Orangutans have long, sparse orange or reddish hair unequally distributed over their bodies. It can be heard a kilometer or more away (more than half a mile). When water is difficult to reach, orangutans chew leaves to make a pulpy sponge to soak up the water. Orangutans are capable of opening hard-shelled and/or thorny fruits by gripping it firmly between their teeth and using one hand to manipulate it until a weak point is found, thereby breaking open the hard exterior. International guidelines and laws protect orangutans. Forage items placed in hay for the orangutans include air-popped popcorn, diced fruits and veggies, beans and sunflower seeds. Batang tends to be very social; she enjoys spending a few days with some of the orangutans, then switches groups, spending a few days with the other orangutans. Recognizing the growing threat of unsustainably grown palm oil, in early 2014, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) assembled a multi-institutional task force to examine issues related to palm oil production and to develop an AZA position statement. Redd is the first Bornean orangutan born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in 25 years. A critically endangered Bornean orangutan has been shot dead, hacked to pieces and eaten by workers after straying onto an Indonesian palm oil plantation, police and activists said Thursday. When on the ground, they use all four limbs, supporting themselves on the sides of clenched fists, or occasionally walk on upright on two legs. Adult males have deep chests and much longer body hair than females do. Studies indicate that orangutans primarily feed on fruits and some estimates suggest that they make up close to 60% of the orangutan's diet. We are not announcing a reopening date at this time and will provide updates on our websites and social media. Orangutans get water from a variety of sources, including tree holes and leaves that fill with water during the rainy season. Always choose certified palm oil products that support sustainable production and prevent deforestation. Orangutans sometimes travel on the ground when going long distances because appropriate sized branches may not always be available. Their population levels have dropped more than 50 percent over the past 60 years, and their habitat has declined by over 80 percent in the past 20 years. Browse our extensive collection of zoological career infobooks including animal training, animal rescue and rehabilitation and zoo careers. The low density, small population size and increasing pressure on their habitat, coupled with certain factors of orangutan behavioral ecology including diet, low reproductive rates, slow maturation and the longest inter-birth interval of any land-based mammal, make the orangutan extremely vulnerable to extinction in the near future if threats are not minimized. Even during times of scarcity, fruit can still take up 16% of feeding. Orangutans eat primarily fruit and play an important role dispersing seeds through defecation. As for the question of what an orangutan eats—orangutans mostly eat fruit, as well as other types of vegetation. Orangutans have cognitive maps, often returning to the same feeding sites they have visited in the past to forage for fruit, insects and flowers. They occasionally eat meat, having been observed preying on slow … Orangutans have an important role in seed dispersal. Most primates have the capacity for eating sugary fruit, the capacity for eating leaves and the capacity for eating meat. Females and males usually mate willingly, but sometimes a male will pursue a female and forcibly copulate with her. There is no truth to them being meat eaters or hunting humans. That is often a story told to try to justify the killing of these animals though. Orangutans strip leaves from branches by dragging them through their mouths. Sumatran orangutans are listed among the 25 most endangered primates in the world and Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutans are in imminent danger of going extinct. Generally, Sumatran orangutans are lighter in color, have longer body hair and less pendulous throat sacs than Bornean orangutans, but the only reliable way to tell the difference between Sumatran and Bornean orangutans is by looking at their chromosomes. Females may stay with their mothers until they are well into their teens, allowing them to observe mothering skills as they watch their younger siblings being raised. But meat is a rare treat, if eaten at all. Most orangutans get their protein in the form of insects, mostly termites and ants. They are highly opportunistic foragers. Making a list and checking it twice? Learn more about the Seasonal Camp Counselor program at SeaWorld. Orangutans typically build sleeping nests above the ground in various positions of one or more trees. Orangutans spread out to get enough to eat throughout the year. During the Pleistocene Era they were more widespread across … Orangutans usually have a single baby, and twins are rare. They have large jaws and flattened noses in concave faces. Orangutans rely more on facial expressions and body language to communicate. Most animals copulate only when the female is ovulating, but orangutans may copulate daily during several-day long consortships in the wild or when housed together socially in zoos. Orangutans eating slow loris. Females do not live in tight social groups, but they are familiar with and have relationships with other females in the area. They eat more than 400 different plant varieties. The inter-birth interval is somewhat longer in Sumatran orangutans than it is in Bornean orangutans; researchers are still trying to determine why this is the case. In comparison to bonobos and gorillas, orangutans do not seem to have too much choice in terms of food or diet. Our overarching zoological mission is to foster conservation awareness and to impart action on our park guests to preserve wild animals and wild places. There are also national laws and programs to protect orangutans. However, scientists have observe five different orangutans in Sumatra catching and eating meat. 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