The Sumatran Orangutan is one of the only three species of orangutans that exist around the world, but unfortunately this species is also the most endangered of these three. These beautiful primates only live on the island of Sumatra, which is part of Indonesia. If you want to know much more about these great and majestic primates, don't hesitate for a moment to continue reading this interesting article.
The Sumatran Orangutan
Today there are only 8.000 completely free specimens of this beautiful species. Its main difference with the other two species of orangutans that exist in the world is mainly its size, since the Sumatran orangutan is the smallest of all. Likewise, the island of Sumatra is shared with another species of orangutan, this would be the so-called Pongo Tapanuliensis, however, it is important to mention that their habitats are completely separated by Lake Toba.
Unfortunately, like the Bornean orangutan, the Sumatran orangutan is in serious danger of extinction, it also has a position on the red list of mammals of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or its acronym IUCN. This primate is anatomically very similar to human beings, so much so that our ancestors, when discovering the Sumatran orangutan, thought that it was a kind of people or tribe of which they had no knowledge.
Characteristics of the Sumatran Orangutan
The scientific name of this beautiful primate is Pongo Abelii. His great resemblance to man was what caused him to be commonly named as an orangutan; This same word comes from Malaysia and in its language means "man of the woods". These beautiful orangutans can grow to be very large in size, specifically males tend to be larger in size than females, however Sumatran orangutans are still noticeably smaller than their closest relative, the Bornean orangutan.
The males of this species of Sumatran orangutans usually measure approximately up to a meter and a half in height, and their weight reaches approximately 140 kilograms. On the other hand, we can observe the females, which regularly do not exceed even one meter in height, and their weight is usually between approximately 65 and 70 kilograms. It is worth mentioning that these can reach a great length between their upper extremities, that is, their arms, in many specimens this length can even reach two meters in length.
In the case of Sumatran orangutans, they have quite a distinctive coat compared to their other two relatives. Its fur is very abundant regardless of the orangutan's sex, and it is extremely orange in color at the time of its birth, however, over the years it begins to be a rather reddish color.
According to different studies and biologists, the life expectancy of these majestic primates from the moment of their birth is approximately 35 years, despite this, the life span of orangutans that are in freedom is very subjective, since , many of these are victims of rampant poaching that has only grown larger over the years.
Now, focusing on the social behavior of this species, they mostly tend to live in total isolation, the exception being when the time of their reproduction arrives, or the mothers who have young. These live mainly in the highest of the trees and usually descend from these on a daily basis to look for their daily food.
intelligent behavior
These beautiful orangutans have shown in many studies and investigations to have a very high intelligence, an intelligence that far exceeds even that of many other primates. It has been widely intuited that this great intelligence may be a product of the large size of its brain, since it reaches its largest size in the adult stage, which is much larger than in any other primate.
One of the main examples of this great superior intelligence is that these orangutans can easily use different rustic tools to obtain a greater amount of food, or obtain it more easily; They also use these same tools to protect themselves much more from all the obstacles and complications that they may have.
These primates have opposite thumbs, thanks to this they can use the high branches of the trees to their advantage to reach honey, or even some insects that in normal situations would be completely unattainable. In addition to this, they manage to improvise umbrellas or shelters very well to protect themselves from the heavy rains in the jungle, which are quite common.
These same orangutans usually communicate regularly using sign language, this action has been verified with different studies using orangutans that are in captivity. Among many other remarkable characteristics of this species we can find that they have prominent lips, which stand out a lot on their face, in addition, these large lips help them communicate much better, because they can make sounds with them and also make their facial expressions. much more marked.
Natural habitat
As its name indicates, this species, the Sumatran orangutan, lives only on this Indonesian island, Sumatra.; specifically in the most jungle regions of this island. Unfortunately, their population is extremely small, since, in the wild, they only live in Sumatra, not counting rampant poaching. It should also be noted that these beautiful primates live only at the top of the trees because, due to their small size, they have an extensive list of predators, mainly felines such as the tiger.
Food
Sumatran orangutans mostly go out to find their own food at night. These beautiful primates are frugivorous, which tells us that they feed mostly only on fruits, even over the years and their evolution, they have come to acquire skills or strategies to remove the seeds of fruits that can be poisonous to them. .
In addition to the great variety of fruits that they can find in their natural habitat, Sumatran orangutans usually add different varieties to their regular diet, such as tree bark, and different leaves and grasses. Now, focusing on the proteins that they consume, orangutans usually consume the eggs of various insects or even the eggs of birds, they can also eat ants, termites, among other insects.
Reproduction
In the Sumatran orangutans, the females of this species reach their full sexual maturity at the approximate age of ten years, however, many may take a little longer. The gestation of the beautiful offspring of these primates usually lasts approximately eight and a half months, after waiting these months, they give birth to a single offspring, although on rare occasions they can be two. After the females give birth, they usually wait a long time before bringing another calf back into the world, for this same reason the birth rate of Sumatran orangutans is very low.
It should be noted that this species can reproduce at any time of the year without any problem, however, they tend to do so especially in times when there is much more rain and food is very abundant. The reproduction process is initiated by the male, generally the females reject it at first, unless the male is very mature; this mating usually lasts several days and once it is finished, they separate completely.
Endangered Sumatran Orangutan
The main threat to these beautiful Sumatran orangutans is man himself. Man has caused so much disaster on this species that for a few years the Sumatran orangutan has been placed on the list of animals in serious danger of extinction, along with they are their relative, the Bornean orangutan. More specifically, in 2006 these primates officially entered the red list of animals in serious danger of extinction of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, or in its acronym IUCN.
Different efforts have been made to conserve these primates in a better way, however, this has been to no avail. Its natural habitat is extremely threatened by the constant deforestation of forests and jungles, all this to use the wood of the trees in the lumber industry.
In addition to this constant deforestation, you have to add the fact that Sumatran orangutans are extremely well paid in the entire black market of pets, this is the main incentive of all poachers, who do not spare a moment to hunt as many orangutans as possible. We must bear in mind that if the human being does not become aware of the great value of this species of orangutans, which is unique to this region of the world; In a few years the only way to observe this beautiful species will be through some bars in any zoo in the world.
If you want to learn much more about primates and the different animals of the world, don't hesitate for a moment to read these articles.