What is the maximum weight of an orangutan? Great ape - orangutan, photo, video, description

Orangutan- A great arboreal ape, the largest living arboreal ape. In Malay, "orangutan" means "forest man" or "wild man". There are two known living species of orangutans: the Kalimantan (Pongo pygmaeus) and the Sumatran (Pongo abelii) orangutans. They are also often called "orangutans", but this name is incorrect and is not used in zoology.
Squad: Primates
Family: Hominidae
General information
Males are up to 1.5 meters tall, females are about 1 meter tall. The weight of males ranges from 50 to 100 kilograms. Females - 30 - 50 kilograms. The Kalimantan orangutan is somewhat larger in size.
Females mature at 8-12 years, males at 14-15. Pregnancy lasts approximately 8.5 months, giving birth to 1 - 2 cubs weighing 1.5-2 kilograms. The cubs are fed with mother's milk for three to four years and live with her for about 6-8 years. In the wild they live for about 30 years, and in captivity - up to 65 years, which puts them in second place in terms of life expectancy among primates after humans.
Life of orangutans
Orangutans live in the tropical forests of Borneo and Sumatra, spending almost all their time in the trees. They move by brachiation, assisting themselves with their legs. The adaptation of orangutans to life in trees has reached the point that they even drink from leaves, hollows, etc. They move on the ground on all fours and spend the night in nests they weave in the trees. Not able to swim. The orangutan's arm span is about 2 meters.
Orangutans live alone and only cubs live with their mothers, and sometimes there are groups of two females. The females, having met, behave calmly and even feed together, while the males stage a show of strength, each remaining within their own territory: they growl, break branches, etc. When none of them retreats, a fight occurs, during which one of the opponents, as a rule, retreats.
Orangutans are predominantly herbivorous; however, they do not disdain insects, honey, eggs, chicks, and Sumatran orangutans even hunt slow lorises.
Orangutans have a fairly developed language of communication among themselves: whining and sobbing in it can mean anger, displeasure, discomfort; loud squelching and grunting indicate threat; The fear-inducing piercing roar of the male (the so-called “long cry”) can communicate a territorial claim, or it can serve to attract a female; the extraordinary sonority and expressiveness of this roar is imparted by the bag that orangutans have - a resonator, with a volume of several liters. At the same time, it was long believed that orangutans hardly make any sounds.

The metabolic rate of orangutans is about a third less than that calculated based on body weight and is comparable to that of sloths. Therefore, orangutans can go for several days without food at all. It is believed that this feature developed in orangutans due to their predominantly fruit diet.
Like humans, orangutans can be addicted to tobacco and alcohol. And, at least in the 19th century, they tried to use them as servants. These facts were even reflected in the book “The Mysterious Island” by the great science fiction writer of that century, Jules Verne.
Orangutans are considered the most intelligent animals after humans. When kept in captivity, they adopt many of the traits, modes of action and habits of the people around them.

In addition, orangutans are the closest living primates to humans, after chimpanzees and gorillas.
Preservation
Outside of zoos may become extinct due to the destruction of their places of residence, since even despite the organization of national parks, illegal deforestation continues. The removal of cubs from their mother by poachers for subsequent sale also makes a contribution, during which the mother is usually killed, since she actively protects them.

The risk of extinction of the Sumatran orangutan is critical, the Kalimantan orangutan is in danger of extinction.

Interesting video about orangutan

These monkeys are among the three most famous apes, along with chimpanzees and gorillas, and are the closest, in terms of blood composition and DNA structure, to humans. It is no coincidence that local tribes dubbed this shaggy jungle inhabitant, moving on the ground on two legs, “man of the forest” - “orang” (man) “utan” (forest). Having studied the DNA of this primate in detail and convinced of its similarity with his own (97% match), the person retained a rather superficial knowledge of this very interesting “relative”.

And even its name is still spelled incorrectly, adding the letter “g” at the end, turning the “man of the forest” into a “debtor,” since “utang” means “debt” in Malay.

