Orangutan at home. Why do vegetarian orangutans eat slow lorises?

Ticket Moscow - Bali - 500 dollars, Bali - Java - 40 dollars, Java - Borneo - 30 dollars, a boat to the national park - 600 dollars, getting hit in the neck by an orangutan is priceless

Human DNA is 50% identical to that of a banana. Do we count bananas distant relatives? Probably not. And if the DNA matches more than 95%?

In higher primates, the coincidence of DNA with the human is from 96.5% (in orangutans) to 98.4% (in chimpanzees). However, in terms of the amount morphological features modern man an order of magnitude more similar to an orangutan than a chimpanzee, and for us this is intuitively more important than DNA similarity.

Orangutans, for example, are the only great primates (other than humans) to have beards and mustaches. These monkeys widely use tools. And not only labor - say, during the rain they will easily build an umbrella for themselves. Cubs live with their mother for up to eight years, that is, for quite a long time. And the Malays generally considered their orangutan neighbors not like a person, namely people, just a little different.

On two distant islands

Tourists can ride a boat along the rivers of the Tanjungputing National Park

Our guide studied and worked at the Liki camp at this reserve, the main international field center for the study and rehabilitation of wild orangutans. His boss and mentor - Professor Birute Galdikas. A great woman who devoted her life to the study and protection of orangutans and, among other things, achieved the creation of a national park in their habitat. She founded the Leakey camp in 1971 and has been working there ever since, visiting her wooden house from time to time. research center. Speaking of the professor, the guide reverently lowers his voice. Indeed, it is hard to believe how much one woman can do on an island, country, and world scale from her love for monkeys alone. It is difficult until you see these monkeys with your own eyes.

Ethologist Birute Galdikas with wards

Study, study and study again

Even from the photographs it is clear: orangutans are charming creatures. Moreover, they are the most quiet, modest and even intelligent of our closest relatives. Translated from Malay, “orang utan” means “forest man”. Locals believe that orangutans are real people who went to live in the forest and stopped talking so that they would not be forced to work. Orangutans, like real intellectuals, really don’t like to do hard physical labor (just kidding). But they love to learn (and this is no longer a joke).

Orangutans are not afraid to go into the water, but they don't know how to swim like people.

The most popular teaching method they, like all monkeys, have monkeying. Orangutans are great mimics. For example, they looked at how locals they catch fish, and now, too, it happens that they sit on the shore with twigs and "fish" something. Of course, nothing is caught by orangs, but such a trifle never stopped a real fisherman.

Orangutans cannot swim, although they are not usually afraid of water, but the guide tells how one young male learned to use an empty plastic canister as a watercraft. He hugged her with one hand, and rowed with the other. And the young female Princess even mastered the canoe, using her hands as oars.

The female Sisvi scratches her leg. She is a descendant of those orangutans that were brought up in the camp "Liki"

Hands at orangutans and the truth though where. With a maximum height of 150 cm, the arm span reaches more than two meters. But this adaptation is not for rowing, but for life in the trees. Orangutans often move with the help of brachiation: they “walk”, grabbing branches with their hands and moving with their feet. Brachiation is actually walking upright with the help of the hands. There is a hypothesis that this type of movement was once characteristic of all ancient higher primates. But only orangutans and humans remained, while gorillas and chimpanzees moved on to evolutionarily advanced knuckle-walking. That is, we are also united with orangutans by loyalty to the “old school” technique of movement. But orangutans avoid jumping from branch to branch: they are too heavy. But even this precaution does not save, and in the bones, especially of old males, fused fractures are often found - traces of past falls.

Orangutans have few enemies other than humans. The Sumatran tiger does not climb trees, but clouded leopard will not cope with a large male. Yes, and with a female is not so easy. In danger orangutans break branches and they are very good at fighting or just throw some heavier one at the attacker. One angry male almost killed Birute Galdikas herself, throwing a huge club at her.

