Orangutan Fun Facts

Where are orangutans found?
Orangutans are found in Indonesia and Malaysia on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.

How many species of orangutan are there?
There are two species of orangutan - the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus).

Are orangutans monkeys or apes?
Orangutans are a species of great ape along with gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos. The great apes are a group of mammals that all have large brains, forward-facing eyes and gripping hands. Humans are also great apes. In fact we share 96.4% of our genetic makeup with orangutans! Apes and monkeys are both primates. The easiest way to distinguish between monkeys and apes is to look for a tail. Apes don’t have tails where as most monkey species do.

How long do orangutans live?
In the wild, orangutans may live up to 45 years or more. The oldest captive orangutan was a male called Guas” at the Philadelphia Zoo who lived until he was 58!

What does the word ‘orangutan’ mean?
Orangutan means ‘person of the forest’. It comes from the Malay words ‘orang’ meaning people and ‘hutan’ meaning forest.

What is ‘arboreal’?
Arboreal means tree-living. The orangutan is the largest arboreal animal in the world and is well adapted for life in the trees. The orangutan can grasp branches with both its hands and feet and has very mobile shoulder and hip joints. Both these features help the orangutan to travel through the forest canopy. Orangutans make and sleep in a new nest every night.

How sociable are orangutans?
Unlike gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos, orangutans do not live in large social or family groups. They are semi-solitary animals. Adult males are usually found alone and adult females are usually accompanied by one or two offspring. Downloaded from the Orangutan Foundation UK web site: www.orangutan.org.uk

Do male and female orangutans look different?
Orangutans are what we call ‘sexually dimorphic’ – that is there are visible differences between males and females. Adult males can reach 1.5m in height and weigh as much as 120kg. Females are much smaller. They grow up to 1m tall and weigh about 45kg. Male orangutans develop large cheek pads and a throat pouch when mature. The male inflates his throat pouch to make a loud sound called a “long call” which alerts other orangutans to his
presence and attract females.

What do orangutans eat?
Orangutans are principally frugivorous (fruit eating). Ninety per cent of their diet consists of fruit but orangutans also eat nectar, honey, bark, leaves, insects and fungi. An orangutans’ favourite fruit is the durian. Durians are renowned for their horrible smell but orangutans love them!

How long is pregnancy?
Female orangutans have their first baby at about 14-15 years old. Pregnancy lasts for 8½ months. Young orangutans have a lot to learn to survive in the forest and will stay with their mother until they are about 7 or 8 years old. This period of dependency is longer than any other primate apart from humans. Female
orangutans only have one baby approximately every 8 years and will have 3 or 4 young in their lifetime.

How endangered are orangutans?
In 1900, there were over 315,000 wild orangutans. Today, there are approximately 50,000. That is a decrease of more than 80% in just over 100 years! Only 7,000 of these remaining orangutans live in Sumatra. The Sumatran orangutan is classified as critically endangered and the Bornean orangutan is classified as endangered. It is thought that the Sumatran orangutan may be the first great ape to become extinct in
the wild.

Why are orangutans endangered?
The greatest threat to orangutans is the loss of their rainforest habitat. Tropical rainforests are being cut down for timber and the land cleared for mining and palm oil plantations. Orangutans have lost 80% of their
habitat in the last 20 years! Orangutans are occasionally killed or injured by plantation owners and farmers who consider orangutans to be pests. If a female orangutan is found with an infant, the mother
may be killed and the infant sold into the illegal pet trade. rehabilitation centres are set up to treat and care for sick, injured or orphaned orangutans with the ultimate aim of returning them back to the wild.
Downloaded from the Orangutan Foundation UK web site: www.orangutan.org.uk

Source:Orangutan.org.uk