About Orangutans

The name orangutan literally translates into English as man of the forest. It comes from Malay and Bahasa Indonesian orang (man) and hutan (forest). Orangutans are extremely intelligent creatures who clearly have the ability to reason and think. Their similarity to us is uncanny. Baby orangutans cry when theyre hungry, whimper when theyre hurt and smile at their mothers. They express emotions just like we do: joy, fear, anger, surprise. its all th ere. If you take a few minutes and watch an orangutan, youll swear theyre just like us. And they kind of are. Orangutans are large, but in general are quite gentle. Large males can be aggressive, but for the most part they keep to themselves. They are uniquely arboreal living their lives quietly up in the trees away from predators and only descending to the forest floor when they must. Were it not for the occasional squealing of a baby or calling out of a big male, you would hardly even know they were there. They dont bother anyone. They dont want anything to do with us. Theyre too busy getting on with their lives. Local Indonesian mythology has it that orangutans actually have the ability to speak, but choose not to, fearing they would be forced to work if were they ever caught. Legends aside, even if this were the case, who could blame them?

Propagation
In prehistoric times, orangutans lived throughout Asia roaming as far north as China. Today deforestation and the spread of humans have limited the untouched rainforest to a few remaining areas in Borneo and Sumatra. It is only on these two island that there are large enough forest areas to sustain a viable breeding population of orangutans. But even here the forest is rapidly disappearing. During the last 50 years their habitat has been eaten away by urban growth, plantations and farmland. The spreading of oil palm plantations unless it is stopped could spell the end of all wild orangutans Orangutans are divided into two different subspecies. In general, Borneans are slightly smaller in size and have darker hair than their Sumatran cousins. The Bornean subspecies is further divided into several distinct geographic types. The orangutan is the only non-human great ape left in Asia, but due to all the threats against them their chances of survival is quickly diminishing. While exact numbers are unknown, one thing is for sure: the number of orangutans in the wild is decreasing drastically. In Sumatra the latest calculations show that orangutan numbers have been reduced from 12,000 in 1993 to only about 6,500 today. In Borneo fewer than 35,000 orangutans are believed to remain. Below you can find some facts about orangutans and forests. Remember that the numbers are estimates. Exact figures are hard to come by. Average height standing up: Male 4 1/2 feet; Female 3 1/2 feet. Their arms are much longer than their legs. The arm span for large males can be up to 8 feet. Average weight: Adult male 200 to 250+ lbs., Adult female 100 150 lbs. On average, females are 1/3 to 1/2 the size of males

Average lifespan: Estimated 35-40 years in the wild, into their 50s in captivity depending on diet and exercise. Number of babies: One at a time, every 6 or 7 years, perhaps as many as 4 or 5 total. Infants never leave their mothers. Babies nurse until they are about 6 or 7 years old. They have the longest dependence of any animal on earth. Young males begin to break away from their mothers after they, themselves, reach puberty. Females stay with their mothers longer, often learning child-rearing skills from her. Social status: Grown males live alone while females live with their young. Even though they reach puberty at about 8 years old, a female isnt physiologically ready to have her own baby until shes in her teens. Their diet consists of bark, leaves, flowers, a variety of insects, and most importantly, several hundred types of fruit. They can eat fruit which we would consider unripe, giving them an advantage over other fruits eaters. Babies need to learn to recognize hundreds of species of plants and trees which ones are edible, and how to consume them, which ones to avoid. Some orangutan favorites are very difficult to eat because they are protected by sharp spines husks and shells. Young orangutans need to be taught how to extract the fruit. Orangutans can be said to have 4 hands, as they are equally capable with both their hands and feet. They are physically built for life in the trees. Walking on the ground can be somewhat slow and awkward for them. It may appear humorous to us, but imagine how we would look trying to get around in the trees. They are at a great disadvantage on the ground, so they rarely come down from the treetops. Predators including humans are on the ground. In essence, everything they need to live is up there, so why come down? Sexually mature males have a large throat sac, which is used to make a very distinct sound: known as the long call. Sort of like a lions roar, this bellowing groan echoes through the forest and is used by males to let females know they are there or warn other males to keep away. Mature males also have a distinct set of large cheekpads, which are believed to help their long call resonate throughout the forest canopy. Orangutans make their home high up in the trees and build new nests each night out of leaves and branches. Males live solitary lives until they find females who are ready to mate. The couples stay together for several days in order to ensure a successful mating. Afterwards, the males disappear back into their solitude. Due to their large size, males are often too heavy to travel in the higher (thinner) br anches. They are also more likely than females to travel on the ground. Food is often scarce during the dry season which is why orangutans are semi-solitary creatures. When food is abundant, though, they use the opportunity to socialize and gather in smal l groups. When food is scarce, they travel alone. Orangutans have been known to make and use tools. When water is difficult to locate, they chew leaves to make a sponge to soak up water in tree cavities. They use branches to poke into termite holes. They us

