CC BY 3.0 · user mt7 · source
Quick Facts
- Type
- Mammal
- Size
- 1.2–1.4 m standing height
- Weight
- 37–90 kg
- Habitat
- Tropical rainforest and peat swamp forest on the island of Borneo
- Diet
- Omnivore — fruit, leaves, bark, insects, and occasionally bird eggs
- Active Time
- Diurnal
- Lifespan
- 35–45 years in the wild, up to 59 years in captivity
Field Notes
- Orangutans have the longest childhood of any non-human animal — young stay with their mothers for 6–8 years learning survival skills.
- They build a new sleeping nest every night in the canopy using branches and leaves, sometimes adding a leaf 'roof' for rain cover.
- Flanged adult male orangutans produce a loud 'long call' that carries over a kilometre through the forest to attract females and warn rivals.
About the Bornean Orangutan
Bornean orangutans are the largest arboreal (tree-dwelling) mammals on Earth and among our most intelligent relatives. They spend almost all their lives in the forest canopy, using their enormously long arms to brachiate through the trees. Unlike chimpanzees and gorillas, orangutans are largely solitary except for mothers with young. They have extraordinarily long childhoods — offspring stay with their mothers for up to 8 years learning forest survival skills. Tool use, nest building, and cultural transmission of knowledge are all documented. Critically endangered due to deforestation in Borneo.
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