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Sumatran Orangutan General Species Information
Sumatran orangutans are a critically
endangered specie. Habitat loss and poaching are pushing them towards imminent
extinction. EVERY MINUTE, EVERY DAY... an area equal to SIX FOOTBALL FIELDS of
Indonesian forest disappears!
Current estimates suggest that orangutans may become extinct in the wild within
ten years! The Sumatran Orangutan has been placed on the "Critically
Endangered" list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES). There are estimated to be only about 7,300 Sumatran orangutans left,
and a proposed network of roads through the Gunung Leuser National Park, the
largest area of rainforest where they live, further threatens their survival.
Orangutans are the only great apes outside
Africa, and occur in dwindling forested habitats on the islands of Borneo and
Sumatra.
| Common Name: Orangutan |
 Pongo
pygmaeus |
| Mammalia
|
| Primates
|
| Hominidae
|
| Pongo
|
| pygmaeus
|
Physical Characteristics
 | These apes have long reddish-brown hair, very long arms and a large, heavy
body. Adult males have large cheek and throat pouches. They have an opposable
thumb and big toe and long fingers and toes. This enables them to grip
quickly as the swing through the tree tops. |
| Size of average adult
 | height: male = 4.5 feet, female = 3.5 feet |
| weight: male = 200+ pounds, female = 110 pounds |
|
| Approximate life span is 30 - 45 years in the wild and 50 years in
captivity. |
| Known for their power, orangutans are seven
times stronger than a human male. |
| They have an opposable thumb and big toe and
long fingers and toes. |
| Females are usually about half the size of males. |
| A large throat sac allows long calls to stake
out territory and attract females. |
| "Orangutan" is Malayan for "Man of the Forest." |
| Only adult males have large cheek pads and
long hair. |
Life Span:
| In the wild about 35 years |
| In captivity about 55 years |
Diet
| Wild: fruits and leaves |
Behavior
Environmental/Global
| Found in Sumatra and Borneo. |
| Rainforests. |
| Endangered |
| Habitat
destruction; logging, human encroachment, poaching, and smuggling. |
| Orangutans are a "keystone" species
for conservation. They play an important part in the forest's regeneration
through the fruits and seeds they eat. Their disappearance may represent the
loss of thousands of species of plants and animals within that ecosystem. The
world's remaining primary forests are essential to human wellbeing on the
planet, and the key to a healthy planet is biodiversity - saving orangutans
helps to conserve the countless other mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian,
insect, plant and other species that live in the Indonesian rainforest.
|
| Illegal logging and the deliberate
starting of forest fires in order to convert virgin forest to timber and palm
oil plantations are the main factors responsible for the loss of over 80% of
orangutan habitat over the last 20 years. |
| Habitat: large tracts of mature rainforest |
| With their jungle environment burnt
and logged and their food sources lost, the orangutan population is declining
by as many as 1000 per year. |
| Distribution: Islands of Sumatra in Southeast Asia |
| Status: Endangered, CITES Appendix I
| Wild: habitat destruction-logging, human encroachment poaching and
smuggling |
| Captive: human disease research sensitivity to human illnesses |
|
| Do not buy lumber from Indonesia |
| Do not support the primate pet trade. |
| Do not have a primate as a pet. |
| Write your legislature |
| Keep informed on laws concerning the environment and
the exotic pet trade. |
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Baby Indah, a Sumatran orangutan baby goes for a walk
through the Memphis Zoo |
Set 1 of 9
Set 2 of 9
Set 3 of 9
Set 4 of 9
Set 5 of 9
Set 6 of 9
Set 7 0f 9
Set 8 of 9
Set 9 of 9
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Baby and adult Sumatran orangutans at the Memphis zoo in
Memphis Tennessee
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Set 10
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