Bornean Orangutan

Facts about Bornean Orangutan. "Scientific name for Bornean orangutan is Pongo pygmaeus". Bornean orangutan is the kind of oragnutan which is living in Bornea. This is the kind of organutan along with Sumatran oragnutan to form the great apes of Asia. The Bornean orangutan are having distinct culture, capability of using advanced tools and are also highly intelligent. This is the kind of apes that share about 97 percentage of the DNA that of humans. The Bornean orangutan is the species that is endangered due to various harmful acts from the side of men including hinting, plantation of palm oil, deforestation etc. It is high time that we think about the Bornean orangutan and do all that possible so that the ones that are now present can be protected well.

Physical Description of Bornean orangutan

Bornean Orangutan is the species that has got third place in the case of weight of the living primates. The Bornean orangutan is the species which has got similar size that of the Sumatran orangutan but are lighter than them. The males of these species can have weight of 165 to 363 pounds (75 kg to 165 kg) as average and females can have average weight of 85 pounds (38.5 kg). If the Bornean orangutan are in captivity they can grow and be overweight and can gain more than about 165 kg (363 lbs). The heaviest known male orangutan in captivity weighed about 204 kg (449 lbs)in the year of 1959 when it was in captivity. It’s name was Andy. The Bornean orangutan has got a special body shape that has longer arms. The coat of it is reddish, coarse and shaggy. The Bornean orangutan have got grasping feet and hat.

Distribution and Habitat of Bornean orangutan

These species live in the subtropical and tropical mosit broadleaf – forests that are present in Bornean lowlands. It can also be found in mountainous areas to about 1500 meters above the sea level. They leave throughout both the secondary and primary forests. The Bornean orangutan can move onwards long distances for finding food. These species are found in Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah. It is also present in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan. The habitat destruction is the main reason that has made the Bornean orangutans to get reduced in number. They have become really rare in south-eastern part of the island and also in the forests that can be found between Padas and Rejang River.

Diet of Bornean orangutan

The diet of Bornean Orangutan comprises of about 400 different kinds of food items. They love having insects, honey, flowers, bird eggs, seeds, leaves, durians and wild figs. They also love to have the inner shoots of the vines and plants. They get the water that they need from tree holes and also from fruits. The Bornean orangutan are also good in catching fishes. They use spears for fishing. The Bornean orangutan use leaves for wiping faeces and even use leafy branches as bunch like umbrella. These species can have soil occasionally for getting minerals for neutralizing the acids and toxins that they may consume through their major diet. The Bornean orangutan can prey on smaller primates like slow lorises in rare cases.

Reproduction of Bornean orangutan

Females and male Bornean Orangutan usually come together only for mating. Unflanged males can mate with any females and can be successful in that. The flanged males who are dominant advertise their state to the females and accept the ones who are interested in them for mating.