Orangutans build nests specialised for either day or night use. These are carefully constructed; young orangutans learn from observing their mother's nest-building behaviour. In fact, nest-building allows young orangutans to become less dependent on their mother. From six months of age onwards, orangutans practise nest-building and gain proficiency by the time they are three years old. [71] Mitani, J. C.; Grether, G. F.; Rodman, P. S.; Priatna, D. (1991). "Associations among wild orang-utans: sociality, passive aggregations or chance". Animal Behaviour. 42 (1): 33–46. doi: 10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80603-7. S2CID 40824300. Items that are not available in store will take 3-5 working days (excluding weekends and bank holidays) to be delivered to your nominated store. van Schaik, C. P.; Fox, E. A.; Sitompul, A. F. (1996). "Manufacture and use of tools in wild Sumatran orangutans – implications or human evolution". Naturwissenschaften. 83 (4): 186–88. Bibcode: 1996NW.....83..186V. doi: 10.1007/BF01143062. PMID 8643126. S2CID 27180148. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile.

The Sumatran orangutan genome was sequenced in January 2011. [21] [22] Following humans and chimpanzees, the Sumatran orangutan became the third species of great ape to have its genome sequenced. Subsequently, the Bornean species had its genome sequenced. Bornean orangutans ( P.pygmaeus) have less genetic diversity than in Sumatran ones ( P.abelii), despite populations being six to seven times higher in Borneo. The researchers hope these data may help conservationists preserve the endangered ape, as well as learn more about human genetic diseases. [22] Similarly to gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans have 48 diploid chromosomes, in contrast to humans, which have 46. [23] :30 Atmoko, S. Suci Utami; Singleton, Ian; van Noordwijk, Maria A.; van Schaik, Carel P.; Setia, Tatang Mitra (2009). "Male–male relationships in orangutans". In Wich, Serge A.; Atmoko, S. Suci Utami; Setia, Tatang Mitra; van Schaik, Carel P. (eds.). Orangutans: Geographic Variation in Behavioral Ecology and Conservation. Oxford University Press. pp.227–29. ISBN 978-0-19-921327-6. There’s a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom is based on the Greenpeace film that became a viral sensation, about a little girl who discovers a mischievous orangutan on the loose in her bedroom, and she can’t understand why it keeps shouting OOO! at her shampoo and her chocolate. But when Rang-tan explains that there are humans running wild in her rainforest, burning down trees so they can grow palm oil to put in products, the little girl knows what she has to do: help save the orangutans! a b c d e f Rijksen H. D.; Meijaard, E. (1999). Our vanishing relative: the status of wild orang-utans at the close of the twentieth century. Springer. ISBN 978-0792357551.a b Lameira, A. R.; Hardus, M. E.; Shumaker, R. W.; Wich, S. A.; Menken, S. B. J. (2015). "Speech-Like Rhythm in a Voiced and Voiceless Orangutan Call". PLOS ONE. 10 (1): e116136. Bibcode: 2015PLoSO..10k6136L. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116136. PMC 4287529. PMID 25569211. Well, Jiggly Pets Tan Tan the Orangutan did not disappoint and has captured the humour of everyone in our house. With each of the children jiggling their bottoms alongside Tan Tan as he wiggles and jiggles along to the three tunes. As a parent, I love that this came with the batteries already included so that we were able to start the fun straightway. In fact, the box that Tan Tan the Orangutan comes in offers you the chance to see his moves – turn the box around for a view of him jiggling his butt which will just make you want to shake your bottom too. Galdikas, B. M. F. (1984). "Adult female sociality among wild orangutans at Tanjung Puting Reserve". In Small, M. F. (ed.). Female Primates: Studies by Women Primatologists. Alan R. Liss. pp.217–35. ISBN 978-0845134030. Ross, Marina Davila; Owren, Michael J; Zimmermann, Elke (2009). "Reconstructing the Evolution of Laughter in Great Apes and Humans". Current Biology. 19 (13): 1106–11. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.05.028. PMID 19500987. S2CID 17892549. Lesson, René-Primevère (1827). Manuel de mammalogie ou Histoire naturelle des mammifères (in French). Roret, Libraire. p. 32.

