Orangutan

Species
Orangutan

Species
Orangutan

Orangutan

Top
Facts
Why They Matter
Threats
What WWF is Doing
How You Can Help

Facts

Known for their distinctive red fur, orangutans are the largest arboreal mammal, spending most of their time in trees. Long, powerful arms and grasping hands and feet allow them to move through the branches. These great apes share 96.4% of our genes and are highly intelligent creatures.

Status
Critically Endangered
Population
about 104,700 (Bornean), 13,846 (Sumatran), 800 (Tapanuli)
Scientific Name
Pongo abelii, Pongo pygmaeus
Weight
up to 200 pounds

The name orangutan means "man of the forest" in the Malay language. In the lowland forests in which they reside, orangutans live solitary existences. They feast on wild fruits like lychees, mangosteens, and figs, and slurp water from holes in trees. They make nests in trees of vegetation to sleep at night and rest during the day. Adult male orangutans can weigh up to 200 pounds. Flanged males have prominent cheek pads called flanges and a throat sac used to make loud verbalizations called long calls. An unflanged male looks like an adult female. In a biological phenomenon unique among primates, an unflanged male can change to a flanged male for reasons that are not yet fully understood.

Bornean and Sumatran orangutans differ a little in appearance and behavior. While both have shaggy reddish fur, Sumatran orangutans have longer facial hair. Sumatran orangutans are reported to have closer social bonds than their Bornean cousins. Bornean orangutans are more likely to descend from the trees to move around on the ground. Both species have experienced sharp population declines. A century ago there were probably more than 230,000 orangutans in total, but the Bornean orangutan is now estimated at about 104,700 based on updated geographic range (Endangered) and the Sumatran about 7,500 (Critically Endangered).

A third species of orangutan was announced in November, 2017. With no more than 800 individuals in existence, the Tapanuli orangutan is the most endangered of all great apes.

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The Orangutan Family

Why They Matter

Orangutans are "gardeners" of the forest, playing a vital role in seed dispersal in their habitats. They live in tropical forests and prefer forest in river valleys and floodplains of their respective islands. Orangutans' extremely low reproductive rate makes their populations highly vulnerable. Females give birth to one infant at a time about every 3-5 years, so these species can take a long time to recover from population declines. With human pressure only increasing, orangutans face an increasing risk of extinction.

Threats

Population about 104,700 (Bornean), 13,846 (Sumatran), 800 (Tapanuli)
Extinction Risk Critically Endangered
1. EX
  Extinct
  
  No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died
2. EW
  Extinct in the Wild
  
  Known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population
3. CR
  Critically Endangered
  
  Facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the Wild
4. EN
  Endangered
  
  Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild
5. VU
  Vulnerable
  
  Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild
6. NT
  Near Threatened
  
  Likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future
7. LC
  Least Concern
  
  Does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Near Threatened

Deforestation and Habitat Loss

The habitats of Asia's only great apes are fast disappearing under the chainsaw to make way for oil palm plantations and other agricultural plantations. Illegal logging inside protected areas and unsustainable logging in concessions where orangutans live remains a major threat to their survival. Today, more than 50% of orangutans are found outside protected areas in forests under management by timber, palm oil and mining companies.

Hunting and Illegal Wildlife Trade

Orangutans are an easy target for hunters because they're large and slow targets. They are killed for food or in retaliation when they move into agricultural areas and destroy crops. This usually occurs when orangutans can't find the food they need in the forest.

Females are hunted most often. When caught with offspring, the young are often kept as pets. The pet trade is a major problem. It is thought that for each orangutan reaching Taiwan, as many as 3-5 additional animals die in the process. Recent enforcement of the law in Taiwan has reduced the importation of orangutans, but the trade remains a threat in Indonesia where there is still demand for orangutans as pets. There is also trade in orangutan skulls in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo).

What WWF Is Doing

WWF has been working on orangutan conservation since the 1970s. Our efforts include conserving orangutan habitat, antipoaching, promoting sustainable forestry and agriculture, and halting the pet trade.

Stopping Illegal Wildlife Trade

WWF works with TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, to help governments enforce restrictions on the trade in live animals and orangutan products. We also help to rescue trafficked orangutans, which recover in refuges and are eventually released back into the wild.

Protecting Orangutans

WWF works in both Borneo and Sumatra to secure well-managed protected areas and wider forest landscapes to connect sub-populations of orangutans. Our work on sustainable production of commodities contributes to the conservation of major orangutan habitats in Borneo and Sumatra. We also monitor orangutan populations, work on ecotourism and provide community based support for orangutan conservation.

Projects

Thirty Hills

WWF and partners are securing protection for a critical rain forest in Sumatra. Thirty Hills is one of the last places on Earth where elephants, tigers, and orangutans coexist in the wild.