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The Following section contains some interesting information about the life of an orangutan, for those who want to know more about these wonderful animals:

General:

Like gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos, orangutans belong to the great apes. We humans share 96.5% of the genome with the orangutan. That's why we're so alike. In Indonesian Orang means "man" and Hutan means "forest" - orangutans are "forest people".

They live only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia. Each of these islands has its own species. A distinction is made between the Borneo orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii). On Borneo they are endangered with about 54,000 animals in the wild and on Sumatra with about 14,000 wild animals they are already threatened with extinction.

A adult male can grow up to one and a half meters tall and weigh 100 kilograms, while a female weighs between 30 and 50 kilograms. Of all great apes, orangutans are the best climbers due to their anatomy alone. Their strong arms can reach a span of up to 2.25 meters. They are the largest and heaviest permanent tree dwellers in the world. Safe and effective climbing is therefore part of basic training for young orangutans.

Way of living

In the crowns of the jungle giants, orangutans find their predominantly plant-based food, such as leaves, fruits, bark and flowers, but also insects, honey, birds' eggs and smaller vertebrates are sometimes on their menu. In search of food, orangutans roam territories ranging from 90 (females) to 5,000 hectares (dominant males). However, they usually travel only a few kilometres per day. The intelligent animals prove an extraordinarily good memory: They remember the places where they have already found fruit and return to the ripening time. They also know and use medicinal plants, use branches to remove termites from their nests and use leaves as drinking containers and rain protection.

In the evening they build a sleeping nest of branches and leaves at a height of about ten metres. The counting of such nests, which are usually only used once, is an important tool for observing orangutans outdoors.

Orangutans do not live in larger social organizations. They can only be found in groups when they gather on trees that bear a lot of fruit. Only mother and child stay together for up to eight years. The territory of a dominant male includes the territories of several females. His dominance is demonstrated by the orangutan man with a widely audible call, the so-called long call. You can hear how that sounds downstairs.

A wild orangutan usually grows about 40 years old. In the course of its life a female raises two to three young animals. Mother and child stay together for six to eight years. During this time, the offspring learns what they have to do to survive in the rainforest: safe climbing, finding the right food and building sleeping nests are just as much a part of it as social gangs with fellow species and learning what dangers one should avoid in the jungle.

Threat

The greatest threat to orangutans is the destruction of their habitat. A hundred years ago, Sumatra and Borneo were 90 % covered with forest, today only 30 % of Sumatra and only half of Borneo is still forested. Since the 1990s, the rainforest has been cut down mainly for huge monocultures. More than 14 million hectares of Indonesia's land have already been converted into palm oil plantations - twice as many as ten years ago (as of 2015). By way of comparison, the total area of Germany is approximately 35 million hectares. An extension of the acreage for palm oil to 20 million hectares is planned.

There's no room for orangutans to live. On the plantations they find no food and are hunted and often killed. The population of redheaded apes has shrunk by 91% since 1900.

The rainforest in Sumatra and Borneo is sacrificed not only for palm oil production. The trade in tropical timber and the paper industry also cost orangutans more every day from their homeland. Indonesia is also one of the world's largest coal exporters, destroying vast areas of primeval forest for the mining industry.

Although it is forbidden by law in Indonesia, orangutans are still being hunted, smuggled abroad, abused in brothels and, especially when they are still very young, kept as pets.

Protection

BOS supports the Indonesian Forest Police in rescuing orangutans from illegal domestic animal husbandry or palm oil plantations. In two BOS stations in Borneo the injured, sick and orphaned orangutans are taken up and medically treated. Carefully, nurses then take care of the orphans, who are often severely traumatised.

BOS makes orangutans fit for freedom. In the "forest kindergarten" and in the "forest school" the young animals learn everything that their mother would have taught them otherwise. The training of an orangutan child lasts up to eight years. Only then is it well prepared for release.

BOS is poaching. If an orangutan is healthy and able to survive alone in the wild, it will be released as soon as possible. To this end, BOS has acquired the concessions for protected areas in which orangutans can live safely in freedom.

Help

Avoid palm oil. Look for the ingredients list when buying food. Palm oil or palm fat is the world's most widely used foodstuff, accounting for around 60 million tonnes per year. It is found in every second supermarket product: in convenience foods, sweets, margarine, spreads, candles, cosmetics, cleaning and washing agents and also in agro-diesel. About 85% of the palm oil used comes from Indonesia and Malaysia. Also contact dealers and manufacturers to find out why you continue to offer or manufacture products with palm oil. Demand still determines supply.

Only use recycled paper. Buy painter's books, exercise books, toilet paper and other paper products only from 100% recycled paper (recognizable by the "Blue Angel" seal). No rainforest needs to be cleared for this purpose.

Do not buy tropical wood. When purchasing furniture, picture frames and other wooden products, ask where the wood comes from. If the annual rings are missing, it can be tropical wood.

Sources: klick

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