Orangutan means “forest man”- a very suitable name for the largest of the tree dwelling apes; a large male can weigh 90kg.
Orangutans live in Sumatra and Kalimantan. They are very gentle animals and live quietly several meters off the ground. They spend their time moving from meal to meal by passing from tree to tree, swinging rather than jumping, using their long arms to carefully reach out the gaps among trees.
It is thought that there are about 150,000 wild orangutans, but only about 20,000 are in reserves and safely protected from danger. The main threat to the orangutans comes from logging companies, or from people who illegally capture and sell orangutans as pets. The logging companies exploit the living rain forest for timber but in doing so destroy the environment for the orangutans. The orangutans need dense forests so that they can easily move from tree to tree in searching for food.
The destruction of rain forests could also bring about the extinction of the orangutans. They cannot survive without dense living forests.
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