Orangutan Foundation International Canada

Supporting Orangutan Conservation

Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • About Our History
    • About Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas
    • About Our Work
    • Land Purchase and Protection
    • Mission Statement
    • Board Members
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Close
  • How to Help
    • Donate
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • Foster an Orangutan
    • Purchase and Protect Land
    • Orangutan Eco-tour
    • Stay Informed
    • Volunteering in Canada
    • SFU Orangutan Awareness Club
    • #OrangutanTogether
    • Close
  • Orangutans
    • Quick Facts
    • Conservation
    • Intelligence
    • Habitat
    • Behaviour
    • Diet
    • Gallery
    • Close
  • Contact Us
  • Foster an Orangutan
  • Gift Guide
  • Donate
  • English
  • French
You are here: Home / Orangutan Facts

Orangutan Facts

    • In Malay orang means “person” and utan is derived from hutan, which means “forest.” Thus, orangutan literally means “person of the forest.”
    • Orangutans are great apes, closely related to their African cousins Chimpanzees, Gorillas, and Bonobos.
    • Orangutans are the only Asian Great Ape, found only on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
    • Orangutans are the only semi-solitary great ape. Unlike their African cousins who live in social groups, orangutans spend most of their time alone or in a mother/offspring pair.
    • Orangutans are frugivorous, eating mostly wild jungle fruit.
    • Orangutans are largely arboreal, meaning they spend the majority of thier time in the trees not coming to the ground for long periods of time.
    • When on the ground, orangutans walk on all fours, using their palms or fists. Unlike the African apes, orangutans are not morphologically built to be knuckle-walkers.
    • In the wild, female orangutans usually give birth to their first offspring when they are 15-16 years of age, and orangutans have the longest interbirth interval of any mammal giving birth on average of only every 8 years.
    • For the first few years of his/her life, a young orangutan holds tight to his/her mother’s body as she moves through the forest canopy.
    • Like humans, orangutans have opposable thumbs. Their big toes are also opposable. Unlike humans, approximately one third of all orangutans do not have nails on their big toes.
orangutan and baby in forest
  • From the age of thirteen years (usually in captivity) past the age of thirty, males may develop flanges and large size.
  • Orangutans have tremendous strength, which enables them to brachiate and hang upside-down from branches for long periods of time to retrieve fruit and eat young leaves.

Search

About Our Mission

Orangutan Foundation International Canada's mission is to support the conservation, protection and understanding of orangutans and their habitat in the tropical rainforest, and to care for Orangutans orphans who have experienced captivity, for their return to the forest.

About OFICanada

Orangutan Foundation International Canada is a registered Canadian charity founded in 2011. It is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and was founded by a small group of Canadians who are passionate about orangutans and forests. Our CRA Charitable Registration Number: 80567 3209 RR0001

Blog Tags

2020 Appeal donate Enrichment Event Film Fires Fires Forest Fires Foster Maxine Name Change News OCCQ OCCQ OrangutanAwarenessWeek Orphans Sam Sam scent Story Story Thankyou Update updates Volunteer Volunteer
  • English
  • French
  • Home
  • About
  • How to Help
  • Orangutans
  • Contact Us
  • Foster an Orangutan
  • Gift Guide
  • Donate
  • English
  • French

© 2021 · Orangutan Foundation International Canada · Built by Calmar Webmedia