One hundred years of solitude

Orangutans are the only anthropoids that lead a solitary lifestyle. Chimpanzees and bonobos have a group marriage, gorillas have a harem, while male orangutans and females with cubs live strictly separately and meet only when the female needs the next cub. And this happens infrequently - once every 6-7 years. Such a love of loneliness is surprising, since high intelligence is usually combined with a complex social structure and developed relationships among group members. But the study of orangutans showed that their groups broke up quite recently, no more than a few hundred years ago, and this happened, probably due to a decrease in forest productivity and anthropogenic pressure on the population. Moreover, in Sumatra, orangutans remained closer to the group format: the dominant male controls a large territory, which includes enclaves of several females with cubs. But the semblance of a pair-marriage is formed only for the breeding season.

Female Tutut, camp "Liki"

Moreover, the orangutans have developed a methodology for determining the character of the groom and his matrimonial suitability. “They approached the dining male and stole some delicacy from him, while not running far, but remained to monitor the reaction of the robbed. If he began to resent and show aggression, demanding the return of food, the females ran away screaming. But if the male took the incident calmly, the female remained with him and in most cases became his sexual partner in the near future. By stealing food, sexually active females test the degree of aggressiveness of males, ”says the magazine. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

Strong sexual dimorphism also speaks in favor of the hypothesis of the recent loss of the group way of life. In truly solitary animals, males and females almost do not differ from each other. In orangutans, males are sometimes twice as large, more powerful and shaggy than females, their head is decorated with a massive skin-fat facial disc. Another unique feature of orangutans is the presence of two forms of males, dominants with a developed facial disc and subdominants without it. Females, of course, prefer slicker males, and are less likely to mate with devoid of growths. But whether the development of the facial disc depends on genes and whether it is a congenital or acquired trait is still not known for sure.

In addition to purely aesthetic value, the facial disk serves as a resonator for males, amplifying their hooting, roaring, screaming and a host of other sounds (the situation is approximately the same with owls - see). Orangutans have a very complex and varied vocal language that helps them communicate in dense forests, further evidence of their only recently lost sociality. The meanings of some "words" are intuitive for us, and some turn out to be a surprise. For example, a smacking sound does not mean "go kiss", but "get out of here, otherwise you will get it." And a mistake in translation can cost you dearly.

Adult male Nanang in the forest

As is common among higher primates, teenagers recently separated from their mothers train social skills by gathering in so-called gangs. We even saw one of these: five young orangutans sat sedately on neighboring trees, slowly and carefully eating leaves. No fights, no noise, nothing. Gang of nerds.

The menu of orangutans has a couple of hundred types of fruits and edible plants, but most of all they love ripe durians (it's not just orangutans that are maddened by this prickly-skinned "king of fruits" with creme brulee flavor and the smell of rotten baked onions). It is believed that the droppings of orangutans who have eaten durian are one of the most fetid substances in the world. But this is the opinion of those who simply do not like orangutans and durians.

However, fruit abundance in the jungle is rare, and for most of the year orangutans are content with the green parts of plants. And even they live from hand to mouth, without experiencing any particular discomfort from this - their metabolic rate is only slightly higher than that of sloths. Only females with cubs cannot afford to starve and even hunt slow lorises (small primates) on occasion.

But when the fruit season comes in the jungle and there is no need to go to the feeding grounds that the national park organizes for them, orangutans do not show up. And only our incredible luck can explain the fact that we still met quite a lot of them, about three dozen. They sat in trees on both sides of the river, made nests, ate termites, nursed children, and we even shook hands with one red-haired beauty. And then slightly received from her on the neck. Because every wild orangutan girl should be able to turn strangers off.

maternal education

The cub learns from other anthropoids by looking at all members of the group. Fathers, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, older brothers - skills are gained from the world by thread adulthood. And only the mother teaches the orangutan cub. Therefore, orangutans have a long childhood, they feed on milk for up to four years, and then live with their mother for a couple more years. Every good orangutan mother has to teach a child a lot, for example:

An 8–9 month old cub hangs by clinging to its mother's fur

Orangutans are very responsible mothers, and until they teach the cub all the vital tricks, they don’t give birth to the next one. As a result, orangutans rarely breed in nature. Males would, of course, be happy to spread their genes more often, but they do not have such an opportunity. If you come to the female without an invitation, she will simply climb higher and send air kisses from there in the meaning of "go away." And the male leaves. And what is left for him to do - he weighs under a centner, she is half as much, and all attempts to catch up with the female will end with the fact that he will fall and break something for himself. It's better to wait for an invitation.