Description of orangutans

Orangutans belong to the genus of arboreal apes, standing out among other primates more high level development Orangutans are often confused with its African counterpart - another highly developed ape -. Meanwhile, between them there are fundamental differences, both external and behavioral properties.

Appearance

In terms of size, orangutans are inferior to gorillas. But this is not their most important difference. There is no other animal on Earth that is so unlike an animal and so reminiscent of a human being. He has nails, not claws, amazingly intelligent eyes, excellent facial expressions, small “human” ears and a large, developed brain.

In an upright pose homo sapiens The orangutan barely reaches 150 cm, but at the same time it is a heavyweight - it can weigh 150 kg or more. It's all about body proportions. The orangutan has short legs and a massive, square body with a thick belly. The arms are very long - both in comparison with the body and legs. Strong, muscular, they help the orangutan to easily, and even gracefully, “fly” through the trees.

This is interesting! The length of the orangutan's arms in span significantly exceeds its height and reaches 2.5 m. When the monkey is in vertical position, her arms hang below her knees and reach her feet, being additional support when moving on the ground.

The special structure of the thumb, protruding and curved with a hook, helps the orangutan to deftly cling to tree branches. On the feet, the big toes are also opposed to the others and are curved, but are poorly developed and of little use. The crooked toes of the front paws also help the monkey to easily pick fruits from trees, but this is where their functions are limited. Such limbs are not capable of more complex manipulations.

Orangutans are covered with coarse red fur. It is long, but at the same time rare, which is not surprising, given the hot climate of the tropical jungle. The color of the coat changes with the age of the primate - from bright red in youth to brown in old age.

The fur is distributed unevenly over the orangutan's body - it is thicker on the sides and less frequent on the chest. The lower body and palms are almost bare. Orangutans have pronounced sexual dimorphism. Their males are endowed with a number of outstanding features: frightening fangs, a funny “beard” and “pouting” cheeks. Moreover, the cheeks of males grow as they grow older, forming a ridge around the face. Female orangutans have no beard, no mustache, no facial ridges and are much smaller in size and have thinner bones. Their usual weight does not exceed 50 kg.

Lifestyle, behavior

The orangutan spends most of its life in trees. The exception is large male primates, whose weight becomes threatening to the branches.

These monkeys move from tree to tree, actively using their long and tenacious forelimbs. The purpose of such migration is to find a source of food. If there is enough food at the top, then the orangutan will not even think about going down to the ground. He will build himself a kind of nest-bed from bent branches and will lie down, leading a leisurely and measured lifestyle. This monkey will prefer to quench even the thirst that arises with the help of the water that it finds above, in the leaves or hollows of tropical trees.

This is interesting! Unlike other monkeys, orangutans do not jump from branch to branch, but move from tree to tree, clinging to flexible trunks and vines with their hands and feet.

These are very strong animals. Their significant dead weight does not prevent them from conquering 50-meter peaks. Moreover, they have enough intelligence to make their task as easy as possible. So, for example, for the thorny trunk of the Kapoko tree, orangutans make themselves special “gloves” from large leaves, which allow them to easily reach their goal - sweet tree sap.

Orangutans can communicate using a set of sounds. This monkey expresses pain and anger by whining and crying. To demonstrate a threat to the enemy, it makes loud puffing and smacking noises. The deafening, prolonged roar of the male means a claim for territory and is demonstrated to attract the attention of the female. This roar is powered by the orangutan's special throat sac, which inflates like a ball, emitting a squelching sound that turns into a guttural cry. Such “vocals” can be heard a kilometer away.

Orangutans are polygamous loners. Which, in general, is not characteristic of primates. It happens that they live as a couple. But large communities in one place are impossible due to the lack of food for everyone, so orangutans scatter at a distance from each other. At the same time, males carefully protect the boundaries of the territory in which their harem is located.

