7 Enjoyable Information About Orangutans

Orangutans are clever, mild, and surprisingly like us — sharing up to 97% of our DNA. From their problem-solving expertise to the extraordinary bonds they’ve with their younger, orangutan behaviour continues to fascinate researchers, conservationists, and animal lovers the world over.

Want to study extra about these nice apes? Take a take a look at these enjoyable orangutan details.

1. Orangutan means “person of the forest”

The phrase orangutan comes from the Malay for particular person (orang) and forest (hutan). So the identify interprets as “person of the forest”.

This identify displays the deep connection between orangutans and their rainforest habitat. It additionally highlights the sentience of those extremely smart beings — the way in which orangutans look after and educate their younger, use instruments, and clear up issues isn’t so completely different from human behaviour. 

2. Orangutans are solely discovered on two islands

Orangutans are the one nice apes native to Asia — gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos are all present in Africa.

So the place do orangutans reside? They might be present in rainforest habitats on two islands in Southeast Asia. There’s a inhabitants of orangutans in Borneo, and one other in Sumatra.

Sadly, the orangutan’s habitat is underneath severe risk. Rainforests are being cleared to make approach for palm oil plantations, different agriculture, and infrastructure.

Between 1973 and 2010, 40% of key orangutan habitat was misplaced in Borneo. Over in Sumatra, orangutans are frequently illegally killed throughout forest conversion or when discovered raiding fruit crops.

3. They use instruments and even self-medicate

Orangutans are extremely clever — and so they put that intelligence to spectacular use.

They’re expert instrument customers. They strip leaves from sticks, which they then use to scoop bugs and honey from tree holes, and to pry seeds from hard-shelled fruit. They’ll additionally save these instruments for later, placing them apart till they’re wanted once more.

Even extra remarkably, orangutans have been noticed self-medicating utilizing the identical medicinal crops utilized by native human communities.

Scientists have seen orangutans using leaf extracts from a plant called Dracaena cantleyi. They combine the leaves with saliva, then apply the combination to the physique to alleviate physique pains. 

In one other case, a male orangutan with a facial wound created a paste of saliva and Akar Kuning (Fibraurea tinctoria) — an anti-bacterial and anti inflammatory plant utilized by people to deal with illnesses like diabetes and malaria. He then utilized the paste to the wound.

4. There are three species of orangutan

The three orangutan varieties are the Bornean orangutan, the Sumatran orangutan, and the Tapanuli orangutan. Each is genetically distinct, and there are refined variations that assist us inform them aside.

The Sumatran orangutan has longer facial hair than the Bornean orangutan, however the Bornean orangutan is greater and stockier.

The Tapanuli orangutan species was solely confirmed in 2017. These orangutans additionally reside on the island of Sumatra, however they’re smaller than different Sumatran orangutans.

So are any of those orangutans endangered? Unfortunately, sure. According to the IUCN, all orangutan species are critically endangered, and their populations are reducing.

There are round 104,700 Bornean orangutans, fewer than 14,000 Sumatran orangutans, and simply 800 Tapanuli orangutans left within the wild.

5. They’re the biggest tree-dwelling mammals on Earth

Bornean orangutans are the largest and heaviest species. Male orangutans weigh round 87 kilograms. Females are considerably lighter and have a tendency to weigh about 37 kilograms.

They have quick legs however, proportionally, the longest arms of all the nice apes, and males stand at round 1 metre tall.

Despite orangutans’ dimension, they spend most of their time within the timber. Here, they swing in the hunt for meals and construct nests within the cover. 

A nest is a secure and cozy sleeping platform for nighttime relaxation and daytime naps. Young orangutans observe their mothers as they nest-build to learn to grasp this important talent. 

There are few pure orangutan predators. But life within the timber helps defend younger or weak orangutans from predators like leopards, Sumatran tigers, and crocodiles.

6. Orangutans are often known as the gardeners of the forest

These “people of the forest” are additionally nicknamed “gardeners of the forest”. Why? Well, the orangutan’s weight loss plan consists of bark, leaves, flowers, and bugs — plus an enormous number of fruit.

As they journey lengthy distances throughout the forest, orangutans unfold fruit seeds by way of their dung. And as giant mammals, they’ll disperse greater seeds than most different animals.

Orangutans, due to this fact, play an important position in seed dispersal. They assist crops and timber to thrive. The result’s a various, wholesome, and resilient forest habitat that numerous species depend upon.

7. Orangutans make glorious moms

In the wild, an orangutan’s lifespan ranges from round 50 to 60 years. Infants stick with their moms for 6 to 8 of those years — longer than another wild animal.

Orangutan infants spend the first two years being carried by their moms, sustaining virtually fixed physique contact. They nurse for 6 to 8 years, and so they share nests with their moms till they’re weaned.

Mothers slowly information their offspring to independence. But there’s lots to study — when and the place to seek out meals, the best way to recognise and course of nearly 250 different foods, and the best way to construct an orangutan nest.

Because moms make investments a lot power into their offspring, feminine orangutans solely give beginning once every 7 to 8 years, virtually all the time to only one child. This permits orangutans to commit undivided consideration to their younger, but it surely additionally makes it troublesome for orangutan populations to get better when threatened.  

Orangutans want our assist greater than ever earlier than

All three species of orangutan are critically endangered and their numbers proceed to fall. Habitat destruction, unlawful searching, and the pet commerce have pushed these exceptional animals to the brink.

There have additionally been deeply troubling circumstances of economic exploitation. From child orangutans wearing human clothes and compelled to carry out for vacationers, to orangutans educated to carry out in boxing and pole-dancing exhibits.

At World Animal Protection, we’re working exhausting to alter this. We’re elevating consciousness, rescuing animals from cruelty, lobbying governments to enhance wild animal protections, and preventing to guard orangutan habitats.

These “people of the forest” have referred to as these rainforests dwelling for lots of of 1000’s of years. With our assist, and the assist of wildlife lovers throughout the globe, we might help them to proceed to take action for generations to return.

Want to assist orangutans and different wild animals? Join our world group of animal protectors right now.