Orang Utan With Me

HISTORY OF ORANG UTAN

Modern orangutans originated during the Pleistocene period, 2 million to 100,000 years ago.
They now face extinction. At the turn of the last century around 315,000 orangutans existed in the wild. Orangutan numbers are now down by 92% compared with a century ago and have been reduced by half in Northern Sumatra between 1993 and 2000.

The orangutans ancient origin is not agreed upon. One hypothesis says it originated from Lufengpithecus, while another maintains that they originated from Sivapithecus.  The fossil record of the living great apes is poor and the orangutan is the only great ape that has a fossil record linking early forms to later forms (there has never been an African fossil found that is related to chimpanzees or gorillas).

However, there is now strong evidence that suggests neither of those species was the ancestor of the orangutan.  In a recent discovery (reported in 2002),  a team of scientists unearthed a fossil ape (Lufengpithecus chiangmuanensis) in Thailand dating back 10 to 13.5 million years ago.  It consists of both an upper and lower jaw with similar dental structure as today's orangutan and they consider it to be an ancestor of the new form.  This discovery would place the development of the earlier orangutan in a similar habitat as today's tropical forest home on Sumatra and Borneo.  More fossils need to be found and studied to complete the picture of its evolutionary history.

Fossils from a million years ago indicate that there were giant sized orangutans in Indochina.  Fossils from 40,000 years ago, found on Borneo and Sumatra, show the orangutan as 30% larger than today's species.  It is conjectured that early orangutans may have been more terrestrial than today's species.  However what we see today is a species that has been arboreal  for a very long time and has completely adapted physically.

The origin of the word orangutan is derived from the Indonesian and Malaysian words for person (orang) and forest (hutan).  Literally it means person of the forest.  It is incorrect to abbreviate the word to orang as many Westerners do, because it just means person.


PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ORANG UTAN


When one thinks of an orangutan what usually comes to mind is the uniquely wonderful rusty-orange hair that covers their bodies and their arms. In general its coat which is sparse, long and coarse, will range anywhere from bright orange in youngsters to a chocolate mahogany in some adults.

The Sumatran species has a thinner, paler coat than that of the Bornean. It is the largest tree dwelling mammal in the world; males at 220 pounds and standing 5 feet tall are twice the size of females.
Their legs are about 30% shorter than their long arms which can grow, up to 6.6ft. (2m). They use both legs and arms to move from tree to tree in the forest canopy. Their feet are designed like hands and their both hands and feet are long, narrow and strong and used in a hook like fashion when grasping branches.  The thumb is fully opposable.

 

The Bornean male has large cheek pads a very large laryngeal sac and his face is square shaped.  The Sumatran male has a more diamond shaped face with smaller cheek pads and sac.  Genetically they both have 48 chromosomes (compared to 46 for humans); however there are several which are distinctly different that separates them into 2 separate subspecies.
They have massive jaws and their large flat cheek teeth are specialized for tearing, grinding and opening shells.


BEHAVIORS OF ORANG UTAN

 

Orangutans spend their lives in the tropical forest canopy 20 to 100 feet off the ground.  It is assumed that one of the reasons for this, is because the tigers would be its main natural predator.  However, with the tiger being extinct in Borneo, adult male orangutans will come down and spend up to about 5% of their time on the forest floor.  Usually this is to move from one stand of trees to another. Sometimes orangutans, when on the ground, will go into the water (but not to swim).

 
Considering the large size of the orangutan, movement from one tree or branch to another is graceful and agile, yet slow.  An orangutan seldom covers more than mile in a day (1 km).  However they have a vast range in which they hunt for their food.  Males may use several thousand hectares and females use several hundred. When moving on the ground they are slow and awkward appearing. Because of its arboreal lifestyle with little need to come down from the trees, the orangutan has never learned to knuckle-walk like the gorilla and chimpanzee, instead it fist walks.  Staying high in the trees keeps them away from predators such as tigers and leopards.



Orangutans build two nests a day; a sparse one for a short nap and a stronger sleeping nest every night which is constructed from branches with leaves on them, 40 to 60 feet above the ground. The sleeping nest looks like a giant birds nest and on average, only takes about 5 minutes to construct.  Babies and juveniles, up to about the age of 8, unless having become more independent earlier, will sleep with their mothers in her nest. Occasionally orangutans will sleep in an old nest.  If it is rainy enough, they will fashion a cover to help keep them dry.  It is not uncommon to see them holding a large palm frond over their head if it is raining hard.