large branches to test water depth before crossing streams. When it rains very hard the orangutan makes an umbrella for himself out of big leaves. Please help the orangutans today.

Fact Sheet: Threats The main threats: destruction of the rainforest due mainly to encroaching palm oil plantations, illegal logging, fires and poaching Borneo: the worlds third largest island Surface: 462,000 sq miles Reduction of the forest: Since 1980 25% of Borneos forests have disappeared. Human population: more than 15 million Nations: Borneo is divided between three countries: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei The orangutans used to live spread out over South East Asia all the way to what is now southern China. Most of the land was then covered with huge continuous rainforest areas and the orangutans could roam freely over large distances. Today the logging and the human expansion have limited the untouched rainforest to very little intact areas. The numbers of orangutans are diminishing because of human impact. The thre at comes mainly from three human activities: destruction of the forest, fires and poaching. Large parts of the original forests of Asia have disappeared. They have been replaced by farm land, palm oil plantations, cities and villages. Huge areas are also disappearing as the forest companies are illegally cutting down the trees, without permits from either the government or the local populations, who depend on the forest for their survival. When creating plantations it is common to first burn the land. Over the years these planned fires have often spread uncontrollably, leaving an enormous destruction in their wake. Many orangutans are killed by the fires as they have no chance of escape. The poaching of the orangutan is another obstacle for the survival of the species. The infants are sold as exotic pets while the flesh from the adults is eaten. Despite the fact that it is illegal to kill, capture or sell orangutans there is a lot of money to be made -- which makes it very difficult to come to terms with the problem. Fact Sheet: Rainforests Surface of Indonesia: 1,192,684 sq miles Forest: 550.000 sq miles Rate of logging: Ca 12,500 sq miles per year. Threat: Forest destruction and fires. Illegal logging: Estimated to constitute 50 - 88% of all logging. Only in Borneo you can find 10 - 15,000 different species of flowers and around 3000 different kinds of trees. The same diversity applies to the animals and a large number are endemic to this area and can be found no where else. Every year new animal and plant species are discovered and scientists barely have time to investigate before they disappear forever. The Indonesian rainforest is the second largest in the world with an area of nearly 546.806 square miles. This is about 10% of the worlds rainforest and is twice the size of Texas or nearly the size of Alaska. Logging and fires are making the forest disappear at an unsustainable rate. Hundreds of animals and plants are disappearing because of this and entire ecosystems are

transformed into desert. One of the biggest problems in Indonesia is the illegal logging that is being fueled by the international demand for cheap timber. There are different opinions as to the extent of the illegal logging, but is it clear that more than half of all logging in the country is illegal. Saving orangutans is built on the premise of protecting and preserving the rainforest. This is not only decisive for the orangutans but also for thousands of other threatened animal and plants species.

Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping nests each night from branches and foliage. Their hair is typically reddish-brown, instead of the brown or black hair typical of other great apes. Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans are currently found only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, though fossils have been found in Java, the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Vietnamand Mainland China. There are only two surviving species, both of which are endangered: the Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and the critically endangered Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii). The subfamily Ponginae also includes the extinct genera Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus. The word "orangutan" comes from the Malay words "orang" (man) and "(h)utan" (forest); hence, "man of the forest".

Anatomy and physiology

Size relative to a 6 foot (1.8 m) man

An orangutan's standing height averages from 4 to 5 ft (1.2 to 1.5 m). On average, an orangutan weighs between 73 to 180 pounds (33 to 82 kg).
[5] [4]

Males can weigh up to 250 lb (110 kg) or

more. Orangutan hands are similar to humans' hands; they have four long fingers and an opposable thumb. Their feet have four long toes and an opposable big toe. Orangutans can grasp things with both their hands and their feet. The largest males have an arm span of about 7.5 ft (2 m). Orangutans have a large, bulky body, a thick neck, very long, strong arms, short, bowed legs, and no tail. They are mostly covered with long reddish-brown hair, although this differs between the species: Sumatran Orangutans have a more sparse and lighter coloured coat.
[6]

The orangutan has a large head with a prominent mouth area. Adult males have large cheek flaps (which get larger as the ape ages)
[7]

that show their dominance to other males and their readiness to

mate. The age of maturity for females is approximately 12 years. On average, orangutans may live about 35 years in the wild, and up to 60 years in captivity (though it is unknown what the typical

lifespan of the orangutan in the wild is and many would certainly live much longer).
[8]

[8]

Both sexes have

throat pouches located near their vocal chords that make their calls resonate through the forest, although the males' pouches are more developed. There is significant sexual dimorphism: females
[9]

can grow to around 4 ft 2 in or 127 cm and weigh around 100 lb (45 kg) while flanged adult males can reach 5 ft 9 in or 175 cm in height and weigh over 260 lb (118 kg).

The arms of orangutans are twice as long as their legs, and an adult orangutan's arms can be well over seven feet from fingertip to fingertip.
[8]

Much of the arm's length has to do with the length of

[10]

theradius and the ulna rather than the humerus.

Their fingers and toes are curved, allowing them to

better grip onto branches. Orangutans have less restriction in the movements of their legs than humans and other primates, due to the lack of a hip joint ligament which keeps the femur held into the pelvis. Unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans are not true knuckle-walkers, and are instead fist-walkers.
[11]

Ecology and behavior

Orangutans live in primary and old secondary forests, particularly dipterocarp forests and peat swamp forests.
[12][13] [12]

Both species can be found in both mountainous and lowland swampy areas.

Sumatran

orangutans live in elevations as high as 1500 m (4921 ft), while Bornean orangutans live no higher than 1000 m (3281 ft). The latter will sometimes enter grasslands, cultivated fields, gardens, young secondary forest, and shallow lakes.
[14]

Orangutans are the most arboreal of the great apes, spending

nearly all of their time in the trees. Most of the day is spent feeding, resting, and moving between feeding and resting sites. They start the day feeding for 23 hours in the morning. They rest during midday followed by traveling in the late afternoon. When evening arrives, they begin to prepare their nest for the night.
[15]

Tigers are the major predatory threat to orangutans in Sumatra. Orangutans may
[15]

also be preyed on by clouded leopards and crocodiles. The former can kill adolescents and small adult females but have not been recorded killing adult males.
[14][15]

In Borneo, orangutans are not

threatened by tigers and seem to descend to the ground more often than their Sumatran relatives. Orangutans do not swim, although least one population at a conservation refuge on
[16]

Kaja island in Borneo have been photographed wading in deep water.

Diet

Flanged adult male

Fruit makes up 6590 percent of the orangutan diet. Fruits with sugary or fatty pulp are favored. Ficus fruits are commonly eaten, because they are easy to harvest and digest. Lowland dipterocarpforests are preferred by orangutans because of their plentiful fruit. Bornean orangutans consume at least 317 different food items that include young leaves, shoots, bark, insects, honey and bird eggs.
[17][18]

Orangutans are opportunistic foragers, and their diets vary markedly from month to month. eaten as a last resort in times of food scarcity; fruits are always more popular.

