parks. A previously undiscovered population of several hundred also was found recently on Sumatra island, home to around 7,000.