Bornean Orangutan
Overview
The Bornean orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus, is a species of orangutan
native to the island of Borneo
. Together with the slightly smaller Sumatran orangutan
, it belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia.
The Bornean orangutan has a life span of up to 35 years in the wild; in captivity
it can live to be 60. A survey of wild orangutans found that males weigh on average 75 kilograms (165.3 lb), ranging from 50 –, and 1.2 – long; females average 38.5 kilograms (84.9 lb), ranging from 30 –, and 1 – long.
The Bornean orangutan is an endangered species, with deforestation, oil-palm plantations and killing posing a serious threat to its continued existence.
The Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan
diverged about 400,000 years ago, well before Borneo
and Sumatra
separated.
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
native to the island of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. Together with the slightly smaller Sumatran orangutan
Sumatran Orangutan
The Sumatran orangutan is one of the two species of orangutans. Found only on the island of Sumatra, in Indonesia, it is rarer and smaller than the Bornean orangutan. The Sumatran orangutan grows to about tall and in males...
, it belongs to the only genus of great apes native to Asia.
The Bornean orangutan has a life span of up to 35 years in the wild; in captivity
Captivity (animal)
Animals that live under human care are in captivity. Captivity can be used as a generalizing term to describe the keeping of either domesticated animals or wild animals. This may include for example farms, private homes and zoos...
it can live to be 60. A survey of wild orangutans found that males weigh on average 75 kilograms (165.3 lb), ranging from 50 –, and 1.2 – long; females average 38.5 kilograms (84.9 lb), ranging from 30 –, and 1 – long.
The Bornean orangutan is an endangered species, with deforestation, oil-palm plantations and killing posing a serious threat to its continued existence.
The Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan
Sumatran Orangutan
The Sumatran orangutan is one of the two species of orangutans. Found only on the island of Sumatra, in Indonesia, it is rarer and smaller than the Bornean orangutan. The Sumatran orangutan grows to about tall and in males...
diverged about 400,000 years ago, well before Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
and Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
separated.
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