[18]

Bark is

A decade-long study of urine and faecal samples at the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Project in West Kalimantan has shown that orangutans give birth during and after the high fruit season (though not every year), during which they consume various abundant fruits, totalling up to 11,000 calories per day. In the low fruit season they eat whatever fruit is available in addition to tree bark and leaves, with daily intake at only 2,000 calories. Together with a long lactation period, orangutans also have a long birth interval.
[19]

Orangutans are thought to be the sole fruit disperser for some plant species including the climber species Strychnos ignatii which contains the toxic alkaloid strychnine. any effect on orangutans except for excessive saliva production. Geophagy, the practice of eating soil or rock, has been observed in orangutans. There are three main reasons for this dietary behavior; for the addition of minerals nutrients to their diet; for the ingestion of clay minerals that can absorb toxic substances; or to treat a disorder such as diarrhea. Orangutans use plants of the genus Commelina as an anti-inflammatory balm.
[22] [21] [20]

It does not appear to have

Social life

Orangutans, Gunung Leuser NP, Sumatra

Orangutans live a more solitary lifestyle than the other great apes. Most social bonds occur between adult females and their dependent and weaned offspring. Adult males and independent adolescents of both sexes tend to live alone.
[23]

The society of the orangutan is made up of resident and transient

individuals of both sexes. Resident females live with their offspring in defined home ranges that overlap with those of other adult females, who may be their relatives like mothers and sisters. One to several resident female home ranges are encompassed within the home range of a resident male, who is their primary breeder.
[24] [15][23][24]

Transient males and females range broadly.

They usually

travel alone, but as sub-adults they may travel in small groups. However this behavior does not extend to adulthood. The social structure of the orangutan can be best described as solitary but social. As the ranges of males and females overlap, they commonly encounter each other while traveling and feeding and brief social interactions may occur. range from friendly, to avoidance to antagonistic.
[15][25] [23]

Interactions between adult females

Resident males may have overlapping ranges

and interactions between them tend to be hostile. During dispersal, females tend to settle in home ranges that overlap with their mothers. However, they do not interact with them any more than the other females and they do not seem to form social bonds.
[25][26]

Males disperse much farther from their mothers and enter into a transient phase. This

phase lasts until a male can challenge and displace a dominant, resident male from his home range.
[27]

There are dominance hierarchies between adult males that regularly encounter each other
[28]

with the most dominant males being the largest and having the best body conditions. dominate sub-adult males.
[28] [29]

Adult males

Both resident and transient orangutans aggregate on large fruiting trees

to feed. The fruits tend to be abundant, so competition is low and individuals may benefit from social contacts. Orangutans will also form travelling groups in which members coordinate travel between
[27]

food sources for a few days at a time.

[28]

These groups tend to be made of only a few individuals.

They also tend to be mating consortships, each made of an adult male and female traveling and mating.

Reproduction and parenting

Male orangutans exhibit arrested development. They mature at around 15 years of age by which they have fully descended testicles and can reproduce. However they do not develop the cheek pads, pronounced throat pouches, long fur or long-calls of more mature males until they gain a home range,
[15][30] [15]

which occurs when they are between 15 and 20 years old.

These sub-adult males are

known as unflanged males in contrast to the more developed flanged males. The transformation from unflanged to flanged can occur very quickly. Unflanged and flanged males have two different mating strategies. Flanged males use long calls to advertise their location which attract estrous females.
[31]

Unflanged males wander widely in search of estrous females and upon finding one, will
[31]

force copulation on her. Both strategies are successful,

however females prefer to mate with

[29]

flanged males and will seek them out for protection from unflanged males.

Resident males may

[31]

form consortships with females that can last days, weeks or months after copulation.

