ENTRY DESCRIPTION
The island of Borneo, which is split between the countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, was once covered with a lush tropical rainforest, but in the wake of ongoing deforestation and the expansion of plantation farming, the habitats of the island’s endemic and endangered species are being destroyed rapidly. Relentless deforestation has precipitated the loss of 90% of the orangutan population in just 100 years. At this rate, some expect this species to become extinct within the next 20 years.
When the orangutan baby came under the protection of the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, it was already motherless. Perhaps it had strayed, or perhaps its mother was killed by humans. In either case, it has almost no chance of ever seeing its mother again. I entered the cage house, faced the protected orphans, and quietly pointed the camera. Perhaps because they were frightened of me, a new person they hadn’t seen before, they all huddled together at the back wall. One turned a vigilant eye toward me and the other looked down with frightened eyes. A staff member explained that there are some orphans with deep trauma, perhaps because they witnessed the deaths of their own mothers. This resembles a human child. But outside of the cage, deforestation continues even today. The number of orphans will probably continue to rise, as the clash between civilization and the wild continues.

AUTHOR
Yosuke Kashiwakura (b. 1978, currently living in Japan.) . He was awarded National Geographic Photo Contest/Nature Category-Honorable Mention, Px3 Paris Photography Prize/Nature Wildlife 1st Place Winner, Px3 Paris Photography Prize/Nature Earth 1st Place Winner, Monochrome Photography Awards/1st Place Winner - Landscape Photographer of the Year 2014, People 3rd Place Winner 2014, LensCulture Earth Awards 2015/SINGLE IMAGE CATEGORY 2nd Place, Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards, International Photography Awards. His work went on to be displayed in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. His photographs depict natural scenery, the confrontation between human and nature, and environmental problems. He is active in a wide variety of media, including magazines, various publications, and advertisements.

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