First, their forest is cut down. Then when the hungry orangutans come searching for food in the village they are beaten?

Ferry Latif / Reuters
Orangutans are tied to the ground as villagers look on in Sungai Pinyuh, Indonesia's West Kalimantan province, November 22, 2010. The primates were captured as they came to the village to look for food and were beaten, resulting to the death of one orangutan, according to a villager. Rainforests cover 60 percent of Indonesia, and yet the country is one of the world's leading emitters of the greenhouse gas blamed for global warming. The reason is that Indonesia also has one of the planet's fastest rates of deforestation. Deforestation is destroying the natural habitats of the primate and driving them out of forests.


cage, beat and torture those HUMAN animals and set these and other innocent animals free. The humans here have proven themselves to be the lower beings and should be punished for the pain they have inflicted on these poor creatures.
This is horrible. Is anyone going to help save them? Humans are the real animals. Why did they have to be beaten? How sad and disheartening. This makes me want to cry. What is wrong with people? Why do they have to take all of their habitat away from them?
With each passing breath, I am more and more and more disgusted by the human race. It tears my heart to pieces seeing these little guys like this....
Beat the people and leave them to starve. This makes me SO angry!
o my God! i just cried when i read this, this world is insane and Indonesia is one of the sickest places on this earth. i cannot believe how cruel and sick this truly is.
Will someone speak up about what we can do to help? Sounding all sad may make us feel better, but it will do nothing for these innocent and beautiful creatures. We live in a world where PROFIT takes precedence over everything. All the time. Over animals, over people, over integrity.... And what political party do the profit mongers most often belong to? The REPUBLICANS! Give those millionaires more tax breaks so they can ship off jobs to India and keep more PROFITS in their pockets.
America is the worst offender. Other countries are unfortunately following suit. Beyond shameful.
Jennifer, there is no doing anything. Republicans do concentrate some of the more vicious of the species in our own country - but that mindset exists in every age, in every country. Even the native americans that we tend to romanticize as being in touch with the earth - were vicious against one another, and against animals. Entire herds of mammoths and buffalo would be driven off cliffs - more than the tribes could ever use for food. Archaeologists and paleontologists have found the bones of these mass-kills - with incriminating stone arrowheads scattered throughout. In fact, most of the large mammals that once roamed North America had already been driven to extinction by the native americans before the anglo-saxons ever got here. As the wise Buddhist monks teach us (at least those of us willing to listen and learn) - "there is suffering".
And here we have the graphic illustration of the results of ignorance and overpopulation. The only thing we can do to stop this is die en masse. Nature really needs to evolve a super-global-plague for the man problem soon. Sorry, but nature is cruel. When it comes to cruelty, we seem to have nature on the mat. But it ALWAYS wins. We will at some point, have our numbers severely reduced, or join the species we have extincted in the fossil record. Meanwhile, somewhere in Indonesia, two orangs sit -frightened, hurt, sick, starving, dying - being gawked, poked and laughed at by a group of vicious manimals. May a most virulent virus be spread from these orangs to the gawkers. Let justice be served.
The animals are innocent in this world. I've got my fist clenched with tears in my eyes. People are evil.
Impose international sanctions on Indonesia until they clean up their act.
this photo is beyond disturbing - such horrific, senseless cruelty. my stomach turned and i burst into tears when i saw this. humans are savage and greedy - plain and simple. this act was vicious and the perpetrators should be punished. shame on those who allow this to happen. why has no one gone in to rescue these beautiful beings????
I agree this is terrible, but where is the out cry for all the unborn children that are murdered everyday? If we can feel the loss for the orangutans, whales, tigers and other animals, why do our human children get categorized among the refuse?
We (humans) need to rethink some of our proiorities!
Because humans are not an endangered species.
