Orangutans

Monday, June 30th, 2008 in Orangutan

Orang-utans (Pongo spp), literally “people of the forest”, are highly intelligent^[*] members of the great ape family (the only great ape found in Asia). They are arboreal, travel slowly by moving from one tree to another and will sway trees to close large gaps, avoiding climbing down to the ground. At night they construct nests of vegetation high up in the canopy in which to sleep.

They are native to Southeast Asia and fall into two species: The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus).
 

The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) is endemic to the island of Sumatra, where it inhabits tropical rainforests and swamps below 1,000ft asl (above sea level). Although fossil evidence suggests that orangutan populations were once widely distributed throughout South East Asia, the Sumatran orangutan is now only found in the north of this island which lies in the Indonesian archipelago.

It is currently classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List 2007, and listed on Appendix I (Appendix I lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants, specifically those threatened with extinction) of CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

The Sumatran orangutan population was most recently (2004) numbered at approximately 7,300.

The following quote is from the 2007 IUCN Red List:

This ape has suffered a population decline of more than 80% over the last 75 years. The species is seriously threatened by logging (both legal and illegal), wholesale conversion of forest to agricultural land, and oil palm plantations, and fragmentation by roads. Animals are also illegally hunted and captured for the international pet trade but this appears to be more a symptom of habitat conversion, as orangutans are killed as pests when they raid fruit crops at the forest edge. Most orang-utans occur outside of protected areas. After a period of relative stability, pressure on these forests is increasing once again as a result of the recent peace accord, and a dramatic increase in demand for timber and other natural resources after the December 2004 tsunami.

It inhabits tropical rainforests and swamps below 1,000ft asl (above sea level).

In addition to original wild populations, a new population is being established in the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park (Jambi and Riau Provinces) via the re-introduction of confiscated illegal pets. This population currently numbers around 70 individuals and is reproducing. ^[1]

---

View more images of the Sumatran orangutan on ArKive.

---

[*] - As an interesting example of their intelligence, according to the WWF webpage, “some captive released individuals learned independently to untie complex knots that secured boats and rafts, and then to shove off, board, and ride the vessels across rivers.”

[1] - (Singleton, I., Wich, S.A. & Griffiths, M. 2007. Pongo abelii. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 02 July 2008.)

---

 

The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)

---

http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/orangutans/item589.html

---

http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2008/WWFPresitem7596.html

---

 
 

---

Below is a collection of videos of orangutans. Many of the videos deal with critical issues facing this endangered animal, while others simply showcase them in their natural surroundings exhibiting characteristic behaviors.

 

---