The red ape that rarely touches the ground
Orangutans are the unmistakable rust-coloured great apes of the Southeast Asian rainforest, sharing about 96.4% of their DNA with us. They are also the only great apes that live in Asia, and the only ones that spend nearly their whole lives high in the trees. Here are twelve facts that show just how unusual they are. For the full reference profile, see our orangutan species guide.
12 amazing orangutan facts
- There are three species, not one. The Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus), Sumatran (Pongo abelii) and Tapanuli (Pongo tapanuliensis) orangutans are all distinct species.
- One was discovered in 2017. The Tapanuli orangutan was formally described that year, making it the most recently recognised great ape on the planet.
- The Tapanuli is the rarest great ape alive. Fewer than 800 survive, all confined to the Batang Toru forest of North Sumatra.
- They are the largest tree-dwelling animals on Earth. An adult male can weigh around 90 kg yet still travels through the canopy.
- Their arm span is longer than they are tall. A male's reach can stretch to roughly 2 metres from fingertip to fingertip.
- They build a new bed every night. Each evening an orangutan bends and weaves branches into a fresh sleeping nest, sometimes adding a leafy roof, and rarely reuses an old one.
- They are mostly fruit-eaters. Fruit fills roughly 60% of their foraging time, topped up with leaves, bark, flowers, honey and insects.
- They plant the forest. By swallowing and scattering large seeds, orangutans act as keystone seed dispersers, earning the nickname "gardeners of the forest."
- They have the slowest breeding of any primate. Females give birth only once every 7.6 to 8 years on average.
- Mothers are devoted teachers. A young orangutan stays with its mother for seven to eight years, learning hundreds of foods and skills.
- They are the loners of the ape world. Orangutans are semi-solitary, never forming the tight troops seen in chimpanzees or gorillas.
- All three species are Critically Endangered. The IUCN lists every Pongo species at the highest risk category, each with a decreasing trend.
Why their slow lives matter
Because a female raises only four or five young in her entire lifetime, orangutan populations recover painfully slowly once forest is lost. Our rehabilitation partners in Indonesia and Malaysia give orphaned infants the years of forest-school training they need before release. If their story moves you, you can support orangutan rescue work.
Read the full Orangutan wildlife guide for the facts, IUCN status and conservation context — or donate to WARN to help fund the local partners protecting this species.
