Facts About Orangutans

Orangutan is a Malay word meaning ”person of the forest.” Orangutans are long haired apes and somewhat orange-red colored primates that are found only in the islands, Sumatra and Borneo. They are highly intelligible creatures and are able to recognize themselves in a mirror. Some people believe that they can speak but choose not to, because of fear that they would be forced to work if they were ever caught talking. Currently these apes are categorized as critically endangered and their population is under constant decline.

Orangutan’s are very large, reaching up to 4 to 5 ft (1.2 to 1.5m) in height.

They can build different tools like sticks to dig insect nests and nests for themselves on trees.

They have 32 permanent teeth just like humans do.

They spend much of their time in trees in their tropical rain forest home.

Orangutans can make about 13 to 15 different kind of sounds.

Adult Orangutans weigh around 73 to 180 lbs.

They use large leaves as umbrellas to protect themselves from getting wet during rains.

The diet of an Orangutan consists of mainly fruits and leaves from rain forest trees. They also eat bark, insects, honey, meat and sometimes eggs on rare occasions. Sometimes they also eat soil and rock.

Orangutans can give birth only once in every eight years.

Orangutans have a life span of 30 to 40 years, though some have lived as long as 60 years in captivity.

Unfortunately human activities like deforestation and hunting has caused a huge decline in their population which has placed them under the threat of extinction.