2021 Edition

Maxime Aliaga

The Last 800

Southeast Asia

Category - Wildlife in Crisis

The Last 800

A word from the photographer: “Tapanuli orangutan is officially the third species of orangutan discovered in 2017. But this new species has only 800 individuals remaining in the wild, which makes it the most endangered species of great apes. This isolated population lives in a remote forest of Batang Toru in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Even though other orangutan species are critically endangered, a hydro-dam is under construction right in the middle of their only habitat, thus reducing drastically their unique ecosystem and chance of survival.”