Orangutan

The orangutan is the only species of great ape living in Asia. The other three species of great apes, Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), and Bonobo (Pan paniscus), all live in Africa. 

There are only two types of orangutans: Sumatera orangutans (Pongo abelii) inhabit the forest in Sumatera and Borneo orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)  which can be found in Kalimantan/ Borneo. The Malay word orangutan means "person of the forest." These long-haired, reddish colored primates are highly intelligent and are the closest relatives of humans, with 97 percent of their DNA identical to human DNA.

Orangutans have an enormous arm span. A male may stretch his arms some 7 feet (2 meters) from fingertip to fingertip a reach considerably longer than his standing height of about 5 feet (1.5 meters). When orangutans do stand, their hands nearly touch the ground.

Orangutans spend much of their time (some 90 percent) in the trees of their tropical rain forest home. They even sleep aloft in nests of leafy branches. They use large leaves as umbrellas and shelters to protect themselves from the frequent rains.

These intelligenct primates forage for food during daylight hours, with most of their diet consisting of fruit and leaves gathered from rain forest trees. They also eat bark, insects and, on rare occasions, meat.

Orangutans are more solitary than other apes. Males are loners. As they move through the forest they make plenty of rumbling, howling calls to ensure that they stay out of each other's way.

Mothers and their young, however, share a strong bond. Infants will stay with their mothers for some six or seven years until they develop the skills to survive on their own. Female orangutans give birth only once every eight years—the longest time period of any animal. The animals are long-lived and have survived as long as 60 years in captivity.

Because orangutans live in only a few places, and because they are so dependent upon trees, they are particularly susceptible to logging in these areas. Unfortunately, deforestation and other human activities, such as hunting, have placed the orangutan in danger of extinction. The BOS Foundation is currently involved in acquiring ex-logging forest concessions in Kalimantan to serve as release sites for its rehabilitated orangutans.  In order for the species to survive, it is imperative that the natural habitat of the orangutan is carefully preserved.

Because orangutans live in the top of the forest canopy, they can be considered the bellwether of the entire ecosystem of the rain forest. If life at the top of the canopy is healthy and thriving, so too will be life on the forest floor.  Therefore, it is crucial that the orangutan be preserved if we are to have any hope of rescuing our endangered planet from the threat of Global Warming, a phenomenon closely linked with the systematic destruction of forests in over the past century.

Source: http://orangutan.or.id/maincontent-1.html