In captivity, the relationship of orangutans develops differently, and the females have to get used to the constant company of the male again. On the other hand, cubs in nurseries are born on average more often, once every four years.

In general, wild orangutans are afraid of people and avoid them. And there is a reason: people really annoyed them. Due to poaching, and even more because of the clearing of the jungle under oil palm plantations, the number of wild orangutans has been reduced to a threat in the Kalimantan and critical in the Sumatran. In order to somehow correct the situation, Birute Galdikas opened an adaptation nursery for orangutan babies left without a mother at the Liki camp. Humans have literally replaced primates mother: fed, looked after cubs and taught everything that a self-sufficient orangutan should be able to do. Above the path in the depths of the forest, we were met by the daughter of one of those "graduates". The guide recognized her: "Ursula, Ursula!" Ursula looked at us with curiosity and no fear. She was born and raised in the jungle, but she learned from her mother that people are not dangerous. You can play with them, and get bored - drive away with a branch.

From the branch, of course, I had to dodge. But in general, it's great when a representative of the first unscared generation of wild orangutans drives you away from your territory.

Photo: SPL / Legion-media, NPL / Legion-media (x6), iStock, Alamy / Legion-media

Orangutan: lifestyle, nutrition, reproduction

The orangutan is the second largest primate species after the gorilla. It is found only on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. The population of this species is rapidly declining.Orangutans spend a significant part of their lives high in the crowns of trees. Orangutans are active during the daytime. Every evening, males and females with cubs build simple nests in which they spend the night. Orangutans find a suitable place in the fork and there they build a platform with special handrails from branches and leaves, on which they then fit. Despite the considerable mass, such a "bed" is the safest. All orangutans sleep on their side holding on to a twig. Before going to bed, they still cover themselves with branches. At dusk, the orangutans begin to arrange a new bed.

These animals are not as friendly as other monkeys, so they stay alone or in small groups. Adult males usually keep aloof. Orangutans occupy a large individual area and, having met another male on it, drive out the violator of territorial boundaries..jpg ">

Animal nutrition The basis of the diet of orangutans is fruits and leaves of trees, bark, nuts, rambutan fruits, sometimes insects and bird eggs. When there are enough fruits, orangutans stay in one place for a long time. Sometimes a lot of animals can be seen on a fruit-covered tree, but they rarely come into close contact. Orangutans are very smart. They remember places where they found a lot of fruit, and can determine when to expect a new crop again. Depending on this, animals travel many kilometers through the forest in search of their favorite food. When it is necessary to quench their thirst, animals find a hollow where water collects. They dip their hand into the water and suck on the wet fur.

How Orangutans Reproduce Orangutans do not create permanent unions. The dominant male occupies a large area and mates with many females. He spends several days with the female, which are favorable in her 28-day cycle. Mating takes place all year round, and the moment the cub is born does not depend on a particular season, because different trees bear fruit in different time That is, there is enough food throughout the year. Every 3-5 years, the female brings one cub, which grows very slowly. Only after years the young orangutan partially becomes independent.

With an increase in population, there is a ruthless destruction of orangutan habitats. Huge spaces are cut down tropical jungle for harvesting wood or for agricultural land. Such logging, despite the prohibition of the authorities, also occurs on the territory of nature reserves and national parks. Another threat is the demand for cubs, as exotic lovers keep orangutans at home. The consequence of this was a catastrophic reduction in their numbers after World War II. Due to slow reproduction, the population does not reproduce in nature.

Despite the prohibition by the governments of Hong Kong and Singapore of the export and import of animals, the orangutan is under a serious threat of extinction. There are breeding programs in nurseries and its further introduction in the wild.

These monkeys are among the three most famous great primates, along with chimpanzees and gorillas, are the closest, in terms of blood composition and DNA structure, to humans. It is no coincidence that the local tribes dubbed this shaggy jungle dweller, moving on the ground on two legs, "man of the forest" - "orang" (man) "utan" (forest). Having studied in detail the DNA of this primate and making sure of its similarity with its own (97% coincidence), a person retained a rather superficial knowledge about this very interesting “relative”.

