Orangutan

=**Orangutan**=



====The word Orangutan derived from the langauge of Malaysia and Indonesian words //orang//, which means "person" and //hutan// which means, "forest" meaning "person of the forest." The Orangutan is an Asian genus of the family Horminidae or great apes which includes: Chimpanzees, Gorillas and even humans. This species of great ape is known as one of the most intelligent primates. Not only does it differ in its intelligence among its family, but in hair color. The Orangutan is a vibrant burnt orange or reddish-brown rather than the black or brown color which is commonly seen in the majority of other apes.====

**Taxonomic Classification:**

 * ====Bornean Orangutan (//Pongo pygmaeus//)====
 * ====//Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus// - northwest populations====
 * ====//Pongo pygmaeus morio// - east populations====
 * ====//Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii// - southwest populations====
 * ====Sumatran Orangutan (//Pongo abelii//)====

**Habitat:**
====As one of the largest aborreal mammals on this planet, their ranges of distribution are very limited. Orangutans are located exclusively in tropical forests or jungles in Borneo and North Sumatra. Specifically in Borneo they can be located in eastern forests of Sabah, Malaysia and southern forests of Kalimantan, Indonesia. Borneo, An island that was once a single volcanoe beneath the sea formed to be the third largest island in the world is made of 50% rain forests.==== ====Here it's known to have a tropical climate, where there is no true dry season because it rains all year long. However the heaviest rain falls between October and March also known as monsoon season. Just like the rest of the island the rain forests have warm, constant temperatures, lots of rain and a variety of mountainous terrain. The rainforests found here have some of the most rare plants and animals such as the asain elephant, proboscis monkey, flying frog, pitcher plant, and native fruit trees that include coconut palms and mangoes.====

[[image:flangedmale.jpg width="331" height="305" align="left" caption="Flanged Male "]]
====Orangutans have a largy, hefty body, thick neck, no tail and arms that two times the lengths of their legs. Orangutan's stand at a average height from 4 to 5 feet, and weighs between 73 to 198 pounds. However males and females do differ. The female orangutan can grow to be around 4'2" and weigh approximately 100 pounds, where as the males can reach about 5'9" and weigh over 280 pounds. Similar to the hands of humans, orangutans have four fingers and an opposable thumb. Even our feet are the same except that their fingers and toes are curved. This adaptation as well as the lack of restriction in movement of their legs and hip joint ligament which keeps the femurheld into the pelvis allows them to move much more smoothly and grasp things using their hands and feet.==== ====The orangutan has a broad had with a protrusive mouth area. To show their readiness to mate and dominance above other males, they have large cheek flaps which become larger as the ape continues to age. Through throar pouches which are located near the vocal chords, orangutans resonate through the forest, however the male pouches tend to be more developed. Unlike their distant family members, orangutans are fist-walkers not true knucle walkers. Orangutans, on average live to be up to 35 years in their natural habitat, and 60 years in captivity.====

**Species Interaction:**
====The Orangutan tends to live a more secluded lifestyle which varies from how the other apes live. Adult males and independent adolescents live alone, where as females typically live and bond with other females like mothers and sisters, especially while caring for their young. In the orangutan culture, home ranges have a resident male that is known as their primary breeder. The primary breeder stays within its home range until a male with more dominance replaces them. In most cases, the male with the larger body and the very best body conditions win. Where as transcients males and females roam abroad wither alone or in small groups. As orangutans reach the adult stage in their life the females become friendly, then their behavior changes to avoidance and antagonistic. The male though, just begins to interact with hostility. Though this one species has two different attitudes as they grow older, they both agree on one thing: large fruiting trees. Competition does not typically occur here because fruit grows profusely, allowing the orangutans to benefit and even meet new social contacts they may have traveled there as well.====

**Reproduction:**
====At about the age of 15, males have fully developed testicles and may begin reproducing. Between the ages of 15 and 20, males develop their cheek pads and pronounced throat pouches, but this only occurs after they have obtained a home range. There are 2 distinct kinds of males: flanged and unflanged. The stage in which am unflanged male transforms into a flanged male can occur quite quickly. These 2 kinds of males also have different mating strategies. The flanged male uses his long calls to attract females, by giving away his location. Where as unflanged males will come across and female and force sexual intercourse upon her. Though both strategies are successful, females commonly prefer the flanged male because they offer protection from the unflanged males.==== ====Females do things quite different however. They begin to ovulate around the ages of 6-11. And menstrual periods last up to a month. But similar to humans, the orangutan carries the baby within her for 9 months. After the 9 months they have their first offspring, the mother tends and cares for her baby for the next 2 years. The baby doesnt even lose contact with its mother for its 4 months. Once the baby reaches its adolescent life, it travels alone, no longer dependent on its mother.====



**Conservation:**
The orangutan as a whole species is becoming endangered, however the Sumatran species is critically endangered. A sharp decline in the orangutan population of 14% has left many worried about what the future of this species will turn out to be. Due to Human disruption, most orangutans wont reach adulthood, because they are killed as humans report they are a disruption to their homes. Mainly mother orangutans are killed so that their infants can be sold as pets. However, many of the infants die because they no longer have the aid they need from their mothers. Humans are not the only reason why the population of this species have declined. Logging, mining, climate change and forest fires of the vast areas of tropical forsts are disappearing just like the orangutan itself. In response to the possible extinction of orangutans, organizations such as SOS (Sumatran Orangutan Society) and other foundations have been created in hopes to save this rare and beautiful creature.

name ||~ Common name ||~ Region ||~ Estimated number ||
 * ~ Scientific
 * //Pongo abelii// || [|Sumatran Orangutan] || [|Sumatra] || 6,667 ||
 * //Pongo pygmaeus// || [|Bornean Orangutan] || [|Borneo] ||  ||
 * //P. p. morio// || Northeast Bornean Orangutan || [|Sabah] || 11,017 ||
 * //P. p. morio// || Northeast Bornean Orangutan || [|East Kalimantan] || 4,825 ||
 * //P. p. wurmbii// || Central Bornean Orangutan || [|Central Kalimantan] || >31,300 ||
 * //P. p. pygmaeus// || Northwest Bornean Orangutan || [|West Kalimantan] and [|Sarawak] || 7,425 ||

**References:**

 * 1) "Borneo." //Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online//. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 01 May. 2011. <[]>
 * 2) "Borneo." //GloBio//. Glossopedia. 2007. Web. <[]>.
 * 3) "Orangutan." //Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online//. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 01 May. 2011. <[]>.
 * 4) "Orangutan." //GloBio//. Glossopedia. 2007. Web. <[]>.
 * 5) "Orangutan." //Wikipedia//. Mediawiki, 2011. Web. 1 May 2011. <[]>.
 * 6) Rodman, Peter S. "Orangutan." //Encyclopedia Americana.// Grolier Online, 2011. Web. 1 May. 2011
 * 7) "SOS." //Home Pag- SOS//. N.p., 2011. Web. 1 May 2011. <[]>.