The Singkil peat swamp, part of Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem, is the largest of three remaining coastal peat swamp forests on Sumatra’s west coast and is known as "the orangutan capital of the world." It supports some of the highest densities of Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) ever recorded. Despite being legally protected as the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, the swamp is being cleared, drained, and burned for oil palm and other crops. Satellite investigations have documented extensive illegal clearing and plantation expansion inside the reserve, with canals dug to lower water tables and transform ancient forests into agricultural land.