Human of the forest
The Orangutan are native to two different climes Malaysia and Indonesia; ‘Orang’ (human) and ‘hutan’ (forest). They are found in South East Asia and the Islands of Borneo tropical rain forest. Orangutan means human or person of the forest. They are great apes, contradicting monkeys, they are nearly similar to humans, having 97% of DNA in common.
There are two separate species identified hingeing on physical qualities and habitats the Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo abelil) and the Borneo Orangutan ( Pongo pygmaeus). Sumatran Orangutans are thinner than Borneo Orangutans and have a paler, longer red coat, and a longer face. Orangutans have coloration that can vary greatly between dark brown and pale reddish-orange but it is most often reddish. Their hair is thin and shaggy.
Orangutans have long and curved fingers and toes to help hold and quickly release branches as they transverse treetops. The thumb and the big toe of orangutans oppose the other digits (fingers and toes) enabling them to grasp and manipulate objects.
The height of an adult male orangutan is between1.25m to 1.5m while the height of an adult female 1.2m
An adult male weights ranges between 50 kg to 90 kg while the weight of an adult female is 30kg to 50kg.
Their life span is 60 years or more.
Orangutans have the longest birth interval of any terrestrial mammals in the world. The female usually reproduces once every six to eight years, and like humans, orangutan typically births only one offspring.
It takes eight years before the young orangutans acquire skills to survive on their own. They are the heaviest tree-dwelling mammal with a gestation period of about 8.5 months.
Like humans Orangutans have 32 teeth, they don’t have tails.
Orangutans are incredibly patient and intelligent mammals. They are very observant and inquisitive, and there are many stories of orangutans escaping from zoos after having watched their keepers unlock and lock doors.
Most of their diet consists of fruit and leaves gathered from the rain forest trees.
They also eat bark, insects, and on rare occasions meat. They spend most of their life in the tree of tropical rain forest home. They use large leaves as umbrellas and shelters to protect themselves from common rain. They build a nest to sleep.you