2# Orangutan's Fact

1) Do male and female orangutans look different?
       Orangutans are what we call ‘sexually dimorphic’ – that is there are visible differences between males and females. Adult males can reach 1.5m in height and weigh as much as 120kg. Females are much smaller. They grow up to 1m tall and weigh about 45kg. Male orangutans develop large cheek pads and a throat pouch when mature. The male inflates his throat pouch to make a loud sound called a “long call” which alerts other orangutans to his presence and attract females.

2) What do orangutans eat?
       Orangutans are principally frugivorous (fruit eating). Ninety per cent of their diet consists of fruit but orangutans also eat nectar, honey, bark, leaves, insects and fungi. An orangutans’ favourite fruit is the durian. Durians are renowned for their smell but orangutans love them!

3) How long is pregnancy?
       Female orangutans have their first baby at about 14-15 years old. Pregnancy lasts for 8½ months. Young orangutans have a lot to learn to survive in the forest and will stay with their mother until they are about 7 or 8 years old. This period of dependency is longer than any other primate apart from humans. Female orangutans only have one baby approximately every 8 years and will have 3 or 4 young in their lifetime.

4) How endangered are orangutans?
        In 1900, there were over 315,000 wild orangutans. Today, there are approximately 50,000. That is a decrease of more than 80% in just over 100 years! Only 7,000 of these remaining orangutans live in Sumatra. The Sumatran orangutan is classified as critically endangered and the Bornean orangutan is classified as endangered. It is thought that the Sumatran orangutan may be the first great ape to become extinct in
the wild.

5) Why are orangutans endangered?
       The greatest threat to orangutans is the loss of their rainforest habitat. Tropical rainforests are being cut down for timber and the land cleared for mining and palm oil plantations. Orangutans have lost 80% of their habitat in the last 20 years! Orangutans are occasionally killed or injured by plantation owners and farmers who consider orangutans to be pests. If a female orangutan is found with an infant, the mother may be killed and the infant sold into the illegal pet trade. Rehabilitation centers are set up to treat and care for sick, injured or orphaned orangutans with the ultimate aim of returning them back to the wild.



#credit to : http://www.orangutan.org.uk