If a stranger wanders into the protected area, the owner organizes a war show. As a rule, things don’t come to the point of “assault,” but there is a lot of noise. The rivals begin to shake the trees and break their branches, accompanying these crushing actions with an equally crushing scream. This continues until one of the “artists” loses his voice and becomes exhausted.

Orangutans cannot swim. And they are afraid of water, do not like it, avoiding rivers and shielding themselves from the rain with large leaves like an umbrella.

Orangutans have a slow metabolism. This means that he can go without food for several days. There is a version that this level of metabolism (30% below normal for such a body weight) is caused by the lifestyle of primates and their vegetarian type of diet.

Orangutans are peace-loving creatures. They are not prone to aggression and have a calm, friendly and even intelligent disposition. When meeting a stranger, they prefer to step aside and never attack first.

Even when caught, they do not offer strong resistance, which is abused by humans when they catch these animals for profit.

Species of orangutans

For a very long time, the species diversity of orangutans was limited to two subspecies: Sumatran and Bornean/Kalimantan - named after the Indonesian islands on which they live. Both types are very similar to each other. At one time there was even a version that the Sumatran and Kalimantan orangutans were representatives of the same species. But over time, this opinion was recognized as erroneous, and differences were found.

This is interesting! The Kalimantan orangutan is believed to be larger than the Sumatran orangutan, and the Sumatran orangutan is rarer. There are tigers on his island and he prefers to stay away from them, rarely going down to the ground. The Kalimantan, without similar predators nearby, leaves the tree more often.

At the end of the last century, there was a replenishment of the orangutan species. Was opened the new kind- in Sumatra, in the Tapanuli region. Tapanuil became the third species of orangutan and the seventh of the great apes.

Scientists have found that the primates of the Tapanuli population, despite the fact that they live on the same island as the Sumatran primates, are closer in DNA structure to the Kalimantan primates. They differ from their Sumatran relatives in their diet, curly hair, and higher voice. The structure of the skull and jaws of the Tapanuil orangutan is also different from its cousins ​​- the skull is smaller and the fangs are wider.

Lifespan

The average life expectancy of orangutans in natural conditions is 35-40 years, in captivity – 50 and above. They are considered champions in longevity among primates (not counting humans). There are cases where an orangutan lived to be 65 years old.

This animal is native to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. They are very rich in water and tropical forests. The orangutan lives on the top of trees. An orangutan can reach a height of 1.60 meters, and its weight is up to 100 kilograms. It is covered with rather long and shaggy hair. The face is gray, growths protrude on the side, the ears are very similar to human ones, the powerful limbs and neck are bare. Orangutans are excellent tree climbers. Even in very dense forest, they make their way through with ease.

The animal's hands are very similar to human ones and are specially adapted for grasping. The orangutan uses them to grasp tree trunks along which it climbs to the top. Long fingers allow him to exhibit powerful strength and tenacity. Just like his arms, his hind limbs are in a good way for climbing. The fingers are as long as those on your hands. The inward-facing feet help the orangutan to grasp trunks, branches and some plants. With the animal in a straight position, the arms reach the ground. Compared to the legs, they seem quite long. This length is necessary for jumping and climbing. Also very useful Long hands when picking fruits.

An orangutan has much more strength than a human. She is necessary for the life he leads. His arms, shoulders and chest have well-developed muscles. This is why the front is much larger than the back. In the orangutan's skeleton, the shoulder blades and collarbone are highly developed. In order to bring food to the mouth, the orangutan has a small neck.

It is very rare for an orangutan to be on the ground, because the trees have everything it needs to live. It feeds on trees, and animals drink water from the leaves. They often accumulate rainwater. But when he descends to the ground, he moves awkwardly and somewhat clumsily. He walks mainly on all fours, since his legs are not adapted for walking.

The orangutan feeds on young shoots of leaves and a variety of fruits. In captivity, it is able to consume the same food as humans. Because the body system is in many ways similar to human body. Just like humans, orangutans have 32 teeth.

