After consuming the meat, certain parts are left for medicinal uses.

Bush meat has been part of the culture to indigenous people in Indonesia for nearly as long as 40 000 years. Orangutans are widely hunted not just for their meat, but also because it is believed that certain body parts contain medicinal properties. Many of the indigenous people also use the blood and fat of the orangutans to guard against forest fires. Orangutan meat is served even in restaurants in Indonesia, though they are not allowed to openly offer it to patrons.

As bush meat has been consumed for such a long time, many conservationists are nervous about approaching this topic with the locals, for fear of offending the locals.

Although the some of the population do not consume orangutan meat due to their Muslim believes, it has been estimated that between 750-1800 orangutans were killed in 2008 and about 54% of the orangutans were killed for their meat. With the gestation period being 9 months and females reproducing one child only every 7-9 years, it is clear that the small population of orangutans are not able to withstand this type of hunting.