A two-week old orangutan

Female orangutans experience their first ovulatory cycle between 5.8 and 11.1 years. These occur earlier in larger females with more body fat than in thinner females.
[32][33]

Like other great apes, female

[33][34]

orangutans have a period of adolescent infertility which may last for 14 years.

Female

orangutans also have a 22-30 day menstrual cycle. Gestation lasts for nine months with females giving birth to their first offspring between 14 and 15 years old. Female orangutans have the longest interbirth intervals of the great apes, having eight years between births.
[34]

Male orangutans play almost no role in raising the young. Females are the primary caregivers for the young and are also instruments of socialization for them. A female often has more than one offspring with her, usually an adolescent and an infant, and the older of them can also help in socializing their younger sibling.
[35]

Infant orangutans are completely dependent on their mothers for the first two years

of their lives. The mother will carry the infant during traveling, as well as feed it and sleep with it in the same night nest.
[35] [15]

The infant doesnt even break physical contact with its mother for the first four

months and is carried on her belly. The amount of physical contact soon wanes in the following months. When an orangutan reaches the age of two, its climbing skills are more developed and will

hold the hand of another orangutan while moving through the canopy, a behavior known as "buddy travel".
[35]

Orangutans are juveniles from about two to five years of age and start to exploratory trips
[15]

from their mothers.

[15]

Juveniles are usually weaned at about four years of age. Adolescent

orangutans seek peers and play and travel with peer groups while still having contact with their mothers. Infanticide has not been recorded in the two orangutan species like it has in other primate
[36]

species. Paternity uncertainty, the range patterns of female dispersals and the fact that the ovulation of females depends on food availability may make infanticide by males ineffective.

Tool use and culture

A young Orangutan at the Toledo Zoo inOhio. The Orangutan's opposable toes and fingers give them the ability to use tools.

Like the other great apes, orangutans are among the most intelligent primates.
[37]

Wild chimpanzees have been known since the 1960s to use tools.
[39]

[38]

Tool use in

orangutans was observed byBirut Galdikas in ex-captive populations.

Evidence of sophisticated tool manufacture and use in the wild was reported from a population of orangutans in Suaq Balimbing (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) in 1996.
[40]

These orangutans developed a

tool kit for use in foraging that consisted of insect-extraction tools for use in the hollows of trees, and seed-extraction tools which were used in harvesting seeds from hard-husked fruit. The orangutans adjusted their tools according to the nature of the task at hand and preference was given to oral tool use.
[41]

This preference was also found in an experimental study of captive orangutans (P.
[42]

pygmaeus).

Carel P. van Schaik from the University of Zurich and Cheryl D. Knott from Harvard University further investigated tool use in different wild orangutan populations. They compared geographic variations in tool use related to the processing of Neesia fruit. The orangutans of Suaq Balimbing (P. abelii) were found to be avid users of insect and seed-extraction tools when compared to other wild orangutans.
[43][44]

The scientists suggested that these differences are cultural. The orangutans at Suaq

Balimbing live in dense groups and are socially tolerant; this creates good conditions for social transmission.
[43]

Further evidence that highly social orangutans are more likely to exhibit cultural
[45]

behaviors came from a study of leaf-carrying behaviors of ex-captive orangutans that were being rehabilitated on the island of Kaja in Borneo.
[46]

The above evidence is consistent with the existence of

orangutan culture as geographically distinct behavioral variants which are maintained and transmitted in a population through social learning.

Orangutan at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

In 2003, researchers from six different orangutan field sites who used the same behavioral coding scheme compared the behaviors of the animals from the different sites.
[47]

They found that the

different orangutan populations behaved differently. The evidence suggested that the differences in behavior were cultural: first, because the extent of the differences increased with distance, suggesting that cultural diffusion was occurring, and second, because the size of the orangutans cultural repertoire increased according to the amount of social contact present within the group. Social contact facilitates cultural transmission.
[47]

Carel P. van Schaik suggests that young orangutans (P. abelii)

[46]

acquire tool use skills and cultural behaviors by observing and copying older orangutans.

