ianmichaelthomas
Up Close And Very Personable With The Boss
This magnificent huge male Sumatran Orangutan is often quite shy and stays out of sight from the often very noisy human visitors - but sometimes he will come right up close.
Here, only a pane of glass separates us.
So these shots came out quite well, given it was through glass, absolutely smeared with many handprints, and lots of kids standing right up to the glass, blocking the view for others.
The Orangutans act with far more dignity that many of the human visitors.
Once widespread throughout the forests of Asia, orang-utans are now confined to just two islands, Sumatra and Borneo. There are two genetically distinct species: the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). The two species show slightly different physical characteristics. Sumatran orangutans have lighter hair and a longer beard than their Bornean relatives, and Sumatran males have narrower cheekpads. Both species are highly endangered due to habitat loss and poaching.
The orangutan is one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, sharing 96.4% of our DNA. Indigenous peoples of Indonesia and Malaysia call this ape "Orang Hutan" which literally translates as "Person of the Forest".
Orangutans are unique in many respects. They are the only Great Ape in Southeast Asia, and indeed the only Great Ape found outside Africa. They are the only "red" ape, and the only strictly arboreal ape, meaning that they spend their lives in the forest canopy, even building nests in the trees in which to sleep. The other Great Apes (chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas) do climb and build nests in the trees, but tend to spend their lives on the ground.
Orangutans primarily eat fruit, and spend up to 60% of their time foraging and eating in order to get enough energy.
Orangutans are highly intelligent and gentle animals. They use tools in the wild and have excellent memories to make mental maps of their forest home in order to find fruiting trees throughout the seasons.
Females can grow to 1.3 metres in height and weigh about 45kg. The males are larger, growing to 1.8 metres tall and weighing up to 120kg.
Physical description
Sumatran orang-utans have a long red/ginger coat. They have long facial hair, unlike their Bornean counterparts. Orang-utans are the largest arboreal (tree-living) mammals. Males may not develop cheek pouches and throat sacks until they are 20 years old and even then it may not happen at all.
Orangutans breed more slowly than any other primate, with the female producing a baby on average only once every 7-8 years. Infants are dependent on their mothers for at least five years, learning about survival in the forest. Orangutans live for around 45 years in the wild, and a female will usually have no more than 3 offspring in her lifetime. This means that orangutan populations grow very slowly, and take a long time to recover from habitat disturbance and hunting.Melbourne Zoo has set up a forest of poles for the orangutans and gibbons to use, simulating a real wooded forest. This sort of forest has been pioneered for use in Sumatra in special reserves set up as rehabilitation centres for injured, sick or orphaned orang-utans to build up survival skills before being released back into the wild.
Sumatran orang-utans are more sociable than their Bornean relatives, due in part to the mast fruiting of the fig trees, where large groups come together to feed. Orang-utans are long-lived and females tend to only give birth after they reach 15 years of age. The infant spends its first two to three years being carried constantly and will still remain close to the mother for at least another three years. The interval between births is the longest for any mammal and may be as long as eight years. Orang-utans move slowly through the trees, and will sway trees in order to cross larger gaps. Nights are spent in nests built high up in the canopy, constructed from branches and leaves.
The main threat to the Orangutan is habitat loss, as rainforest is cut down for timber logging or cleared for human settlement.
Because of increased availability, the diet of Sumatran orang-utans has a higher percentage of pulpy fruit and figs compared to that of Bornean orang-utans.
Royal Melbourne Zoo, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Up Close And Very Personable With The Boss
This magnificent huge male Sumatran Orangutan is often quite shy and stays out of sight from the often very noisy human visitors - but sometimes he will come right up close.
Here, only a pane of glass separates us.
So these shots came out quite well, given it was through glass, absolutely smeared with many handprints, and lots of kids standing right up to the glass, blocking the view for others.
The Orangutans act with far more dignity that many of the human visitors.
Once widespread throughout the forests of Asia, orang-utans are now confined to just two islands, Sumatra and Borneo. There are two genetically distinct species: the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). The two species show slightly different physical characteristics. Sumatran orangutans have lighter hair and a longer beard than their Bornean relatives, and Sumatran males have narrower cheekpads. Both species are highly endangered due to habitat loss and poaching.
The orangutan is one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, sharing 96.4% of our DNA. Indigenous peoples of Indonesia and Malaysia call this ape "Orang Hutan" which literally translates as "Person of the Forest".
Orangutans are unique in many respects. They are the only Great Ape in Southeast Asia, and indeed the only Great Ape found outside Africa. They are the only "red" ape, and the only strictly arboreal ape, meaning that they spend their lives in the forest canopy, even building nests in the trees in which to sleep. The other Great Apes (chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas) do climb and build nests in the trees, but tend to spend their lives on the ground.
Orangutans primarily eat fruit, and spend up to 60% of their time foraging and eating in order to get enough energy.
Orangutans are highly intelligent and gentle animals. They use tools in the wild and have excellent memories to make mental maps of their forest home in order to find fruiting trees throughout the seasons.
Females can grow to 1.3 metres in height and weigh about 45kg. The males are larger, growing to 1.8 metres tall and weighing up to 120kg.
Physical description
Sumatran orang-utans have a long red/ginger coat. They have long facial hair, unlike their Bornean counterparts. Orang-utans are the largest arboreal (tree-living) mammals. Males may not develop cheek pouches and throat sacks until they are 20 years old and even then it may not happen at all.
Orangutans breed more slowly than any other primate, with the female producing a baby on average only once every 7-8 years. Infants are dependent on their mothers for at least five years, learning about survival in the forest. Orangutans live for around 45 years in the wild, and a female will usually have no more than 3 offspring in her lifetime. This means that orangutan populations grow very slowly, and take a long time to recover from habitat disturbance and hunting.Melbourne Zoo has set up a forest of poles for the orangutans and gibbons to use, simulating a real wooded forest. This sort of forest has been pioneered for use in Sumatra in special reserves set up as rehabilitation centres for injured, sick or orphaned orang-utans to build up survival skills before being released back into the wild.
Sumatran orang-utans are more sociable than their Bornean relatives, due in part to the mast fruiting of the fig trees, where large groups come together to feed. Orang-utans are long-lived and females tend to only give birth after they reach 15 years of age. The infant spends its first two to three years being carried constantly and will still remain close to the mother for at least another three years. The interval between births is the longest for any mammal and may be as long as eight years. Orang-utans move slowly through the trees, and will sway trees in order to cross larger gaps. Nights are spent in nests built high up in the canopy, constructed from branches and leaves.
The main threat to the Orangutan is habitat loss, as rainforest is cut down for timber logging or cleared for human settlement.
Because of increased availability, the diet of Sumatran orang-utans has a higher percentage of pulpy fruit and figs compared to that of Bornean orang-utans.
Royal Melbourne Zoo, Parkville, Victoria, Australia