Adult orangutans on the island of Borneo tend to be more solitary animals than those on Sumatra.  They will forage and travel independent of one another and males tend to break ties with their mothers earlier than females. Social relationships are formed by individual orangutans that have regularly overlapping ranges.  However that does not mean that there will be any actual social interaction between them when they meet. For example, if several orangutans (not adult males) are seeking out fruit at the same tree they will usually sit apart with little or no social interaction and will leave alone after eating.

Sumatran orangutans, on the other hand, behave more socially toward one another.  Except for low-ranking adult males, they will travel together and occasionally bonds will form between low-ranking adult males, but usually male relationships are competitive.  The higher degree of social interaction between Sumatran orangutans is a function of the fact that their habitat on Sumatra is more productive than that on Borneo.This productivity keeps the cost of traveling and eating together much lower and therefore the animals can benefit from the social benefits resulting from group life.  Researchers point to tool using by Sumatran orangutans as a result of this group life-style

Adult male orangutans will make a booming long call several times a day, that along with a number of possible functions, keeps subordinate males away. This call will carry over a mile through the dense forest. If by chance a subordinate male encounters an adult male, the subordinate male will be tolerated as long he keeps his distance.  However if two adult males meet it will usually result in a violent and aggressive display or actual fight. Orangutans make a number of different vocalizations besides the long call.  One of the most well known is the kiss squeak and grumph sound they will make when disturbed.  Youngsters will whine when they need help from their mother is doing something.  They also make a number of softer sounds to each other that are difficult for researchers to hear.  Orangutan also break off weak branches and will throw them down to the ground when disturbed, an action that all field researchers are very familiar with.

REPRODUCTION OF ORANG UTAN

The lifespan of an orangutan in the wild is from about 35 to 40 years (it is not positively known what the average life span is, in the wild). In captivity they can live to 50 years, though there are some that have lived longer.  The Philadelphia Zoo had a pair of wild born orangutans that lived over 50 years.

Orangutans are slow-growing animals and produce probably the lowest number of offspring over a lifetime, of all mammals. A female becomes sexually mature at the age of 10 and will remain fertile for the next 20 years. However they tend not to start reproducing until they are about 15 years of age.  The average time between orangutan births for an adult female is eight years.  As a result only 3 or 4 offspring are born during her lifetime.  Immediately you can see that habitat loss and wild capture for the pet trade impacts the species as a whole, with devastating effects. Males become sexually mature at the age of 12 and as they age, they will begin to develop the cheek flanges or pads and throat pouches that are so impressive by about the age of 20.  However a young males growth of the cheek pads may be inhibited if there is a dominant male within his sensory range.

Inbreeding is minimized because males tend to emigrate long distances away from their mothers and sisters. A female that is ready to conceive will seek out the local dominant adult male; this keeps subadult males from mating with her. The benefit of female initiation of courtship and mating is unknown, but it may have to do with protection from subadult males by the dominant male. Cooperative courtship and mating time varies from a few days on Borneo to several weeks on Sumatra. On Sumatra cooperative mating occurs over 50% of the time, whereas on Borneo 90% of the time it is forced mating by subadult males on lone females. Forced mating often results in vicious bites to the female. (This again goes back to the overall differences in habitat productivity between Borneo and Sumatra resulting in more adult lone females on Borneo).

Recent studies in the field have found that females with infants under four years of age tend not to mate. Research has shown that hormone levels in females are strongly influenced by their nutrition status, which is a function of how much fruit is available to them in the forest.  If there is an abundant supply of good fruit, the females hormonal level increases, therefore her probability of conception increases.

The gestation period is between 235 and 270 days. A baby orangutan weighs about 3 pounds at birth. Infant mortality rates, due to natural causes, in the wild are extremely low.  Orangutan mothers are very good at raising their babies to adulthood.  The fact that the mother tends to keep her offspring with her for an average of eight years has everything to do with the low infant mortality rate.  Offspring will become completely independent by the age of 10. Infancy is from 0 to 4 years, juveniles from 4 to 7 years, adolescent males from 7 to 10 years and adolescent females 7 to 12 years old.

Infants are carried continuously by the mother for the first year and whenever the mother travels until the age of 4.  Mother orangutans are very patient with their offspring and it will sleep in its mothers nest until it is  weaned at about the age of 3 to 4 years old.  They will often stay near and dependent upon their mother for 7 to 8 years while they learn to navigate through the dense forest in search of the hundreds of different edible foods. Adolescent males usually break ties with their mothers, but adolescent females return frequently to spend time around their mothers.

