![]() The apes also use leafy branches to shelter themselves from rain and sun, and sometimes they drape large leaves over themselves like a poncho! They usually build a new nest every night, but may occasionally reuse one. Orangutans spend most of their lives in trees and travel by swinging from branch to branch with their long arms. Then, after a while, it offhandedly sticks the peg into the correct hole while looking at something else that has caught its interest! It may stare off into space or even scratch itself with the peg. But an orangutan approaches the challenge quite differently. Scientists like to explain the orangutan’s unique approach to problem solving with this example: If a chimpanzee is given an oddly shaped peg and several different holes to try to put it in, the chimpanzee immediately tries shoving the peg in various holes until it finds the correct hole. While other great apes might go from tree to tree searching for fruit, an orangutan just sits in the forest canopy for hours on end until the location of the hidden fruit seems to mysteriously reveal itself and the orangutan swings over for its meal. While the other great apes are usually found in groups socializing, foraging, or playing, orangutans tend to be more solitary and seem to have a more internal approach to everything. Orangutans are the loners and the daydreamers of the great apes. Both flanged and unflanged males are able to father offspring. They are usually smaller than cheek-padded males. Non-cheek-padded, or unflanged, males don’t have these traits. He’s more likely to have facial hair, and the hair on his back grows long. A cheek-padded, or flanged, male has big, fleshy cheek pads on the sides of his face and a large throat sac under his chin. ![]() Within all three species, there are two morphs of mature male orangutans, and it’s easy to tell them apart. In comparison to the other species on Sumatran, Tapanuli orangutans have shorter, frizzier, cinnamon-colored hair. This species, described in 2017, differs from both of the other two species in subtle-but consistent-ways: it has a slightly smaller skull, a shallower face, and various skull, jaw, and tooth measurements that differ. Tapanuli orangutan: The southernmost population of orangutans on Sumatra. Bornean orangutans are more heavy-set than Sumatran orangutans. The hair is shinier, and the females rarely have any beard at all. Adult males have much larger flanges and a large throat pouch. Male Bornean orangutanīornean orangutan: Lives on Borneo. The adult male’s cheek pads, called flanges, form rigid half circles on the sides of his face, and both males and females usually develop beards as they age. The hair is longer and lighter-colored than that of Bornean orangutans. There are some differences between the three orangutan species: Male Sumatran orangutan ![]() Adult male orangutans are much larger than adult females. In fact, orangutans look a bit awkward on the ground, using their arms as we might use a pair of crutches or lifting those arms high above their head when they walk. With arms longer than their body and long, strong fingers and prehensile feet, life in the trees works well for them. Their long fingers and toes can easily grasp branches and vines. Orangutans spend most of their life in the trees, swinging confidently from branch to branch. Like other apes, orangutans don't have a tail. The orangutan's arms are longer than its legs, reaching nearly to its ankles when the ape stands up. Its stocky body has a flexible pelvis, a thick neck, and bowed legs. Long, flowing, reddish hair covers most of an orangutan’s gray skin. ![]() The other great apes-gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos-are all native to Africa. These shaggy red apes are the largest arboreal mammal and the only great ape found in Asia. Red apes of the forest: Orangutans live in tropical and swamp forests on the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
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