All About Orangutans

Behaviour

Solitary by nature, orangutans spend most of their time up in the trees,

resting and feeding. Additionally, they spend a short amount of time
travelling through the rainforest canopy using their hands and feet. Time
spent on the forest floor is minimal: on the ground, they move slowly.
Young orangutans accompany their mothers until they’re seven years
old and have developed the skills needed to survive on their own. They
are carried on her back and share her nest until then.
Sometimes, adult males will fight. To scare each other off, they will
break branches from the surrounding trees and charge. If this doesn’t work, they will wrestle.
Astonishingly, in Sumatra, these clever mammals have been seen to use tools. These
include sticks to get termites, ants and bees out of the holes in trees.

Under Threat

Unfortunately, orangutan populations have been in decline for over a century. Once,
there had been around 230,000 orangutans. Now, it is estimated that there are 104,700
Bornean orangutans, which are endangered and 13,846 Sumatran orangutans, which are
critically endangered.
Due to deforestation, the habitats of these primates are being devastated. As a result, the
orangutan population faces a desperate future. It is thought that 220,000 square kilometres
of forest in the country will be destroyed between 2010 and 2030: an area similar in size to
the United Kingdom.
Despite this, there is some good news. In Borneo, deforestation is slowing down; Indonesia
and Malaysia (which are other countries in Southeast Asia) are working towards protecting
their forests. Therefore, the habitats of a diverse range of species may be saved!

Glossary
arboreal: Something
that lives in trees.

flanges: Prominent
cheek pads.

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