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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
orangutan,
orang-utan |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Primates |
| FAMILY: |
Pongidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Pongo
(gorilla/orangutan) pygmaeus (small, dwarfish)
pygmaeus |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
The
only great ape from Asia; formerly two subspecies:
Bornean (P. p. pygmaeus) has a round face
with dark red coat; Sumatran (P. p. Abelii),
which has now been elevated to a full species has
a long narrow face with paler longer hair. |
| MALE |
Adult
males of both species have large cheek flaps. |
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| SIZE: |
|
| MALE |
0.97
m (3.2 ft) |
| FEMALE |
0.78
m (2.6 ft) |
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| WEIGHT: |
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| MALE |
90
kg (198 lbs) |
| FEMALE |
50
kg (110 lbs) |
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| DIET: |
60%
fruit and other plant materials including leaves,
bark, flowers, and nuts, occasionally insects and
small mammals |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
7-10
years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Up
to 50 years |
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| HABITAT: |
Primary
lowland swamp and primary rainforest |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Unknown |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Appendix
I |
| USFWS |
Endangered |
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| 1. |
Unlike
other great apes, orangutans are solitary by nature;
this may be related to their need for large quantities
of fruit, which are dispersed throughout the forest. |
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| 2. |
Even
though they are able to walk upright for short distances,
orangutans travel mostly by brachiating (swinging
from one branch to another by the arms) through
trees, using well-worn corridors in the forest canopy. |
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| 3. |
Orangutans
shelter themselves from rain and sun by holding
leafy branches over their heads, and when constructing
a night nest in the trees, will sometimes add a
leafy roof. |
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| 4. |
Males
have a large throat sac that helps them make "long
calls." This travels for up to 1 km (.62 mile)
through dense vegetation, which helps the males
define territories. The "squeak-kiss"
noise they make is a sign of annoyance. |
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| 5. |
Bornean
orangs have the most prolonged development of any
mammal therefore they reproduce very slowly. |
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| 6. |
Orangs
are unable to swim. In rain, they construct a leaf
nest to keep dry. |
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| 7. |
The
differences between monkeys and apes are easy to
see once you know what to look for. Apes do not
have a tail and are generally larger than most other
primates. They have a more upright body posture
as well. Apes rely more on vision than on smell
and have a short broad nose rather than a snout,
as Old World monkeys do. Apes have a larger brain
relative to the body size than other primates do. |
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Primarily
fruit and plant eaters, orangutans play an essential
role as seed dispersers throughout the forests
of Indonesia as they digest and eliminate waste.
They choose select green leaves and shoots, and
in doing so act as pruners that aid in regenerating
plant growth. The small food patches in Bornean
forests, which cannot support more than one orangutan,
force them to remain solitary or semi-solitary,
and limits their social interactions.
Uncontrolled
increases in human populations in Southeast Asia
have reduced the range and numbers of orangutans.
Much of their habitat is either clear cut for
agriculture or lumber production. Clear-cutting
exposes coal, which makes the area susceptible
to fires. The capture and sale of baby orangutans
is also a worldwide problem. This practice continues
despite the many government and non-government
organizations created to eliminate the exploitation
of endangered wildlife.
The
natural habitats of the orangutan, primarily the
tropical forests of Borneo and Sumatra, have diminished
significantly in recent years. As a result of
widespread habitat destruction and hunting, the
Bornean orangutan has become an endangered species.
Busch
Gardens provides funding for a conservation project
focusing on the population status and habitats
in multiple-use forests in Malaysia. The study
is intended to collect data necessary to plan
for long-term conservation of the orangutan. Research
is being conducted in a remote region of Lower
Kinabatangan of Sabah, Malaysia, where a patchwork
of virgin and exploited forests is home to high
concentrations of orangutans and other rare species.
Understanding
the relationship of orangutans to their environment
is a first step in developing sound conservation
strategies for this species in an increasingly
threatened environment.
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| |
|
|
| Bond,
Melanie. 2000. National Zoo Personnel Committee.
Apes Conference. Chicago, IL. May, 2000. |
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| Galdikas,
Birute M. F. Reflections of Eden. Canada:
Little, Brown & Company, 1995. |
|
|
Goodall,
J., Fossey, D., Galdiras, B., and S. Montgomery.
1991. Walking with the Great Apes. Houghton
Mifflin. Boston, MS.
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| Napier,
J.R. and P.H. The Natural History of the Primates.
Cambridge: MIT Press, 1985. |
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| Nowak,
Ronald M. (ed.). Walkers Mammals of the World.
Vol. I. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1991. |
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| Parker,
S. (ed.). Grizmeks Encyclopedia of Mammals. Vol.
II. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.,1990. |
|
| Preston-Mafham,
Ken and Rod. Primates of the World. London:
Blandford Publishing, 1992. |
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| Rowe,
Noel. The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates.
East Hampton, New York: Pogonias Press, 1996. |
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| Tuttle,
Russell H. Apes of the World: Their Social Behavior,
Communication, Mentality and Ecology. New Jersey:
Noyes Publications, 1986. |
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| Orangutan
Foundation International. www.ns.net/orangutan/.
January 25, 2001. |
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