Along with gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans belong to the anthropoid apes. And this means that: they are very intelligent, their forelimbs are considerably longer than the rear, all fingers have nails and, according to the structure of the body, they are more like other human primates.
These monkeys are found only on 2 large Indonesian islands – Sumatra and Borneo. The thick crown of trees is their home. Here they eat, sleep and rest. In connection with the tree way of life, they even drink water from the hollows, from the leaves or dip their shaggy paws in water and lick what remains.
Females can be easily distinguished from males. They are much smaller. If the males of the orangutan weigh about 60-90 kilograms and their growth can reach 1.5 meters, the females grow no more than 1 meter in height and weigh only 30-50 kilograms. With a very massive physique, the hind limbs are short, but the front ones are very long. In scope they can reach 2-2.5 meters.
Due to this feature of the structure, orangutans move very well through trees. They do it slowly. But before moving to another branch, they check their fortress. Good monkey grip provides the big toes, opposed to the rest of the fingers. On the ground they walk on all fours, stepping to the ground with the back side of the middle phalanges of the forelimbs.
Their whole body is covered with a rare, but long, hairline of a reddish-brown color. With the age of the animal it darkens. The males on the face in the cheek area have special outgrowths of connective tissue and fat, and the neck is decorated with a large throat sac, which helps to strengthen the voice.
Orangutans live either one by one (most often it refers to males), or in small groups consisting of 2-4 individuals (female with 1-2 calves or male with female and their offspring).
Each male has its own territory, on which several females live. The latter treat each other quite calmly and even sometimes can be fed together. With males the situation is somewhat different. If they met, then finding out the relationship can not be avoided.
The demonstration of strength begins with a formidable growl and is accompanied by the breaking of branches. However, fights are usually avoided. One of the males sooner or later concedes and leaves the place of “battle”. Still, these are very peaceful animals, unless it comes to protecting their cubs, but about this a little later.
With the onset of the evening, everything is happily beginning to prepare for bed. Preparation is to build a sleeping nest. Most often it is located in the fork of large branches in the middle part of the tree and is a litter of twigs. The calf sleeps with her mother. Here they rest in the afternoon.
Waking up early in the morning and pulling sweetly, they go to have breakfast. The orangutans feed on leaves and fruits of trees. A special delicacy for them is the fruit of durian, reminiscent of green balls with spines. Opening their shell, monkeys with the fingers begin to remove the white flesh. In addition to the leaves and fruits, they will also be happy to have a bite of insects, bird eggs or feast on honey, nuts and bark of trees.