Troubled Citizen why don't you prioritize a born child's need over an unborn's one if you're going to start making a list. I could refer you to a few foster programs for children born to crack abusing mothers and negligent parents for other reasons looking for a warm safe place at night. Once they all are safe then I might acknowledge to you're completely off topic comment for this blog.
there is enough outcry for that issue every four years in america when the rulers of our nation are chosen based on their stance on an issue that is none of their business. is abortion right or wrong who knows, only God. however, it is not an issue that should be up to national debate. how is it the right of a government or private people to tell a woman what to do with her body? you people can never stick to one issue without bringing in all of your petty ideals. this is not the place for a political or religious discussion. we are talking about cruelty to animals. get with the discussion or get out.
There are a lot of important causes out there. Please don't degrade this one to further your own agenda.
Troubled, do some research on overpopulation. Dont limit it to humans. Here is a cold hard fact. The more individuals in an animal population - the lesser its "value". This is why we consider rats and pigeons pests. Not too many people shed a tear to see a rat with snapped neck in a trap. Man is now acting like a plague on the planet - because of population numbers. It is horrid to see man's cruelty on his fellow man. It is usually the strong victimizing the weak. But this violence increases as our populations grow. It is no different than the increasing aggression seen in rats as they become more and more crowded in a cage. Why do our children get categorized among the refuse? Nobody categorizes a human child as refuse except for the disturbed, unfit parent. And every sperm is not sacred. Abortion is just one more example of the vast capacity the human animal has for viciousness. It has never been the case that we have refrained from perpetuating great violence on our fellow man. From zygote to centenarian - man has not refrained from slaying them. Does this unpleasant reality somehow lessen the violence we also commit against the earth and our fellow animals? No. I make no distinction between an abortion of a six month fetus, the slitting of the throat of a dolphin, or the gassing of a Jew in Nazi Germany. All are examples of the same horrid violence man is capable of. We are the devils, and we create the hell. As for overpopulation, we are completely incapable of controlling our numbers, and I do not consider abortion the means to do it. We will never reign in our numbers - because we are animals. Nature must control our numbers.
Troubled, how many kids are you supporting? Why should we bring more kids into this world when some in our government want to ignore those who are already here. Let's cut food programs, medical care, housing support, unemployment, etc. Are you one who demands tax cuts so support programs can be cut or eliminated? It seems the most vocal arbortion protestors are the same people who want to cut entitlement programs. Your role model is probably Ebeneezer Scrooge, paraphrasing " why do we have debtors' prisons, let's put poor people there". Make sure you are sinless before you cast the first stone.
BRAVO TO ALL of the above remarks reponding to "Troubled Citizen" who, indeed, is troubled.
It's sickening to see these poor animals tied up like that and for what? Because WE have torn down their homes and devastated their food sources! There is absolutely NO excuse for this, none! I don't care what these animals have done, but I know they haven't done anything to warrant this kind of treatment. They have only followed their natural instincts to survive and we, as humans, are going to condemn them for that? Bulls***! There are plenty of humans out there who should be beaten and put in the same damn cages! God it makes me sick! I don't have the words to adequately describe my anger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And some people wonder why I love animals more than people.. This is one good reason, To treat Gods creatures like this is a shame.
You and me both Tommy...
MSNBC.com posted this very true, honest, and emotion evoking picture, but if find myself very confused. I thought this was a photojournalism blog? Yes there is a photo and many that are graphic like this are used to motivate people to change or right a wrong. In this case an emotion evoking picture was clearly taken of a mother orangatan with fist and feet swollen from defending her child. But where is the journalism? The picture has clearly grabbed my attention but shouldn't there be some journalism somewhere to create a forum that could answer the following questions; What can I do to help stop Indonesian deforestation? Are the animal support groups that help in situations like these to give the poor animals shelter, if not is there another option? I understand that this comment section serves some what as a forum but I think it is very lazy of the photo"journalist" to not take the next steps in leading the forum in a discussion or with facts and details that can help inform everyone so disgusted by this how to help stop it from happening again. Without taking the next steps in informing it's readers of where to go to help, it feels like MSNBC.com just posts a picture like this to gain attetion through our disgusting behavior as humans, than trying to help channel all of this disgust and shock in this forum into positive change and help. Very dissapointed MSNBC.com!
