Sumatran Orangutan

Orangutan means “person of the forest” and is a fitting name for a primate that is happy to spend its day hanging out in the treetops. The only truly arboreal ape, the orangutan is also the largest tree-dwelling animal. The big ape is too heavy to jump from tree to tree so when it needs to cross a gap in the canopy, it will sway the tree back and forth until it can reach out with its long arms and grab a neighboring tree with its hook-like hands. As a large animal with a hefty appetite for fruit, the red ape’s survival requires the protection of large areas of forested habitat.

• High up in the trees, the orangutan is safe from its main natural predator, the tiger.
• An orangutan can spend an entire day gorging on fruit in a single tree.