ORANGUTAN FACTS
Orangutan means ‘person of the forest’. Mature adult males can grow to be 1.5m tall and weigh 90kg, twice as heavy as females. They can live for up to 45 years.
HOW ARE ORANGUTANS CLASSIFIED?
Living things can be organised into different groups. Species that are alike are grouped together. This is called classification.
Class: Mammals
Order: Primates
Family: Hominidae
Species: Pongo abelii (Sumatran orangutan)
Pongo pygmaeus (Bornean orangutan)
ORANGUTANS ARE SPECIAL
The orangutan is Asia’s only great ape, very distinctive and with beautiful rust-coloured fur. Orangutans are a ‘keystone’ species for conservation. They play an important part in forest regeneration through the fruits and seeds they eat.
DISTRIBUTION
Orangutans have a very limited distribution, being found only in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. The highest densities are in the swamp forests, and they are restricted to altitudes below 1500m.
Map underneath is showing distribution of Bornean Orangutan
- Map underneath showing distribution of Sumatran Orangutan
HABITAT
Orangutans are the largest arboreal (tree-living) mammal. They spend over 90% of their lives high up in the forest canopy, swinging from branch to branch using their long strong arms. An adult orangutan's arm span can reach 2m. The most serious threat to orangutans is the destruction of their rainforest habitat - it is estimated that 80% of orangutan habitat has already disappeared.
DIET
An orangutan’s diet is made up mostly of fruit, but they will also eat leaves, seeds, bark and insects if food is scarce. An orangutan needs to consume 12 kg of food each day in order to fulfil its nutritional requirements.
ADAPTATIONS
Orangutans sleep in the tree canopy, making a fresh nest of leafy branches every day. If it is raining they will add a roof or will hold branches over their heads like an umbrella. Orangutans have been shown to use tools for foraging, grooming and acoustic communication.
BEHAVIOUR
Infant orangutans are completely dependent on their mothers for the first two years of their life. The infant is carried constantly for 4 months and will stay with the mother for up to 8 years.
SOCIETY
Adult orangutans are generally solitary, but with strong social bonds occurring between females and their offspring. When encountering each other while travelling and feeding they may have brief social interactions. Sumatran orangutans tend to be more social.
REPRODUCTION
Gestation lasts for nine months, with females giving birth to their first offspring at around 15 years old. A female orangutan will have an interval of 8 years between births. As a result, only 3 or 4 offspring are born during her lifetime.
Report Animal Suffering | Contact Us | eNews | WildcreW | CEO's Blog | Sitemap | About Site | Copyright
