Thirteen orangutans are tasting freedom on tiny Salat Island in Indonesia. It’s one of the last places in the world where they can be safely released. BEAT Hauling these sedated apes was just one step in a fraught quest to save a critically endangered species. The population has dropped 80 percent over the last 75 years. Orangutans reproduce slowly, since babies spend almost a decade with their moms. That’s the longest of any animal. When young are brought to this sanctuary, they learn life skills from surrogate human parents. BEAT The main threat to the survival of the species is loss of habitat, usually to palm oil companies like the one that helped purchase Salat Island.