Orangutan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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An Orangutan (Pongo) is a great ape that has fur with a color between red and brown. There are two species of orangutan. They are from Southeast Asia. There are very few of them left, because loss of the jungle has made many of them die. There are famous orang utans on show at the Singapore Zoo.
The name Orangutan comes from orang hutan, which means man of the forest in Indonesia
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[change] Taxonomy
- Genus Pongo
- Bornean Orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus
- Sumatran Orangutan, Pongo abelii
[change] Appearance
Orangutans have red-brown fur. They have very long and strong arms. They also have hands that are good for climbing. The Sumatran Orangutan is smaller and has longer hair/fur than the Bornean Orangutan. Orangutans have been driven into different habitats because of forest depletion and are on the very edge of extinction.
[change] Life
Orangutans are from the rainforests on the islands Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia. They mostly live up in the trees. They eat fruit, leaves and bark, but also insects, bird eggs and small vertebrate animals. They drink water from rain that has collected in leaves.
After a pregnancy of 230-260 days the female gives birth to usually one baby, but sometimes two.
[change] Other websites
- Primate Info Net Pongo Factsheet
- Information from Grungy Ape on the difference between the two Orang-utan species
- OrionSociety.org - 'Does an orangutan find Freedom in the Gift of Words? Do We?'
- Orang utan language project
- Facial Expression & Vocalizations
- Orangutan Foundation International non-profit organization dedicated to "support the conservation and understanding of the orangutan and its rain forest habitat while caring for ex-captive individuals as they make their way back to the forest."
- Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative non-profit organization whose mission is to secure the future of the orangutan through programs of education and outreach in Indonesia.
- The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation
- Sumatran Orangutan Society International non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of Sumatran orangutans
[change] References
- ↑ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 183-184. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
