Edi sopiyan, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Orangutans

Nov 04, 2011

The orangutans has powerful hands and arms but weak feet.

Orangutans

Design

The orangutans has powerful hands and arms but weak feet. These features are characteristic of tree-dwelling animals. The orangutan learns most of its behaviors from its mother. This species sleeps in trees, building a nest among the branches.

Features

  • The orangutan is most recognized by its reddish-orange coloring.
  • It has hook-shaped hands and feet that are perfect for living in trees.
  • The male has large cheek pads.

Fun Facts

  • The orangutan cannot swim.
  • At night it makes a new nest to sleep in, and sometimes it build canopies over its nests to protect it from the rain.
  • It will also use branches to protect its face from honeybees when invading a hive.

Created Kind Members

Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutan

CLASS: Mammalia (mammal)
ORDER: Primates (monkeys)
FAMILY: Pongidae (great apes kind)
GENUS/SPECIES: Pongo pygmaeus, possibly including P. abelii (Sumatran)

Size: Males: 3.2–4.5 ft (1–1.4 m); Females: 2.6–3.5 ft (0.8–1.1 m)
Weight: Males average 200 lbs (90 kg); Females average 110 lbs (50 kg).
Original Diet: Plants
Present Diet: Plants, insects, young birds, and small mammals
Habitat: Tropical rainforests of southeast Asia (on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra)

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Supplemental material for the Zoo Guide: A Bible-Based Handbook to the Zoo

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