Only crocodiles and boa constrictors dare to attack an orangutan. But even in the fight against them, he wins much more often. He has a very loud voice. His roar scares a lot of animals. The voice is amplified by its large guttural sacs. They fill with air, and when they roar, the air comes out.

An animal can attack a person only in extreme self-defense. Once a year, the female gives birth to a baby. She takes care of him and protects him. Such strong love to children is noticed in all monkeys. Before going to bed, the orangutan creates a nest on the branches. He makes it from twigs and leaves. After that he spends the whole night there.

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IN tall trees and on strong vines lives a shaggy creature. Most of the life of these animals is spent in trees, but adult, large and heavy males, which the branches can no longer support, live mainly on the ground.

These large animals walk on their hind legs, and local residents who see them warn of danger by shouting Orang Hutan. Translated into Russian, this phrase means “forest man.”

Based on this, the name orangutan not correct, but in Russian it is often used to name these, although in writing this would be considered an error, you need to say it correctly orangutan.

Orangutan habitat

In nature, these great apes inhabit exclusively the tropics. There are two subspecies of orangutans - Bornean and Sumatran, based on the names of the islands where they live.

Swampy lowlands with extensive, continuous forests are the environment orangutan habitat. When the distance between trees is large, they jump over it using thin and flexible vines.

They move along branches using mainly their forelimbs, on which they often simply hang. The arm span of an adult is about 2 meters, which is significantly greater than the height of the animal.

Monkey orangutan She is so used to living in the crown of trees that she even drinks water from leaves, old hollows or from her fur, so as not to go down to bodies of water. If it becomes necessary to walk on the ground, the animals use all four paws.

Adults walk on the ground on their hind legs, which is why they can be confused with representatives of wild tribes. Orangutans spend the night right on the branches of trees, rarely making a kind of nest.

Appearance and behavior of an orangutan

Appearance Humanoid gorillas are quite cute, as can be judged from multiple photos, but at the same time, adult males look terrifying. They have a massive body, a slightly elongated skull, their arms reach their feet and serve as a support for the orangutan when forced to walk on the ground.

The big toes are very poorly developed. Adult males are up to 150 cm tall, with an arm girth of 240 cm and a body volume of about 115 cm. The weight of such an animal is 80-100 kg.

Female orangutans are much smaller - up to 100 cm tall and weigh 35-50 kg. The monkey's lips are plump and protrude strongly forward, the nose is flat, the ears and eyes are small, similar to human ones.

Orangutans are considered one of the smartest monkeys

Primates are covered with coarse, long, sparse reddish-brown hair. The direction of hair growth on the head and shoulders is upward, on the rest of the body - downward.

On the sides it is a little thicker, but the chest, lower body and palms are almost devoid of hair. Adult males have a fairly thick beard and large fangs. Females are smaller and tend to look friendlier.

If we talk about the structural features of the orangutan’s body, the first thing worth mentioning is their brain, which is not similar to the brain of others, but is more comparable to a human. Thanks to their developed convolutions, these monkeys are considered the most intelligent mammals after humans.

This is also proven by the facts that orangutans know how to use tools to get food, adopt the habits of people if they live next to them, and are even able to perceive speech, reacting adequately with facial expressions. Sometimes they even stop being afraid of water, like a person, although by nature they do not know how to swim and may even drown.

Orangutans can communicate through various sounds, which was recently proven by the Englishwoman Regina Frey. Monkeys express anger, pain and irritation by crying, loudly smacking and puffing, threatening the enemy, and males mark their territory or attract a female with a long, deafening cry.

The lifestyle of these animals is solitary; males know the boundaries of their territory and do not go beyond them. But they will not tolerate strangers on their land. If two males meet, each will try to demonstrate their strength to each other by breaking tree branches and screaming loudly.