van Noordwijk, Maria A.; Sauren, Simone E.B.; Nuzuar; Abulani, Ahbam; Morrogh-Bernard, Helen C.; Atmoko, S. Suci Utami; van Schaik, Carel P. (2009). "Development of Independence". In Wich, Serge A.; Atmoko, S. Suci Utami; Setia, Tatang Mitra; van Schaik, Carel P. (eds.). Orangutans: Geographic Variation in Behavioral Ecology and Conservation. Oxford University Press. p.199. ISBN 978-0199213276.Harper, Douglas. "Orangutan". Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012 . Retrieved 4 May 2012. Smith, Tanya M.; Austin, Christine; Hinde, Katie; Vogel, Erin R.; Arora, Manish (2017). "Cyclical nursing patterns in wild orangutans". Evolutionary Biology. 3 (5): e1601517. Bibcode: 2017SciA....3E1517S. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1601517. PMC 5435413. PMID 28560319. Lameira, Adriano R.; Call, Josep (2018). "Time-space–displaced responses in the orangutan vocal system". Science Advances. 4 (11): eaau3401. Bibcode: 2018SciA....4.3401L. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aau3401. PMC 6235548. PMID 30443595. a b c Sastrawan, Wayan Jarrah (2020). "The Word 'Orangutan': Old Malay Origin or European Concoction". Bijdragen tot de Land-, Taal- en Volkenkunde. 176 (4): 532–41. doi: 10.1163/22134379-bja10016. S2CID 228828226. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021 . Retrieved 12 April 2021. a b c Singh, Ranjeet (26 January 2011). "Orang-utans join the genome gang". Nature. doi: 10.1038/news.2011.50. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011 . Retrieved 27 January 2011.

In Western sources, the first printed attestation of the word for the apes is in Dutch physician Jacobus Bontius' 1631 Historiae naturalis et medicae Indiae orientalis. He reported that Malays had informed him the ape could talk, but preferred not to "lest he be compelled to labour". [5] The word appeared in several German-language descriptions of Indonesian zoology in the 17th century. It has been argued that the word comes specifically from the Banjarese variety of Malay, [4] but the age of the Old Javanese sources mentioned above make Old Malay a more likely origin for the term. Cribb and colleagues (2014) suggest that Bontius' account referred not to apes (as this description was from Java where the apes were not known from) but to humans suffering some serious medical condition (most likely cretinism) and that his use of the word was misunderstood by Nicolaes Tulp, who was the first to use the term in a publication a decade later. [6] :10–18Xu, X.; Arnason, U. (1996). "The mitochondrial DNA molecule of sumatran orangutan and a molecular proposal for two (Bornean and Sumatran) species of orangutan". Journal of Molecular Evolution. 43 (5): 431–37. Bibcode: 1996JMolE..43..431X. doi: 10.1007/BF02337514. PMID 8875856. S2CID 3355899. Rose, M. D. (1988). "Functional Anatomy of the Cheirdia". In Schwartz, Jeffrey (ed.). Orang-utan Biology. Oxford University Press. p.301. ISBN 978-0-19-504371-6. a b c Singleton, I.; Wich, S. A.; Griffiths, M. (2008). " Pongo abelii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008 . Retrieved 28 January 2011. Schwartz, Jeffrey (1987). The Red Ape: Orangutans and Human Origins. Westview Press. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-8133-4064-7.