Knowing More About Me . . .Orang utan

Orangutans are with an ability to reason and think. This large, gentle red ape is one of our closest relatives, sharing 97% of the same DNA as humans. Indigenous peoples of Indonesia and Malaysia call this ape “Orang Hutan” literally translating into English as “People of the Forest.” In times past they would not kill them because they felt the orangutan was simply a person hiding in the trees, trying to avoid having to go to work Orangutans are unique in the ape world. There are four kinds of great apes: gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans. Only the orangutan comes from Asia; the others all come from Africa. There are two separate species of orangutan – the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus)or become a slave.

 The orangutan is the only strictly arboreal ape and is actually the largest tree living mammal in the world. The rest of the apes do climb and build sleeping nests in the trees, but are primarily terrestrial (spending their lives on the ground). Even the hair color of the orangutan, a bright reddish brown, is unique in the ape world.
The orangutan has the most remarkable ability to travel through the forest treetops. They make their home in these trees and build nests each night out of leaves and branches in the very tops of the trees.
This is where they live and sleep – sometimes as much as 100 feet above the ground. The orangutan has little need to come down from the trees, as they are uniquely adapted for their arboreal lifestyle.


Almost all of the food they eat grows in the treetops and the frequent rains fill the leaves thus supplying their drinking water. When water is difficult to get, they chew leaves to make a sponge to soak up water in tree cavities. When it rains very hard the orangutan makes an umbrella for himself out of big leaves. Many people are familiar with the studies that have shown chimpanzees using tools, such as termite-fishing sticks. Recent studies show that some populations of orangutans also fashion tools to aid in the difficult task of foraging for food.
Some might say orangutans have four hands instead of two hands and two feet. This makes them graceful and agile while climbing through the trees but it makes walking on the ground somewhat slow and awkward. That is why the orangutan is at a great disadvantage on the ground, and why the orangutan rarely comes down from the treetops. Their food is there, their home is there and they are safer there.
An orangutan’s lifespan is about 35-40 years in the wild, and sometimes into the 50’s in captivity. They reach puberty at about 8 years of age, but a female isn’t ready for her own baby until she’s in her teens.


The orangutan has the longest childhood dependence on the mother of any animal in the world, because there is so much for a young orangutan to learn in order to survive. The babies nurse until they are about six years of age. The young males may stay close by their mothers for a few more years but the females may stay until they are into their teens, allowing them to observe mothering skills as they watch their younger sibling being raised by the mother. Orangutan females only give birth about once every 8 years – the longest time between births of any mammal on earth. (This results in only 4 to 5 babies in her lifetime.) This is why orangutan populations are very slow to recover from disturbance.
Food is often scarce in the rain forest and that is why the orangutan is a semi-solitary creature. In times of great abundance of food, orangutans may use the opportunity to socialize and gather in small groups.




Their diet is made up of bark, leaves, flowers, a variety of insects, and most importantly, over 300 kinds of fruit. The mothers must teach the babies what food to eat, where to find that food, in which trees and during which seasons. It is thought that the orangutan must have a very detailed map of the forest in her mind, and detailed knowledge of the fruiting cycles of many species of trees. (This prevents wasting valuable energy searching for fruit trees randomly, and traveling to a certain fruiting tree whose fruits will not ripen for some time). The babies must eventually know hundreds of species of plants and trees, which ones are edible, and how to process them; some are very difficult to eat because they are protected by sharp spines and shells.


Males often weigh over 200 pounds, where females are 1/3 to 1/2 his size. The males generally remain solitary until they encounter a female who is receptive to mating. They will stay with the female for several days to ensure a successful mating but will soon resume their solitary life. Due to their large size, males will more often travel on the ground than females.

Orangutans are one of the most critically endangered of the great apes, due to poaching and habitat loss. Based on the World Bank’s estimation that mechanized logging in the Kalimantan forest, (Indonesian Borneo), will result in its total loss by 2010, and other statistics stating that wild orangutans are disappearing at a rate of 2,000 orangutans per year, optimistic predictions give the orangutan ten more years before extinction in the wild (Hooper 2002).

Indonesia adalah habitat hewan yang mengagumkan ini, habitat orangutan di negeri ini hanya dapat ditemui di Sumatera dan Kalimantan, dan menurut ahli lingkungan hidup jumlahnya kini hanya sekitar 60.000 saja.

