More great ape content:<\/p>\n
- Chimpanzee guide: where they live, what they eat, and how they use tools and weapons<\/a><\/li>\n
- New species of orangutan becomes world\u2019s eighth great ape<\/a><\/li>\n
- Deforestation poses a serious threat to Sumatra\u2019s orangutans<\/a><\/li>\n
- Counting orangutans using star-spotting technology<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>Where can you see wild orangutans?<\/h2>\n
Orangutans live on only two islands, Borneo and northern Sumatra. They are a relic species. At the end of the Pleistocene period some 12,000 years ago, their range was much wider, encompassing southern China, Indochina, Java and southern Sumatra. The species is now extinct in all these regions.<\/p>\n
A new orangutan species (the Tapanuli orangutan) was described in 2017<\/a>, bringing the total number of orangutan species to three. All three species belong to the Pongo<\/em> genus, and are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List<\/a>.<\/p>\n
What are the different species of orangutan?<\/h2>\n
1<\/span>Sumatran orangutan, Pongo abelii<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Sumatran orangutan is one of three species of orangutans.\/Credit: Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n 2<\/span>Bornean orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Alpha male orangutan in Borneo. \u00a9 davidevison\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n 3<\/span>Tapanuli orangutan, Pongo tapanuliensis<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Tapanuli orangutan in Batang Toru, Sumatra, Indonesia. \u00a9 Maxime Aliaga (France)<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n Why are orangutans orange?<\/h2>\n
Orangutans \u2018blaze\u2019 in the sunlight but virtually disappear when they move into shadow. In the shade of the canopy, their tan skin absorbs the light so you don\u2019t see the sparse hair but the dark skin underneath. Then they become functionally black. Could this now-you-see-me-now-you-don\u2019t combination be adaptive? Or, given that they generally don\u2019t congregate in groups, does their bright orange colour announce their presence to others of their species? We simply don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
What does orangutan mean?<\/h2>\n
Orangutan is a portmanteau, where two Malay\/Indonesian words have been combined together. In these languages, \u2018orang\u2019 means \u2018person\u2019 and \u2018hutan\u2019 means \u2018forest\u2019. So \u2018orangutan\u2019 means \u2018person of the forest\u2019.<\/p>\n
Please note that external videos may contain ads:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
- New species of orangutan becomes world\u2019s eighth great ape<\/a><\/li>\n
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