And even its name is still written incorrectly, adding the letter “g” at the end, turning “man of the forest” into a “debtor”, since “utang” in Malay means “debt”.

Description of orangutans

Orangutans belong to the genus of arboreal apes, standing out among other primates more high level development . Orangutans are often confused with its African counterpart - another highly developed great ape -. Meanwhile, there are fundamental differences between them, both external and behavioral properties.

Appearance

In size, orangutans lose to gorillas. But this is not their main difference. There is no other animal on Earth that would be so different from an animal and so reminiscent of a person. He has nails, not claws, amazingly intelligent eyes, excellent facial expressions, small "human" ears and a large, developed brain.

In the erect posture of homo sapiens, the orangutan barely reaches 150 cm, but at the same time it is a heavyweight - it can weigh 150 kg or more. It's all about body proportions. The orangutan has short legs and a massive square body with a thick belly. The arms are very long - both in comparison with the body and with the legs. Strong, muscular, they help the orangutan easily, and even gracefully, "fly" through the trees.

It is interesting! The length of the orangutan's arms in a span greatly exceeds the height and reaches 2.5 m. When the monkey is in an upright position, its arms hang below the knees and reach the feet, being an additional support when moving on the ground.

Deftly clinging to tree branches helps an orangutan a special structure thumb hands, protruding and curved crochet. On the feet, the big toes are also opposed to the rest and curved, but poorly developed and of little use. The crooked fingers of the front paws also help the monkey to easily pick fruits from trees, but their functions are limited to this. Such limbs are not capable of more complex manipulations.

Orangutans are covered with coarse red hair. It is long, but at the same time rare, which is not surprising, considering hot climate tropical jungle. The color of the coat changes shade with the age of the primate - from bright red in youth to brown in old age.

The coat is unevenly distributed over the body of the orangutan - it is thicker on the sides and less often on the chest. The lower body and palms are almost bare. Orangutans have pronounced sexual dimorphism. Their males are endowed with a number of outstanding features: frightening fangs, a funny "beard" and "puffed out" cheeks. Moreover, the cheeks of males grow as they grow older, forming a roller around the face. Orangutan females have neither a beard, nor a mustache, nor ridges on the face, and their size is much smaller, and the skeleton is thinner. Their usual weight does not exceed 50 kg.

Lifestyle, behavior

Orangutans spend most of their lives in trees.. The exception is large male primates, whose weight becomes threatening for the branches.

These monkeys move from tree to tree, actively using their long and tenacious forelimbs. The purpose of such migration is to find a source of food. If there is enough food at the top, then the orangutan will not even think of descending to the ground. He will build himself a kind of nest-couch from bent branches and will lie down, leading a leisurely and measured lifestyle. Even the thirst that has arisen, this monkey will prefer to quench with the help of the water that it finds above, in the leaves or hollows of tropical trees.

It is interesting! Unlike other monkeys, orangutans do not jump from branch to branch, but move from tree to tree, clinging to flexible trunks and vines with their hands and feet.

These are very strong animals. Significant own weight does not prevent them from conquering 50-meter peaks. Moreover, they have enough intelligence to make their task as easy as possible. So, for example, for a prickly trunk of a kapoko tree, orangutans make special “gloves” for themselves from large leaves, which allow them to easily reach their goal - sweet tree sap.

Orangutans can communicate using a set of sounds. This monkey expresses pain and anger by whimpering and crying. To demonstrate a threat to the enemy, it emits a loud puff and smack. The deafening lingering roar of the male means a claim to the territory and is shown to attract the attention of the female. This roar is powered by a special orangutan throat sac that inflates like a balloon, spewing a squelching sound that turns into a throaty cry. You can hear such "vocals" for a kilometer.

Orangutans are polygamous loners. Which, in general, is not characteristic of primates. It happens that they live as a couple. But large communities in one place are impossible in view of the lack of food for everyone, so orangutans disperse at a distance from each other. At the same time, males carefully protect the boundaries of the territory on which his harem is located.

If a stranger wanders into the protected area, the owner organizes a militant performance. The matter, as a rule, does not reach the point of “assault”, but there is a lot of noise. Rivals begin to shake trees and break their branches, accompanying these crushing actions with an equally crushing yell. This continues until one of the "artists" loses his voice and is exhausted.