If necessary, the male will defend his possessions with his fists, although in general these are peace-loving animals. Females, on the contrary, calmly communicate with each other and can feed together. Sometimes they live as a couple.

Orangutan food

Orangutans feed mainly on plant foods - young tree shoots, buds, leaves and bark. Sometimes they can catch a bird, destroy a nest or catch insects, etc. They love sweet, ripe mangoes, bananas, plums, and figs.

Their metabolism is slow, similar to that of a sloth. This is 30% less than required for their body weight. These large animals expend few calories and can go for several days without food.

Monkeys are provided with everything they need to eat in the trees, so they rarely go down. Water is found there, in the crowns of tropical thickets.

Reproduction and lifespan of an orangutan

Orangutans do not have to wait until a certain season to breed; they can do this at any time of the year. The male attracts the female with loud calls.

If several “macho men” at once come up with the idea of ​​mating, they will each scream in their own territory, attracting the female, who will choose the voice that is most pleasant to her and visit the suitor’s domain.

In the photo there is a female orangutan with a baby

The female's pregnancy will last 8.5 months. Most often one is born baby orangutan, less often two. Newborn babies weigh about 1.5-2 kg. At first, the cub holds tightly to the skin on the female’s chest, then for convenience it moves onto its back.

Little monkeys feed on milk for 2-3 years, then live next to their mother for another couple of years. And only at the age of six years they begin to live independently. Orangutans become sexually mature when they reach 10-15 years of age. Living on average 45-50 years, female orangutan manages to raise 5-6 cubs.

In nature, these animals have practically no enemies, because they live high in the trees and are inaccessible to predators. But due to massive tropical deforestation, they are losing their habitats.

Poaching has become an even bigger problem. Rare nowadays, orangutans are very expensive on the black market, so those who want to make money can kill a female in cold blood in order to take away her calf.

Animals are sold for the pleasure of people, taking advantage of the fact that they are very smart and easy to train. These animals can be taught bad habits, which can only be called mockery.

But not everyone sees these monkeys as fun or a toy; there are also caring people who are ready to help preserve the population and treat orangutans as human beings. There’s even been a whole series about helping baby apes, it’s called Orangutan Island.

In general, these monkeys are very friendly, they become attached to people, communicate with them, make faces, and can even perform something like an orangutan dance, a video of which you can easily find on the Internet.

Currently, illegal deforestation, the habitat of orangutans, continues. Despite the fact that they are created National parks, these monkeys are endangered. The Sumatran orangutan is already in critical status, the Kalimantan one is in danger.

Orangutans are one of the world's most famous and popular species of great apes. Scientists consider them, along with gorillas and chimpanzees, to be among the animals closest to humans. Currently, only two species of these red monkeys are known - the Sumatran orangutan and the Bornean orangutan. In this article we will consider in detail only the first of them.

Orangutan or orangutan?

Some people believe that the pronunciation and spelling of the name of this monkey comes down entirely to one single option - “orangutan”. Even Microsoft "skips" this word, while the word "orangutan" is underlined in red. However, this spelling is erroneous.

The fact is that in the language of the population living in Kalimantan, “orangutan” is a debtor, and “orangutan” is a forest person, a forest dweller. That is why preference should be given to the second version of the name of this beast, even despite the fact that some text editors still “consider” its spelling to be incorrect.

Where does this monkey live?

The Sumatran orangutan, a photo of which you can see in our article, lives throughout the territory of Kalimantan. However, the vast majority of these monkeys are found in northern Sumatra. Their favorite places habitats are rainforests and the jungle.

Sumatran orangutan. Description of the species

It is believed that these have their African counterparts - gorillas. This may be true, but the ape-like features of orangutans are much more pronounced than those of gorillas. For example, the forelimbs of the red monkey are long, and the hind limbs are noticeably shorter than those of their African relatives. The hands and feet with long curved fingers in orangutans play the role of peculiar hooks.

