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History
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Fossils reveal orangutans lived in Borneo and Sumatra a million years ago. Analysis of these fossils shows early orangutans were approximately 30 percent larger than orangutans today. Primatologists believe these larger orangutans may not have lived primarily in trees, as modern orangutans do. According to the Honolulu Zoo, the orangutan is the only great ape with a complete fossil record linking these ancient orangutan forms to today’s orangutan.
Geographic Distribution
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A waterfall in Borneo Historically, orangutans could be found throughout Southeast Asia. Due primarily to deforestation, modern wild orangutans are found only on the islands of Borneo and northern Sumatra. Conservationists believe there are approximately 60,000 orangutans in the wild. The Bornean and Sumatran orangutans are two different species, although they can only be differentiated through DNA analysis. The Bornean species is endangered, and the Sumatran species is critically endangered.
Habitat
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In both Borneo and Sumatra, orangutans live in the canopy of tropical and swamp forests, 20 to 100 feet above the forest floor. Primatologists conjecture orangutans live in the canopy to avoid the tiger, which would be their primary natural predator. According to the Honolulu Zoo, adult male orangutans in Borneo spend around 5 percent of their time on the forest floor since the extinction of the tiger in Borneo. Orangutans use their long arms and curled hands and feet to swing gracefully from tree to tree, but their movement on the ground is slow, unwieldy and cumbersome.
Food
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A mango tree The orangutan’s natural diet consists primarily of fruit, supplemented with tree leaves, shoots, bark and the occasional small animal. According to the National Zoo, over 400 foods are eaten by wild orangutans. Some of these foods include mangoes, figs, jackfruits and insects. Food is scarce in tropical forests, but an orangutan’s appetite is large. Thus, there are seldom more than two or three orangutans per square mile. Baby orangutans must be taught by their mothers what food to eat, where to find it and when. Orangutans use rudimentary tools to gain access to foods unavailable to other animals.
Conservation
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A baby orangutan with its mother Orangutans and their natural habitat are threatened by logging, hunting and the pet trade. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that 98 percent of the natural rain forests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra could be gone by 2022. Although Indonesia has laws to protect national forests, they are ill equipped to find and stop these operations. Illegal logging constitutes 70 percent of all logging in Indonesia. Lumber-certification programs and volunteers from international organizations are working to stop illegal logging.
Additionally, smugglers kill mother orangutans and capture the babies to sell as exotic pets. The practice continues despite criminal laws against capturing and selling endangered species.
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Diet & Habitat for Orangutans
In Malay, the word “orangutan” literally means “person of the forest.” According to the Honolulu Zoo, abbreviating the name to “orang,” as many people do in America, is incorrect, because “orang” simply means “person.” Orangutans live in trees and depend on their intelligence and physical characteristics to survive. Orangutans are the largest primates in Asia, and use their long arms and curved hands and feet to swing from tree to tree.