Orangutans cannot swim. And they are afraid of water, do not like it, avoiding rivers and covering themselves from the rain with large leaves like an umbrella.

The orangutan has a slow metabolism. This means that he can go without food for several days. There is a version that such a metabolic rate (30% below normal with such a body weight) is caused by the lifestyle of primates and their vegetarian diet.

Orangutans are peaceful creatures. They are not prone to aggression and have a calm, friendly and even intelligent disposition. When meeting a stranger, they prefer to move aside and never attack first.

Even when caught, they do not show strong resistance, which is abused by a person, catching these animals for profit.

orangutan species

For a very long time, the species diversity of orangutans was limited to two subspecies: Sumatran and Bornean / Kalimantan - after the name of the Indonesian islands on which they live. Both species are very similar to each other. At one time, there was even a version that the Sumatran and Kalimantan orangutans were representatives of the same species. But over time, this opinion was recognized as erroneous, differences were found.

It is interesting! It is believed that the Kalimantan orangutan is larger than the Sumatran, and the Sumatran is more rare. There are tigers on his island and he prefers to stay away from them, rarely descending to the ground. The Kalimantan, having no such predators nearby, leaves the tree more often.

At the end of the last century, there was a replenishment in the species range of orangutans.. Was opened the new kind- in Sumatra, in the Tapanuli region. Tapanuilsky became the third species of orangutans and the seventh among large great apes.

Scientists have found that the primates of the Tapanuli population, despite the fact that they live on the same island as the Sumatran ones, are closer in DNA structure to the Kalimantan ones. They differ from Sumatran relatives in their diet, curly hair, and more. high voice. The structure of the skull and jaws of the Tapanuil orangutan is also different from its cousins ​​- the skull is smaller and the fangs are wider.

Lifespan

The average lifespan of orangutans in vivo- 35-40 years, in captivity - 50 and above. They are considered champions in longevity among primates (not counting humans). There are cases when the orangutan lived up to 65 years.

Both chimpanzees and orangutans are apes. And this means that: they are very smart, their forelimbs are much longer than their hind ones, they have nails on all fingers and in terms of body structure they are more like humans than other primates.

There are 2 variants of the name of this primate - "orangutan" and "orangutan", but in scientific world it is customary to use the first option. Previously, only one species of this animal was distinguished - an ordinary orangutan ( Pongo pygmaeus), which was divided into 2 subspecies: Sumatran and Bornean orangutans.

Now there are 2 independent species: the Sumatran orangutan ( Pongo abelii) and the Bornean orangutan ( Pongo pygmaeus). The latter, in turn, is divided into 3 subspecies, the main difference between which lies only in the habitats on about. Borneo. The word "orangutan" is translated as "forest man".

These monkeys are found only on 2 large Indonesian islands - Sumatra and Borneo. The dense crown of trees is their home. Here they eat, sleep and rest. In connection with the arboreal way of life, they even drink water from hollows, from leaves, or dip their shaggy paw in water and lick off what is left.

Females are easy to distinguish from males. They are much smaller. If orangutan males weigh about 60-90 kilograms and their height can reach 1.5 meters, then females grow no more than 1 meter in height and weigh only 30-50 kilograms. With a very massive physique, their hind limbs are short, but the front ones are very long. In scope, they can reach 2-2.5 meters.

Thanks to this structural feature, orangutans move very well through the trees. They do it slowly. But before moving to another branch, they check their strength. Good tenacity to the monkey is provided by the big toes, opposed to the rest of the fingers. On the ground, they walk on all fours, stepping on the ground with the back of the middle phalanges of the forelimbs.

Their entire body is covered with a sparse but long red-brown hairline. It darkens as the animal ages. In males, special growths of connective tissue and fat are located on the face in the cheek area, and a large throat pouch adorns the neck, which helps to amplify the voice.

Orangutans live either alone (most often this applies to males), or in small groups consisting of 2-4 individuals (a female with 1-2 cubs or a male with a female and their offspring).

Each male has its own territory, which is inhabited by several females. The latter treat each other quite calmly and even sometimes can feed together. With males, the situation is somewhat different. If they met, then a showdown cannot be avoided.

