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Designed to recreate a tropical Indonesian forest, Zoo Atlanta’s Orangutans of Ketambe landscape features diverse terrain, ropes and climbing structures that showcase the fascinating behavior of Asia’s only great ape species. Zoo Atlanta is home to North America’s largest collection of orangutans, including both species: Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus) and Sumatran (Pongo abelii). Orangutans are solitary in the wild, where individuals must compete for scarce resources; at the Zoo, where food is abundant, the apes enjoy the varied dynamics of small social groups.
Habitat and Range
The word “orangutan” derives from the Malay orang-hutan, which means “man of the forest.” Found only on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, orangutans are unique among great apes (a group that includes gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos) in that they are arboreal. Long, incredibly powerful arms and flexible hips and legs provide remarkable ease of locomotion at heights of up to 100 feet.
Characteristics
Orangutans are the world’s largest tree-dwelling mammals, with males weighing over 200 pounds. Adult males of both species exhibit large, fleshy cheek pads, although these are more prominent in Bornean males. The two species can also be differentiated by their coloration: Bornean orangutans have darker skin and chestnut-colored coats, while Sumatrans are closer to ginger in color.
Diet
Orangutans are frugivorous (feeding primarily on fruit). Because they feed on so many different varieties of fruit, the apes are important seed disbursers in their native habitat.
Reproduction
Weighing just 3 or 4 pounds at birth, baby orangutans are extremely reliant on their mothers, and they remain so for many years. Second only to humans, orangutans have the longest dependent childhood of any other animal. Females give birth on average only every several years.
Conservation
Both orangutan species are endangered, but Sumatran orangutans are critically so, with only about 6,000 individuals believed to remain in the wild. Habitat destruction, particularly for palm oil harvesting, and black-market pet trafficking are the greatest threats to declining orangutan populations.
Zoo Atlanta seeks to contribute to the long-term sustainability of orangutan populations in North American zoos through leadership in the Orangutan Species Survival Plan (SSP).
Orangutan Cognition
True to their lifestyles in the wild, where they must keep track of fruit availability, timing and seasons, not to mention puzzle their ways through difficult fruit casings, orangutans are highly skilled problem-solvers capable of synthesizing an astounding array of information. The Orangutan Learning Tree Project at Zoo Atlanta provides orangutans with unique enrichment, creates an exciting supplement to Zoo staff’s knowledge of the apes’ abilities, and offers Zoo guests a rare opportunity to observe these amazing skills in action.
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