With the help of its crooked fingers, the Sumatran orangutan easily clings to branches and picks tasty fruits, but we will talk about this a little later. Unfortunately, his limbs are not adapted for the most complex actions. As for the size of these monkeys, adult male orangutans are inferior in size to gorillas, and they weigh less. The Sumatran orangutan, whose weight does not exceed 135 kilograms, can reach a height of only 130 centimeters.

However, if you do not compare the size of orangutans with the size of gorillas, then these are quite impressive apes: their arms span is 2.5 meters, and their body is massive and dense, completely overgrown with red hair hanging in clumps. The Sumatran orangutan, whose head has a round face with swollen cheeks, turning into a funny “beard,” also makes peculiar sounds, which we will learn about later.

Why do Sumatran orangutans grunt?

Researchers observing the behavior and lifestyle of Sumatran orangutans noticed that these monkeys sigh constantly and heavily. Once, the famous zoologist and professor Nikolai Nikolaevich Drozdov, while studying these animals in one of his television programs, remarked: “He groans like an old man in pain. But he is not an old man, and he is not in pain. He is an orangutan."

It is curious that the throat sac of these animals swells like a ball, emitting squelching sounds, gradually turning into deep throaty moaning. These sounds cannot be confused with any others. You can hear them even a whole kilometer away!

Orangutan lifestyle

The average lifespan of these animals is about 30 years, the maximum is 60 years. These red-haired “old men” prefer to live alone. If you ever happen to meet a small group of Sumatran orangutans, then know that this is not a clan of monkeys, but just a female with her offspring. By the way, females, when meeting each other, try to disperse as quickly as possible, pretending that they do not see each other.

As for males, the situation here is, of course, more complicated. Each adult Sumatran orangutan has its own territory, in which several females live. The fact is that the males of these monkeys are polygamous creatures and prefer to have a whole harem at their disposal. The owner of the territory warns strangers who wander into his domain with loud shouts. If the alien is not going to leave, then a showdown begins.

This happens in a very unusual way. Both orangutans, as if on command, rush to the nearest trees and frantically begin to shake them. It resembles a real circus: trees shake, leaves fall from them, heart-rending screams are heard throughout the area. This show goes on for quite some time long time until one of the opponents loses their nerve. Usually the losing male Sumatran orangutan vomits and gets pretty tired.

The main part of the life of red monkeys is spent exclusively in trees. They also sleep high above the ground, having previously arranged a comfortable bed for themselves. It is worth noting that the Sumatran orangutan is a rather peaceful animal. However, as we already know, this principle does not apply to their relatives: fights for territory between them occur on a constant basis.

What do these monkeys eat?

In principle, the Sumatran orangutan (photos of these monkeys usually evoke a lot of impressions) is a vegetarian. So they happily feast on mangoes, plums, bananas, and figs.

Thanks to their incredible strength and other physical characteristics, these monkeys quite deftly climb the tallest tropical trees of the islands for their favorite delicacy - mangoes. If, for example, the upper branches of the trees are thin, an impressively sized red ape calmly sits in the middle of the crown, bending the branches towards itself. Unfortunately, this is detrimental to the trees themselves: the branches break and dry out.

Orangutans that live on the island gain weight quite quickly. And all because summer here is the most favorable time for red-haired “forest dwellers.” The abundance of variety allows monkeys not only to gain weight quickly, but also to store fat for the rainy season, when they will have to eat exclusively bark and leaves.

Orangutan population

As mentioned above, in nature there are two species of these monkeys: the Bornean and Sumatran orangutan. The number of these animals over the past 75 years, unfortunately, has decreased by 4 times. The main factors negatively affecting their population are:

• constant environmental pollution;
• illegal catching of young animals and their sale.

Moreover, animals are highly dependent on the state of the tropics in which they live. This is why widespread deforestation of the jungle, which is leading to the death of orangutans, should be stopped. Currently, there are only about 5 thousand of these monkeys left. If measures to protect them are not taken in time, they may disappear from the face of the Earth forever.