The demonstration of strength begins with a formidable growl and is accompanied by the breaking of branches. However, fights are usually avoided. One of the males sooner or later gives in and leaves the place of the "battle". Still, these are very peaceful animals, unless it comes to protecting their cubs, but more on that later.

With the onset of the evening, everyone together begins to prepare for bed. Preparation consists in building a sleeping nest. Most often, it is located in the fork of large branches in the middle part of the tree and is a litter of twigs. The baby sleeps with the mother. Here they rest during the day.

Waking up early in the morning and stretching sweetly, they go to breakfast. Orangutans feed on leaves and fruits of trees. A special delicacy for them is the fruits of durian, resembling green balls with thorns. Having opened their shell, the monkeys begin to extract the white flesh with their fingers. In addition to leaves and fruits, they will also be happy to snack on insects, bird eggs or feast on honey, nuts and tree bark.

After good breakfast or lunch, they have a rest time when the children begin to play, and adults lie peacefully in their nests.

Orangutans do not like water, so during the rains they try to hide under wide leaves. They also cannot swim, and if they fall into the water, they can drown.

With the onset mating season males begin to attract their future chosen ones with a song that is a mixture of grunts and a vibrating roar. After 8.5 months, the female has 1, less often 2 cubs. They weigh only 1.5-2 kilograms. Almost immediately after birth, the cub clings to the wool on the mother's chest and begins to suck milk. Lactation continues up to 3-4 years.

Simultaneously with feeding milk, the female begins to gradually accustom the cub to plant foods, placing well-chewed leaves on it. From the age of 4, a small orangutan already becomes independent, but still continues to live next to its mother until the age of 6-8.

Sexual maturity in females occurs at 8-12 years, in males - at 14-15 years. The lifespan of an orangutan natural environment habitat can reach 30 years, and in captivity - even longer.

These monkeys became famous for their intelligence and ingenuity. They learn everything quickly. In zoos, they often adopt human habits. Some of them figured out to use various tools for getting food, for example, sticks. With their help, monkeys can bring fruits floating on the surface of the water closer to them.

But, alas, every year there are fewer and fewer of these wonderful monkeys. The reason for this was the destruction of their habitat and poaching. The hunt is for orangutan cubs, but the female will never give up her child, so she is killed. At the moments of protection of their family, males can be a mortal danger for people or animals.

One case is known when in 1984 in the north of about. Borneo poachers were attacked by male orangutans after they started shooting at the female to take away her cub. Three poachers were beaten to death by animals. Even guns didn't save them.

AT tall trees and strong lianas lives a shaggy creature. Most of the life of these animals takes place on trees, but adult, large and heavy males, whose branches can no longer withstand, live mainly on the ground.

These large beasts walk on their hind legs, and locals who see them warn of danger by calling Orang Hutan. Translated into Russian, this phrase means "forest man".

Based on this, the title orangutan not correct, but in Russian it is often used to name these, although in writing this will be considered a mistake, you need to say it correctly orangutan.

Orangutan habitat

In nature, these large great apes inhabit exclusively the tropics. There are two subspecies of orangutans - Bornean and Sumatran, according to the names of the islands where they live.

Marshy lowlands, on which grow vast, continuous forests - this is the environment orangutan habitat. When the distance between the trees is large, they jump over it using thin and flexible vines.

They move along the branches, using mainly the forelimbs, on which they often simply hang. The arm span of an adult is about 2 meters, which is much larger than the height of the animal.

monkey orangutan She is so accustomed to living in the canopy of trees that she even drinks water from leaves, old hollows or from her own wool so as not to go down to the reservoirs. If nevertheless there is a need to walk on the ground, then the animals use all four paws.

Adult individuals walk on the ground on their hind legs, which is why they can be confused with representatives of wild tribes. Orangutans spend the night right on the branches of trees, rarely arrange a semblance of a nest.

The appearance and behavior of the orangutan

Appearance humanoid gorillas are quite cute, as can be seen from multiple photos, but at the same time, adult males look intimidating. They have a massive body, a slightly elongated skull, their hands reach the feet and serve as a support for the orangutan when they are forced to walk on the ground.

thumbs the legs are very poorly developed. Adult males are up to 150 cm tall, while their arm circumference is 240 cm, and their body is about 115 cm in volume. The weight of such an animal is 80-100 kg.

