What is an Orangutan?

The Orangutan is a great ape species native to Southeast Asia. The Orangutan is a large creature, with it being the largest tree dwelling animal in the world! Being a part of the Hominidae family of primates (the same animal branch that humans belong to), they in many ways resemble us. They have eyes, noses, mouths, hands, feet and much more just like people and, unlike monkeys or lemurs, they also do not have a tail. Orangutans are dimorphic, meaning that there is a difference in size between males and females. The average male weight about 190 pounds with some reaching sizes up to 300! Females tend to be about half their sizes, weighing in at around 80-120 pounds. Interestingly males have large cheek pads called “flanges”; this makes them easy to tell apart from females!

Where Do They Live?

Orangutans are native to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, located in current day Indonesia and Malaysia. They are found in the rain forests of Southeast Asia, with much of their time being spent swinging from tree to tree. Orangutans require vast stretches of forest in order to live. Today, one of the biggest threats to their existence is deforestation. When walking around the forest, researchers are able to track the number of Orangutans in the habitat by looking for their nests! Orangutans like building their own nests to sleep in high up in the trees. They often sleep in these alone except for the mothers who share their nests with their offspring. Baby orangutans spend much of their youth with their mothers, often being seen riding around on her back. From birth until they’ve grown up and learned how to live on their own. At about 6-12 years old they go on to venture on their own as a fully grown Orangutan.

What Do They Eat?

Orangutans are a herbivorous species, meaning they eat only plants. These giant herbivores live peaceful lives. Orangutans use their long arms and legs (their wingspan is almost 7 feet long!) spend their days swinging from tree to tree in search of fruits. Because of their large size,they eat large quantities of fruit. This makes living in groups difficult (imagine how much fruit it would take to feed a family)! Orangutans’ diets consist of many of the usual fruits such as mangoes, figs, and lychees but, when times are tough, they can even eat things such as young leaves, tree bark, small insects, and even soil! Among their favorite fruits is the durian -a fruit that's known for its stench. It’s sometimes described as a combination of sewage, honey, rotting onions alongside much more. They have quite the pallet!

Ensuring Survival

The Orangutan, who’s name means “person of the forest” in Malay, is a magnificent creature. This distant relative of ours is among one of the most intelligent creatures in the animal world and is one that continues to fascinate scientists across the globe. Today, the gentle giants are being threatened by large scale deforestation. They are currently on the critically endangered list with only about 60,000 being estimated to be left in the wild. Ensuring the protection of these natural habitats should be among our top priorities. Continuing to learn and teach people about these awesome species that inhabit our planet is the first step towards helping protect our planet's wildlife.