Sometimes it’s hard to see how we can have an impact on the lives of wild animals half a world away. Even if we want to help endangered species, it can be difficult to see the connections between their lives and ours. Take orangutans. These Zootles Great Apes live on the island of Borneo in the Pacific Ocean, and they’re endangered. But even though they’re far away, the threats that they face are close to home—in fact, you can probably find one of those threats in your home: peanut butter.
How can peanut butter endanger orangutans? Are they allergic? No—the Bornean forests where they live are being destroyed so people can plant palm trees, which are used to create palm oil. Palm oil is used in many products that we use every day, including peanut butter. Avoiding products that contain palm oil is one (tiny) way to help orangutans (don’t worry, you don’t have to give up your PB&Js—just look for a brand that doesn’t use palm oil). For other ideas about how to help the animals that we all love, keep reading Zoobooks!
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons contributor Dave59