Orang Utan, A Unique Primate From Borneo and Sumatra - Indonesia

[Lionna]

Orang utan is derived from the Malay word “Orangutan” which means person living in a forest or person of forest. This animal belongs to the ape family. It has big posture and long arms. These orangish or reddish primates are long-haired and are known to have high intelligence like humans. Thus, they still have close relationship with humans. If seen from the body, they can stretch their arms up to 2 meters and the standing height is around 5 feet. People can commonly see these animals at zoo. Nonetheless, the original habitat of these animals is in tropical rainforest.

The real habitat of these animals is in Borneo and Sumatra. Many people know that Kangaroo is from Australia, but it is not with these animals. Not many people know where they come from. These animals are originally from Indonesia. Thus, they may be a heritage of Indonesia. Having spent most of their time in tropical rainforest, these animals are accustomed to live or sleep in nests built in branches. The leaves are used to protect themselves from rain. To survive in the jungle, these primates depend on fruit and leaves from rainforest tree. Apart from it, they also consume insects, and eat bark. However, it is very rare for them to eat meat.



The species of these animals are categorized into two kinds; Pongo Abelli from Sumatra and Pongo Pygmaeus from Borneo. These animals are classified as vertebrate animals as well as mammals. The males can weigh up to 90 kg and the females can be up to 50kg. Orang Utan may belong to big primates like Gorillas and Chimpanzees. These animals not only live in rainforest but they can also live in almost any kinds of dense forests as mountain forests, swamp forests, plateau, and places near river banks. They are rare animals and thus the government has set up regulation on conservation of natural resources and ecosystem. The degradation on these animals has been a concern among natural environment observers.

Orangutan is dependent on trees. This is not supported by the activities of humans who often do deforestation. The frequent land clearing in Borneo and Sumatra has threatened this animal. This activity has made the degradation of forests. In fact, forests are the main home stay of theirs. Thus, humans become the main predator of these animals. Hunting activity done by humans and illegal logging have brought them to the danger of extinction. Having concerned about this issue, many observers have established Survival foundation to save these animals. This may be the right decision to rescue them.



Source: www.griyatravel.com

Image source: http://forina.or.id/ http://a-z-animals.com http://griyatravel.com/

[Lionna]

Image source: http://forina.or.id/ http://www.orangutan.com/

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Thanks for providing beautiful pictures for Borneo from Sumatra Indonesia.

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Indonesia is an archipelagic island country in Southeast Asia, lying between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It is in a strategic location astride or along major sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean. The country's variations in culture have been shaped—although not specifically determined—by centuries of complex interactions with the physical environment. Although Indonesians are now less vulnerable to the effects of nature as a result of improved technology and social programs, to some extent their social diversity has emerged from traditionally different patterns of adjustment to their physical circumstances. Indonesia has no territory in mainland Asia, but the closest mainland country is Malaysia, who has claims on the mainland, the Malay Peninsula. The island of Sumatra is the closest Indonesian island to mainland Asia.