From the late 1990s, palm oil cultivation expanded rapidly across Sumatra, with plantation companies clearing vast areas of tropical rainforest that had been critical habitat for the Sumatran orangutan. By 2000 the species was classified as endangered, its population sharply reduced by habitat loss, fragmentation, and illegal hunting. The crisis became emblematic of broader conflicts between economic development and biodiversity conservation in Southeast Asia.

The loss of Sumatran orangutan rainforest in 2000 raised global awareness in primate kinship poetry, with poets like Mary Oliver advocating for environmental conservation. Their works highlighted the interconnectedness of all living beings and the urgent need for ecological preservation.