Common Name:
Bornean Orang Utan
Scientific Name:
Pongo pygmaeus
ENDANGERED Bornean Orang utan Distribution: Borneo Habitat: Tropical Forest Height: Approx. 150cm
Bornean Orang utans are the largest tree living apes. They have distinctive long red hair all over their bodies. It is very easy to tell males and females apart as a mature male has male a large throat pouch and flanges (cheek pads). Both sexes have extremely long arms, which they use for swinging through trees. They have been known to have an arm span of over 2 metres! Orang utans are mostly solitary. Males and females only come together to mate. Once the baby is born the mother does all of the care and will look after it and travel with it for up to 7 years when it is old enough to fend for itself.
Weight: 37kg - 83kg
Maturing females will generally stay in the area of birth where as males will emigrate to another part of the forest. Although they are solitary orang utans do not mind coming into contact with each other, as they are not territorial so the males are not aggressive.
Diet: Omnivorous Fruit, leaves, insects.
Orang-utans are omnivorous with most of their diet being made up of fruit and leaves from the trees they live in. They will also take insects such as termites and small vertebrates such as frogs when they get the chance. A mature female orang utan will only breed every 6 years. This gives her a maximum of 4-5 young per lifetime and is one of the reasons they are declining in the wild. The orang utans can not breed faster than they are being killed. In total there is believed to be only 30000 orang-utans left in the wild. About 21000 of these are Bornean Orang-utan. The other 9000 are the even more threatened Sumatran Orang utan. The main threats are from habitat loss, agriculture, logging and the pet trade. Orang-utans still make prestigious pets in Asia especially in Taiwan.