Orangutan (genus Pongo)

Mammal Great ape Arboreal

Overview

Orangutans (genus Pongo) are great apes native to the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia. They are the only great apes found in Asia and the most arboreal of the group, moving carefully through the forest canopy on long, powerful arms and hook-like hands and feet.

Known for high intelligence, tool use, and long mother–offspring bonds, orangutans are a focus of both primate research and conservation. The species shown here is the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus).

Conservation note: all three orangutan species are considered to face a high risk of extinction in the wild, primarily because of forest loss and fragmentation. As assessments are revised over time, always verify each species' current status at iucnredlist.org.

The Three Species

Classification

Orangutans belong to the family Hominidae (great apes), which also includes gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. They are the most distantly related great apes to humans within that family.

Habitat & Range

Orangutans inhabit tropical and subtropical moist forests, including lowland and peat-swamp forest, on Borneo and Sumatra. They are highly dependent on continuous forest with fruiting trees, which makes them particularly sensitive to habitat fragmentation.

Diet & Feeding

Orangutans are predominantly fruit-eaters. When fruit is abundant they feed heavily on it; at other times they rely more on leaves, bark, shoots, flowers, and insects. Their detailed knowledge of where and when different trees fruit is thought to be an important part of their cognitive lives.

Behavior & Intelligence

Compared with other great apes, orangutans are relatively solitary, with adult males in particular ranging alone. The strongest social bond is between a mother and her offspring, who may stay together for several years — among the longest dependency periods of any mammal.

Orangutans are notable for problem-solving, tool use, and the construction of fresh sleeping nests in trees each night. Mature males develop prominent cheek pads (flanges) and produce long calls that carry through the forest.

Appearance & Recognition

Orangutans have shaggy reddish-brown hair, long arms with a span that exceeds their height, and powerful grasping hands and feet adapted for climbing. Flanged adult males are much larger than females and have the distinctive wide cheek pads and throat pouch. Their slow, deliberate movement through the canopy is itself a recognisable trait.

Human Interaction & Conservation

The main pressures on orangutans come from the loss and fragmentation of forest habitat and associated land-use change, along with other threats in some areas. Conservation work includes habitat protection, rehabilitation and release of displaced individuals, and efforts to maintain connected forest landscapes. Current, species-specific data should be drawn from the IUCN Red List.

More photos of the orangutan