An orang-utan is easily recognised by its shaggy, reddish-brown fur and long, strong arms which are twice as long as its legs. They also have opposable thumbs and toes, which let them grip objects with both their hands and feet.

The male orang-utan can reach up to 5 feet 9 inches or 175cm in height and can weigh up to 300lbs. Wild males range in weight from 70 to 90 kg, but those in captivity can weigh up to 100kg (Payne, 2008). The females are much smaller, reaching around 4 feet 2 inches or 127cm tall and weighing up to 110lbs or 44kg.

When the male reaches adulthood around 15 years old, they develop a throat pouch and cheek flaps. These cheek flaps are used to intimidate other males but are very attractive to the females! Orang-utans can live up to 45 years old in the wild.

All in the family

The orang-utan is part of the primate family and is related to other great apes such as the chimpanzee, gorilla and bonobo. There are two major orang-utan species, the Pongo pygmaeus (in Borneo) and the Pongo abelii (in Sumatra).

Orang-utans are not monkeys, although monkeys are also classified as ‘primates’. The best way to differentiate between a great ape and a monkey is to look for a tail. Apes do not have tails but monkeys do.

Habitat

Orang-utans are native to Indonesia and Malaysia. They thrive in lowland rainforests but can also live in tropical, swamp and mountain forests

Today, they can be mainly found in the rainforests of Borneo (Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei) and Sumatra, Indonesia, although fossils have been discovered in Java, Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and even China. Pongo pygmaeus are found in Borneo while Pongo abelii live in Sumatra.