‘Like kidnapping your grandpa’: why relocating orangutans threatens their survival

The endangered great apes of Malaysia and Indonesia struggle when translocated despite efforts to protect them, finds research

When authorities were called about reports of an orangutan in an Indonesian village, they arrived to find it bound with ropes by concerned local people. Worried about the animal's proximity to humans, plans for translocation were made: removing it to an undisturbed forest habitat, far from human settlements, where it could peacefully live in the treetops. But when they finally identified the 20-year-old male, they found it had been relocated before, but, instead of settling in the new site it had travelled about 130km (80miles) away.

Researchers are starting to realise that many great apes struggle when they are moved far from their homes, despite well-intentioned efforts to protect them.