Orangutan females are much smaller - up to 100 cm tall and weigh 35-50 kg. The lips of the monkey are plump and strongly protrude forward, the nose is flat, the ears and eyes are small, similar to human ones.

Orangutans are considered one of the smartest monkeys.

Primates are covered with hard, long, sparse reddish-brown hair. The direction of hair growth on the head and shoulders is up, on the rest of the body - down.

On the sides it is a little thicker, while the chest, lower body and palms are almost devoid of vegetation. Adult males have a fairly thick beard and large fangs. Females are smaller and tend to be friendlier.

If we talk about the structural features of the body of an orangutan, then the first thing worth mentioning is their brain, which is not similar to the brain of others, but more comparable to a human one. Thanks to the developed convolutions, these monkeys are considered the most intelligent mammals, after humans.

This is also proved by the facts that orangutans know how to use tools to get food, adopt the habits of people if they live next to them, and are even able to perceive speech, adequately reacting with facial expressions. Sometimes they even cease to be afraid of water, like a person, although by nature they cannot swim and can even drown.

Orangutans can communicate through various sounds, which was recently proved by the Englishwoman Regina Frey. Monkeys express anger, pain and irritation by crying, smacking and puffing loudly, threatening the enemy, and males mark their territory or attract a female with a long deafening cry.

The lifestyle of these animals is solitary, males know the boundaries of their territory and do not go beyond them. But they will not tolerate strangers on their land. If two males meet, then each will try to demonstrate his strength to each other, breaking tree branches and shouting loudly.

If necessary, the male will defend his possessions with his fists, although in general they are peaceful animals. Females, on the contrary, calmly communicate with each other, can feed together. Sometimes they live as a couple.

Orangutan food

Orangutans feed mainly on plant foods - young shoots of trees, buds, leaves and bark. Sometimes they can catch a bird, ruin a nest or catch insects and. They love sweet ripe fruit mango, bananas, plums, figs.

Their metabolism is slow, similar to that of a sloth. This is 30% less than necessary for their body weight. These large animals consume few calories and can go without food for several days.

The monkeys are provided with everything they need to feed on the trees, so they rarely go down. Water is found in the same place, in the crowns of tropical thickets.

Reproduction and lifespan of the orangutan

Orangutans do not have to wait for a specific season to breed, they can do so at any time of the year. The male attracts the female with loud calls.

If several “machos” at once came up with the idea of ​​mating, they will each shout in their own territory, attracting a female who will choose the most pleasant voice for her and visit the boyfriend’s possessions.

In the photo, a female orangutan with a cub

The female's pregnancy will last 8.5 months. Most often one is born baby orangutan, rarely two. Newborn babies weigh about 1.5-2 kg. At first, the cub clings tightly to the skin on the female's chest, then, for convenience, moves onto its back.

Little monkeys eat milk for 2-3 years, then live next to their mother for a couple more years. And only at the age of six years they begin to live independently. Orangutans become sexually mature, approaching the age of 10-15 years. Living on average 45-50 years, female orangutan manages to raise 5-6 cubs.

In nature, these animals have practically no enemies, because they live high in the trees and are inaccessible to predators. But in connection with the massive deforestation of tropical trees, they are losing their habitats.

Poaching has become an even bigger problem. Rare in our time, orangutans are very expensive on the black market, so those who want to make money can kill a female in cold blood to take away her cub.

Animals are sold for the joy of people, taking advantage of the fact that they are very smart and easy to learn. These animals can be taught bad habits, which can not be called otherwise than a mockery.

But not everyone sees fun or a toy in these monkeys, there are also caring people who are ready to help save the population and treat orangutans like human beings. There was even a whole series about helping babies of anthropoid apes, it's called orangutan island.

In general, these monkeys are very friendly, they become attached to people, communicate with them, make grimaces and can even perform something like an orangutan dance, the video of which you can easily find on the Internet.

Currently, illegal deforestation, habitats for orangutans, continues. Despite the fact that they are created National parks, these monkeys are endangered. The Sumatran orangutan is already in critical status, the Kalimantan is in danger.