Orangutans Research Paper

1492 Words6 Pages
The large apes that live in Southeast Asia on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra are orangutans. Theses apes are very flexible and agile as they transport themselves by using their long slender arms to swing from branch to branch. Orangutan means “man of the forest” in the Malay language. The orangutans are in grave danger of extinction, there population is decreasing rapidly. These apes have a large bulky body, very long arms and very strong arms, a thick neck and short bowed legs. Gorillas are about 2/3 size bigger than orangutans. Their body is covered with mostly red hair. Orangutans have a large mouth opening set into their large head. Humans and orangutans have very similar senses they use in their daily lives such as: hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch. Human…show more content…
Orangutans are larger than chimpanzees, standing anywhere from four to five feet taller and 125 to 235 pounds heavier. The orangutans have shaggy, reddish hair, have hairless faces, small ears and curling digits. Some male orangutans have a white or yellow beard in addition to their flanges (cheek pads) and throat pouches that develop later in life. Orangutans have features that remind humans of themselves from their expressive and hairless faces, fingers and toes, and their high degree of intelligence. Fossils of orangutans have been found in Java, China, Vietnam, and the Thai-Malay peninsula although orangutans have been extinct for a while in these areas. There are three subspecies in the Borneo orangutans; the pygmaeus pygmaeus living in the northwest, the pygmaeus morio that are located in the east, and pygmaeus wurmbii that are located in the southwest part of the island. The Borneo orangutans differ in their appearance as they are heavier and more dark complected with shorter hair and faces. The male cheek pads are much larger and covered in short beard like hair. More of the Borneo orangutans have been counted in the wild more than the Sumatran orangutans with an estimated 45,000
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