Orangutans are one of the world's most endangered species. They are now found only in Borneo, part of Malaysia, and Sumatra, an island of Indonesia.
These countries are also the world's biggest producers of palm oil, found in about one in 10 products in your supermarket - and it is palm oil that is the key threat to orangutan survival.
The massive deforestation that has taken place to create plantation space is destroying their natural habitat.
This is what Auckland Zoo wanted to tell children when they attended their holiday programme this week but the sponsor of the programme, Tourism Malaysia, did not like the message.
They are known for their intelligence, but it is human stupidity that has seen orangutan numbers decline.
Auckland Zoo has nine Bornean orangutans, and there are just 25,000 left in the world.
"It sounds like a big number, but these are the slowest-breeding mammals on the planet," says the zoo's Peter Fraser.
"There's eight years between births, and if their habitat is disturbed, they don't breed."
But most at risk are Sumatran orangutans, with a population of only 7,000. They are dying out because their forest home is being logged to make way for palm oil plantations.
"Palm oil itself is not a bad product," says Mr Fraser, "nothing wrong with it. Although it's slightly high in fats, it's in a lot of products, it's the production of palm oil we have a problem with."
The UN and Greenpeace back that up. If it was not for palm oil, they would not be cutting down the trees.
As active supporters of the efforts to save the orangutan, Auckland Zoo wanted a school holiday programme that would tell kids and their parents about the issues facing this great ape.
The plan was to give each child a pretend passport. As they went around the zoo they would answer questions, and if they got the answers right, go in a draw for a family trip to Borneo to see the orangutans. The big sponsor: Tourism Malaysia.
But there was one question that did not make the sponsor happy: 'What is the single greatest threat to orangutans?'
Tourism Malaysia wanted all references to palm oil removed: palm oil is, after all, one of Malaysia's biggest exports.
"They requested that we remove any reference to palm oil," says Mr Fraser, "and that's something that's not negotiable for us.
"Conservation here at Auckland Zoo is at the heart of what we do, and palm oil a key issue, and we cannot have a programme talking about conservation in southeast Asia, and Borneo, without mentioning palm oil.
"(It was) a disappointing decision because we would lose the holiday programme, but an easy decision in that again, this is what we do, its what our visitors expect of us and we would let ourselves down if we made any other decision."
Tourism Malaysia says, as a government-funded body it can not be involved in what it considered to be a political campaign. It says it offered to pay for a separate pamphlet about palm oil, but the zoo did not want to do this. As result, it pulled out of the sponsorship of the holiday programme.
Palm oil is found in a surprising number of products, like food, detergents and cosmetics.
It certainly shocked nine-year-old Isabella Wilson who, after visiting the zoo, went home and cleared her mother's pantry of all products containing the oil.
"I stopped buying shapes, noodles and Tim Tams. Tim tams were my ultimate favourite, so it was very hard to give those up," she says.
Inspired, Isabella also gave a speech to her schoolmates at Pt Chevalier Primary.
"We have the power to stop this mindless killing. Stop buying products that contain palm oil. Demand manufacturers to use other sources of vegetable oil, or palm oil that has not been harvested in Indonesia and Malaysia," she said.
Isabella and Mr Fraser have learnt one lesson: standing up for what you believe in can cost, but it can be worth it.
"She's given up Tim Tams and instant noodles because of palm oil, and good for her," says Mr Fraser. "It's her approach to palm oil. What we're doing is trying to raise awareness and trying to get people to make their own minds up, and if it has cost us a holiday programme, then that's a price we're prepared to pay.
"I don't want Isabella to become an adult in a world where we've let orangutans slip away."