all in the name of progress. when are we going to wake up as a race. a race of humans. we are constantly destroying the world and the creatures that coexist with us in the name of progress. this is not what mankind was intended to do. we destroy everything we touch. when will it be enough?
take america for example. we are the most prosperous nation on earth and yet we under fund public education and have homeless children starving in the streets while we also boast multiple multi-billionaires and millionaires. all in the name of progress.
take the rulers of oil producing nations. they support human rights violations, degradation of women, murder, executions while they live in palaces and create artificial cities in the ocean for other billionaires to enjoy. all in the name of progress.
take the internet, technology was supposed to make our lives easier. has it? we work longer hours, are connected 24 hours a day, have access to child pornography, have top secret documents released to the public, and have created another opportunity for the rich to exploit the poor. all in the name of progress.
i am a veteran and fully support our troops but i am left wondering what our men and women are dying for? is it deforestation, cruelty to animals, ignorant and starving children, and exploitation of all of us that survive each day by basic means. we know that those in power, regardless of their nationality, are in bed together and only have their own interests on the agenda. how much longer before they destroy the planet that we live on and take all of us with it? all in the name of progress.
Dear Troubled Citizen - why pose such a question? You are comparing apples and oranges. I am tired of people making these statements.....as if there is something wrong with expressing grief, disgust, outrage over the abuse of animals. They too are sentient beings - without voices, and often without advocates. Non-human beings deserve to be a priority - we all share this planet, we all feel emotions, pain etc. And...it seems to me that your comment should be part of an entirely different conversation/thread.....
If you want to help donate to OFI or sponsor an orphan.
http://www.orangutan.org/
Done! It was easy too, just text in, approve and they tag it on to your wireless bill.
OMG, I just want to pick up those poor little guys and bring them home! That's terrible. The human race is really a plague on this earth.
The next time there's a tsumani, earthquake or volcano in Indonesia, you can bet that I won't donate a dime!
Ughhh, I can't even look at these photos again!! People are so disgustingly cruel to animals for NO reason other than greed and selfishness. Animal lovers and supporters need to come together and spread these cruel stories for others to understand that this stuff Does happen to innocent animals. People make me sick, I care more for animals.
they should take away all of our weapons and machinery, place us naked in the forest, and then see who is on the top of the food chain.
HAHA! I like that. Who is the THEY though.. they.
God? Oh great compassionate God that lets man do this to his beloved creation.
Maybe if there are aliens, they can come down and give us a good a$$-whoopin. Just like in Independence Day - when the president asks a captured alien what it wants from the human race - and the alien answers - DIE.
I always got a kick out of that scene in the movie - because its so ironic. The prez then shoots the alien. It was not lost on me that the alien species that wanted to replace us as despoiler of a world was just like us anyway! It would just be replacing one vicious species with another - same results, different player.
IF YOU WANT TO HELP - DONATE OR SPONSOR AN ORPHAN AT OFI
WWW.ORANGUTAN.ORG
Can someone, anyone please do something to help them? Are there any groups that can step in to free them and put them in a zoo or even another forest?
How many of us have hit a deer with our car? Chased or killed a raccoon or skunk out of your yard or garage? It's easy to say "look at those people over there", but the driving forces are the same. Think about it.
The sad thing is that we do the same thing to our fellow human beings. Why do we have kids in the US going hungry? Why are there people dying in the US and other countries from heat in the summer and cold in the winter? Why are people dying from lack of medical care? We need to look out for humans and animals alike, in other words all of God's creatures. We do that by protecting the environment, among other things, which by extension, takes care of all life.
Let's take action and we can do it by writing to the president of the Republic of Indonesia and the Indonesian Embassy in Washington D.C. The best way to make change of any kind is to speak out against injustices and this is as big as they come. I hope you can open the two links below. If not, please just search for the "Republic of Indonesia" and for "Indonesian Embassy Washington D.C.". On both sites you will find a contact link. Let's take direct action! thanks,
www.indonesia.go.id/en/
www.embassyofindonesia.org/