Go Bananas and Climb Your Favourite Tree!

Orangutans are large apes found in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo. There are three species of Orangutans.  All three species are critically endangered.  It is estimated that there are just over 100,000 Bornean, less than 14,000 Sumatran and less than 800 Tapanuli orangutans left in the world.

The three species look fairly similar with their fluffy ginger fur, but Bornean orangutans have darker red coats and rounder faces than their Sumatran cousins.  They do have some similarities.  All the adult males have a beard and moustache.  Female Sumatran orangutans also have beards. 

Orangutans are the largest living tree-dwelling animals. An adult male can weigh up to 220 pounds.  Females weigh about half as much. Their thick orange-red fur helps them blend in with the trees and they spend most of their lives swinging through the forest to find enough food and mates. Orangutans are omnivores.  They eat fruits, leaves, insects, and sometimes small vertebrates. Fruits make up 60% of their diet.

Orangutans find the water they need for drinking up in the trees.  Water may be in hollows, on leaves, or even on their own fur after a rain.  Orangutans spend most of their time eating plants and seeds.  Their teeth are only an inch long and are adapted to grinding.  They can bite but their bite is less powerful than a human’s.

Orangutans have very long arms.  In fact their arms are longer than their legs and when they are standing, their arms stretch to their ankles.  They use both hands and feet while gathering food and travelling through the trees.  Their hands and feet look almost exactly the same.  They have four fingers and a thumb and fingernails too.  Their hands and feet are designed for climbing and gripping.  On the ground, orangutans walk on all fours.

Females live in small groups with their young.  Males live alone or in groups of two or three.  Male and female orangutans only come together to mate. Some adult male orangutans develop flaps of fatty tissue on both sides of their face.  These are known as flanges.  Some females may consider flanges when picking a mate.

Orangutans only have young once every seven to nine years.Young orangutans stay with their mother for the first 7 years of their life and learn everything they need to know from their Mom. Infants will ride on her body and sleep in her nest until they develop their own skills to survive on their own. 

Orangutans build a sleeping platform or nest every night.  They can make a nest in about ten minutes.  They pull several large branches together, use smaller branches for a mattress and bind the structure together by weaving in some more supple branches.  They sometimes add a roof in wet weather.  

Orangutans are very smart.  Some Sumatran orangutans use tools like sticks to get termites, ants or bees out of tree holes.  They will make a glove out of leaves to protect their hands when handling prickly fruits or thorny branches.  

Orangutans are facing a serious conservation crisis. The main threat is the loss of their forest habitat. Efforts are needed to protect these animals and their rainforest home. 

These are the sayings I found on the bookmark called Advice from an Orangutan.

• Climb Your Favourite Tree

• Learn by Observing

• Have an Inquisitive Nature

• Reach for Your Dreams

• Be Resourceful

• Cherish Your Home

• Go Bananas!

Here are my comments about each of these sayings.

• Climb Your Favourite Tree - Some trees are just perfect for climbing.  This saying makes me think of climbing a tree and finding a quiet place to sit and rest and just enjoy being outdoors.  Do you have a favourite spot to go and relax?

• Learn by Observing - The orangutan young learn by watching their Mom.  We can learn a lot by watching what others are doing. Then we need to try it ourselves.  

• Have an Inquisitive Nature - Be curious and discover new things.  

• Reach for Your Dreams - Pick an end goal, make a plan, and make your dreams happen.

• Be Resourceful - Create useful and unique solutions to challenging situations.

• Cherish Your Home - Care for your home, your community and the world we live in.

• Go Bananas! - Get excited and be enthusiastic.  

Have a great day everyone.  Go Bananas and Climb Your Favourite Tree!

# living life abundantly  # published author  # travelling tuesdays