Heartbreaking video of an orangutan fighting bulldozer pulling down tree goes viral
A disturbing video of an orangutan seemingly attempting to fight off a bulldozer pulling down trees in its natural habitat is going viral on the social media. The clip, which was taken in Indonesia in 2003, was released to the public two days ago and was filmed and shared on Facebook by an animal welfare organization called the International Animal rescue.
The 30-seconds clip shows a distressed orangutan trying to "confront" a bulldozer which is felling trees.
The Internation Animal Rescue (IAR), on Facebook, wrote, "This dramatic footage shows the devastating impact deforestation is having on precious orangutan habitat."
"This desperate orangutan is frantically seeking refuge from the destructive power of the bulldozer; a machine that has already decimated everything else around him," the organization added.
Reports state that the organization, which was present at the site in 2013 when the incident happened, managed to rescue the primate from the region.
"Despite all the obstacles thrown at them, our team were able to rescue this orangutan and bring him to safety. Unfortunately, scenes like this are becoming more and more frequent in Indonesia. Deforestation has caused the orangutan population to plummet; habitats are destroyed and orangutans are left to starve and die," IAR wrote on its Facebook page.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, Bornean orangutan population has declined by more than 50 percent over the past 60 years. Reports state that their habitat has been reduced by at least 55 percent over the past 20 years.
The non-profit animal rescue organization also added, "Unfortunately, scenes like this are becoming more and more frequent in Indonesia. Deforestation has caused the orangutan population to plummet; habitats are destroyed and orangutans are left to starve and die."
IAR shared the heartbreaking footage on June 5, World Environment Day, to send a message to the viewers. The clip has now been viewed more than 155,0000 times and shared over 4,900 times.
The video has incited strong, emotional reactions from the viewers as many of them said that the clip was "hard to watch."
One of the Facebook users wrote in the comments section of the clip, "This is so hard to watch! This orangutan was trying to protect the only home that he/she knew... A human would have done the same thing if someone was destroying his/her home."
While another user wrote, "Why didn't these workmen stop what they were doing to this poor creature... they should have ensured the animal was away and safe before continuing their work," comments another.
A third user wrote, "Cheap, unhealthy palm oil is not worth decimating an entire species and the environment. To all those making the effort to try to end this and save the environment... and all impacted animals, THANK YOU!"