Soccer News: Join FC Barcelona Team Captain Carles Puyol as He Helps Orangutans

“Every year, deforestation, hunting and illegal trade push orangutans closer to extinction. If we don't ACT NOW orangutans will soon vanish forever,” is written on the homepage of the 'Act Now For Orangutans' website. In big are the words, I CARE, DO YOU?

The Orangutans are Asian great apes. Native to the rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans spend most of their time in trees. These reddish-brown haired primates may not be seen playing soccer but have strong social bonds especially between mothers and their offspring. Why should you care about Oranutans?

Spanih soccer star Carles Puyol, who captains FC Barcelona and led Spain to the World Cup title one year ago cares. Puyol is now tackling an even bigger challenge than bringing his soccer team to great heights of success, now he is turning his efforts off field to save endangered orangutans.

Puyol is the face of "Act Now for Orangutans," a new campaign from the United Nations Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) and International Animal Rescue (IAR) that seeks to halt the orangutan's dramatic slide towards extinction. Less than 66,000 wild orangutans are thought to remain in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra, and more than half of that population has been lost since 1950.

Puyol is the centrepiece of dramatic posters that state, "I Care - Do You?" and asks supporters to visit a special website that provides information on orangutan conservation, re-forestation, and the impact of palm oil production on orangutan habitat.

Orangutans fight for survival against the relentless spread of deforestation, mainly to clear land for oil palm plantations. When rainforests are destroyed, orangutans are easy prey for poachers, who kill the adults for meat and capture the babies to sell into the illegal wildlife trade.

Now, the United Nations’ Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) is teaming up with International Animal Rescue (IAR) and football star Carles Puyol to raise awareness and funds on behalf of orangutans. If we ACT NOW, it might not be too late.

For every individual who pledges their support on the 'Act Now For Orangutans' website, GRASP will plant a tree to help expand key forests surrounding Sumatra's Gunung Leuser National Park - a major orangutan habitat.