Orangutans are among the most intelligent primates. They use a variety of sophisticated tools and construct elaborate sleeping nests each night from branches and foliage. The apes' learning abilities have been studied extensively. There may be distinctive cultures within populations. Orangutans have been featured in literature and art since at least the 18th century, particularly in works that comment on human society. Field studies of the apes were pioneered by primatologist Birutė Galdikas and they have been kept in captive facilities around the world since at least the early 19th century. Mulcahy, N. J. (2018). "An Orangutan Hangs Up a Tool for Future Use". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 1–6. Bibcode: 2018NatSR...812900M. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-31331-7. PMC 6110832. PMID 30150738. Orangutans have small ears and noses; the ears are unlobed. [34] The mean endocranial volume is 397cm 3. [36] The cranium is elevated relative to the face, which is incurved and prognathous. [34] Compared to chimpanzees and gorillas, the brow ridge of an orangutan is underdeveloped. [37] Females and juveniles have relatively circular skulls and thin faces while mature males have a prominent sagittal crest, large cheek pads or flanges, [34] extensive throat pouches and long canines. [34] [18] :14 The cheek pads are made mostly of fatty tissue and are supported by the musculature of the face. [38] The throat pouches act as resonance chambers for making long calls. [39] Skeleton of subadult Bornean orangutan Orangutans first appeared in Western fiction in the 18th century and have been used to comment on human society. Written by the pseudonymous A. Ardra, Tintinnabulum naturae (The Bell of Nature, 1772) is told from the point of view of a human-orangutan hybrid who calls himself the "metaphysician of the woods". Around 50 years later, the anonymously written work The Orang Outang is narrated by a pure orangutan in captivity in the US, writing a letter critiquing Boston society to her friend in Java. [6] :108–09 Unflanged males wander widely in search of oestrous females and upon finding one, will force copulation on her, the occurrence of which is unusually high among mammals. Females prefer to mate with the fitter flanged males, forming pairs with them and benefiting from their protection. [63] [55] [64] Non- ovulating females do not usually resist copulation with unflanged males, as the chance of conception is low. [64] Homosexual behaviour has been recorded in the context of both affiliative and aggressive interactions. [65] Mother orangutan with young

What are orangutans?

Cheyne, S. M.; Thompson, C. J.; Phillips, A. C.; Hill, R. M.; Limin, S. H. (2007). "Density and population estimate of gibbons (Hylobates albibarbis) in the Sabangau catchment, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia". Primates. 49 (1): 50–56. doi: 10.1007/s10329-007-0063-0. PMID 17899314. S2CID 1792717. If you have been a reader of our blog or a follower on social media for a while you will know that we are a funny family, finding jiggly butts, bottom burps etc. hilarious! With family adventures capturing animal butts as we visit new places, we actually have a whole folder of these saved on our Google Drive. This hilarity rolls over into silly jokes and puns, changing the words to songs and watching comedies on family film nights. The three orangutan species are the only extant members of the subfamily Ponginae. This subfamily also includes extinct apes such as Lufengpithecus, which occurred 8–2 mya in southern China and Thailand. [18] :50 Indopithecus, which lived in India from 9.2 to 8.6 mya; and Sivapithecus, which lived in India and Pakistan from 12.5mya until 8.5mya. [27] These animals likely lived in drier and cooler environments than orangutans do today. Khoratpithecus piriyai, which lived 5–7mya in Thailand, is believed to be the closest known relative of the living orangutans and inhabited similar environments. [18] :50 The largest known primate, Gigantopithecus, was also a member of Ponginae and lived in China, from 2mya to 300,000years ago. [28] [18] :50 Hays, Jeffrey. "Endangered Orangutans: Fires, Poaching and Palm Oil: Facts and Details". factsanddetails.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019 . Retrieved 12 May 2019. Zimmermann, N; Pirovino, M; Zingg, R; Clauss, M; Kaup, F. J.; Heistermann, M; Hatt, J. M.; Steinmetz, H. W. (2011). "Upper respiratory tract disease in captive orangutans (Pongo sp.): prevalence in 20 European zoos and predisposing factors". Journal of Medical Primatology. 40 (6): 365–375. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0684.2011.00490.x. PMID 21770970. S2CID 997385.