Known for their distinctive red fur orangutan share nearly 97% of our genes
and are highly intelligent creatures.
Here are 10 facts everyone should know about these glorious ginger great apes.
Fact one.
There are three species of orangutan the Bornean, Sumatran,
and Tapanuli. All three orangutans can only be found in the wild on the islands of Borneo
and Sumatra.
All three species are critically endangered with about a 104,700 Bornean orangutans,
and less than 14,000 Sumatran orangutans.
Shockingly there are less than 800 Tapanuli orangutans left in the wild
Making them the most endangered great ape in the world
Fact two
orangutans are the heaviest tree-dwelling animal.
They spend most of their lives swinging through the canopies
and they need vast stretches of forest to find food and a mate
fact three
orangutans have long arms, an orangutans arm span is around 2.2 meters,
which is over 7 foot from fingertip to fingertip.
Considering their height is around 1 meter tall,
this is an impressive reach! Their arms are so long that they stretch down to their ankles
when they're standing
fact four
orangutans don't mind eating with their feet. Orangutans are incredibly dexterous
and use both their hands and their feet while gathering food and traveling through the forest.
like us orangutans have four fingers, a thumb and fingernails.
Their feet look almost exactly the same as their hands and are designed for agile climbing and gripping.
fact five
young orangutans, learn everything they need to know from Mum.
Young orangutans stay with their mother until they are around seven years old.
They spend this time learning everything they need to know from her including what's good to eat.
orangutans are very slow breeders and produce only one offspring every six to eight years,
which is the longest birth interval of any land mammal.
fact six
male orangutans are majestic. Some male orangutans develop flaps of fatty tissue on both sides of their faces known as flanges.
these mature when they hit around 20 years old. Studies show that some females may prefer a dominant flanged male
When selecting a mate
fact seven,
they build nests to sleep in. Orangutans like to be comfortable
and every night they will make a nest to rest and sleep in
an orangutan makes it’s nest in around 10 minutes by weaving large branches together
and using smaller branches as a mattress
in wet weather they even add a roof
orangutans make a new nest to sleep in every night and we can actually use their nest to estimate
the number of individuals found in any given area.
We count their nests from both the ground
and the air because they're much easier to spot than elusive orangutans.
Fact eight
some orangutans use tools. Some Sumatran orangutans use tools like sticks to get termites,
ants or bees out of tree holes.
These clever creatures have been observed making a glove out of leaves
when handling prickly fruit or thorny branches.
Fact nine
they have a smelly taste in food. Fruit makes up around 60 percent of an orangutan’s diet,
but when it's scarce, they'll also eat soil
and tree bark. Orangutans favorite fruit is the durian which is a huge spiky fruit
best known for its stench , which has been likened to rotting flesh, sewage and smelly socks.
Mmm tasty
fact ten
orangutans are under threat.
The main threats of them are illegal hunting and habitat loss.
This is largely being driven by the rapid expansion of palm oil
plantations together with illegal logging
and forest fires.
We're working to protect forests
and restore wildlife corridors in order to reconnect isolated populations of orangutans.
Our field teams survey and monitor wild orangutan populations to protect
and strengthen the management of their habitats.
We hope you enjoyed this video
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