Orangutans do not limit their tool use to foraging, displaying or nest-building activities. Wild orangutans (P. pygmaeus wurmbii) in Tuanan, Borneo, were reported to use tools in acoustic communication.
[48]

They use leaves to amplify the kiss squeak sounds that they produce. Some have
[48]

suggested that the apes employ this method of amplification in order to deceive the listener into believing that they are larger animals.

Communication
As noted above, flanged males will emit a long call which is used to attract females but also to alert other males to their presence. It is possible that the long calls suppress development in younger males.
[27]

Orangutan "laughing"

A two year study of orangutan symbolic capability was conducted from 1973-1975 by Gary L. Shapiro with Aazk, a juvenile female orangutan at the Fresno City Zoo (now Chaffee Zoo) in Fresno, California. The study employed the techniques of David Premack who used plastic tokens to teach the chimpanzee, Sarah, linguistic skills. Shapiro continued to examine the linguistic and learning abilities of ex-captive orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park, in Indonesian Borneo, between 1978 and 1980. During that time, Shapiro instructed ex-captive orangutans in the acquisition and use of signs following the techniques of R. Allen and Beatrix Gardner who taught the chimpanzee, Washoe, in the late-1960s. In the only signing study ever conducted in a great ape's natural environment, Shapiro home-reared Princess, a juvenile female who learned nearly 40 signs (according to the criteria of sign acquisition used by Francine Patterson with Koko, the gorilla) and trained Rinnie, a free-ranging adult female orangutan who learned nearly 30 signs over a two year period. For his dissertation study, Shapiro examined the factors influencing sign learning by four juvenile orangutans over a 15-month period.
[49]

The first orangutan language study program, directed by Dr. Francine Neago, was listed by Encyclopdia Britannica in 1988. The Orangutan language project at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., uses a computer system originally developed at UCLA by Neago in conjunction with IBM.
[50]

Zoo Atlanta has a touch screen computer where their two Sumatran Orangutans play games. Scientists hope that the data they collect from this will help researchers learn about socializing patterns, such as whether they mimic others or learn behavior from trial and error, and hope the data can point to new conservation strategies.
[51]

A 2008 study of two orangutans at the Leipzig Zoo showed that orangutans are the first non-human species documented to use 'calculated reciprocity' which involves weighing the costs and benefits of gift exchanges and keeping track of these over time.
[52]

Orangutans, along with chimpanzees, gorillas, and other apes, have even shown laughter-like vocalizations in response to physical contact, such as wrestling, play chasing, or tickling.
[53]

Sexual interest in humans

Male orangutans have been known to display sexual attaction to human women to the point of rape. The cook of noted primatologist Birut Galdikas was raped by an orangutan. have sex with actress Julia Roberts but was prevented by a film crew.
[55] [54]

An orangutan tried to

Conservation status

Male, child, and female Sumatran orangutans

The Sumatran species is critically endangered is endangered

[2]

[56]

and the Bornean species of orangutans

according to the IUCN Red List of mammals, and both are listed on Appendix I

of CITES. The total number of Bornean orangutans is estimated to be less than 14% of what it was in the recent past (from around 10,000 years ago until the middle of the twentieth century) and this sharp decline has occurred mostly over the past few decades due to human activities and development.
[2]

Species distribution is now highly patchy throughout Borneo: it is apparently absent or

[2]

uncommon in the south-east of the island, as well as in the forests between the Rejang River in central Sarawak and the Padas River in western Sabah (including the Sultanate of Brunei).
[57] [56]

The

largest remaining population is found in the forest around the Sabangau River, but this environment is at risk. A similar development have been observed for the Sumatran orangutans.

A 2007 study by the Government of Indonesia noted in 2004 it was estimated that there was a total wild population of 61,234 orangutans, 54,567 of which were found on the island of Borneo. The table below shows a breakdown of the species and subspecies and their estimated populations from the report:
[