Hardi Baktiantoro, Pendiri Centre of Orangutan Protection, organisasi non-profit di bidang pelestarian orang utan. mengatakan bahwa “97,3% DNA orangutan sama dengan manusia”. orangutan kerap disiksa dan dibunuh, seiring dengan pembukaan lahan perkebunan, Hardi sering mendapati mereka hidup dan mati dalam keadaan yang mengenaskan, tengkorak hancur, mata dicongkel, patah tangan atau kaki, disundut rokok, bahkan dibakar hidup-hidup. penyebabnya sering kali tidak masuk akal “sekedar iseng alias untuk bersenang-senang!”.

Hardi yang pernah memberikan pernapasan buatan demi menyelamatkan nyawa seekor orangutan, menuturkan apa yang dilakukannya bukan tanpa resiko, dia kerap diintimidasi, bahkan pernah dikeroyok sejumlah orang di sebuah pasar burung di Jakarta lantaran aktivitasnya, “Lengah sedikit,saya bisa pulang nama” jelasnya.

“Saat manusia mengalami penyiksaan atau kekerasan, mereka bisa berbicara, dan berteriak mengekspresikan rasa sakitnya. tidak demikian halnya dengan orangutan, siapa yang akan memahami atau memperjuangkan mereka?” Hardi memutuskan menjadi orang itu.

 ISU-ISU YANG MENGANCAM ORANG UTAN

Punca kepupusan orang utan ialah :
1. Ladang-ladang kelapa sawit
2. Pembalakan
3. Perburuan haram
4. Perdagangan binatang kesayangan.

23 September 2005 Laporan bertajuk “Oil for Ape Scandal oleh Pertubuhan Friends of the Earth mendedahkan :

1. Tanpa campur tangan segera, perdagangan kelapa sawit boleh menyebabkan pupusnya spesies Orang Utan dalam masa 12 tahun.

2. Hampir 90 peratus habitat Orang Utan di Indonesia dan Malaysia telah musnah.

3. Beberapa orang pakar menganggarkan bahawa 5,000 Orang Utan pupus setiap tahun, kesan daripada keadaan itu.

4. Terdapat kurang daripada 60,000 Orang Utan yang hidup secara liar di Borneo dan Sumatera.

5. Pusat penyelamat Orang Utan di Indonesia “padat dengan bayi Orang Utan yang yatim piatu” yang diselamatkan dari hutan-hutan yang ditebangkan untuk perladangan kelapa sawit.

6. Kerajaan Indonesia bercadang untuk mewujudkan sebuah ladang kelapa sawit terbesar dunia di Borneo, iaitu di sepanjang sempadan dengan Malaysia, yang akan merentasi kawasan perlindungan orang utan.

7. Menggesa kerajaan Indonesia dan Malaysia menerima dan melaksanakan Deklarasi Kinshasa yang diterbitkan oleh Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) 10 September 2005 dan menamatkan penukaran kawasan habitat Orang Utan kepada ladang-ladang kelapa sawit. Kerajaan Indonesia telah menandatangani perjanjian itu tetapi kerajaan Malaysia belum menandatanganinya.

8. Orang utan diburu oleh semua pemburu haram untuk dijual kepada pembeli yang menginginkan daging orang utan.

DANA UNTUK ORANG UTAN

BUKIT MERAH 3 Mac - Yayasan Orang Utan (YOU) Bukit Merah telah dilancarkan bagi melaksanakan program pemeliharaan, penyelidikan dan pembiakan Orang Utan di Pulau Orang Utan di Bukit Merah Lake Town Resort (BMLR).Majlis pelancaran itu dilakukan serentak dengan pelancaran YOU, logo, laman web dan Piagam Pulau Orang Utan oleh bekas Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar, Datuk Suboh Mohd. Yassin.

Pelancaran YOU adalah antara langkah BMLR menjayakan usaha mengumpul dana sebanyak RM6.2 juta untuk membangunkan prasarana yang lengkap di Pulau Orang Utan.YOU itu dilihat sebagai penggerak kepada usaha perlindungan dan pengekalan alam sekitar supaya spesies Orang Utan terus dilindungi dan dikekalkan kewujudannya.Pengerusi Lembaga Pemegang Amanah YOU, Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar berkata, usaha mengumpul dana berjumlah RM6.2 juta itu adalah semata-mata untuk menyelamatkan masa depan spesies Orang Utan.'Usaha mengumpul dana ini juga adalah untuk membolehkan kita menjalankan usaha pembiakan dan konservasi orang utan. ''Kita memerlukan dana bagi meningkatkan kemudahan di Pulau Orang Utan di sini supaya proses pemeliharaan serta penyelidikan dapat berjalan dengan teratur dan terperinci," katanya.

YOU diwujudkan sejak 14 Februari 2008 bagi menjalankan pemeliharaan dan penyelidikan anak Orang Utan yang lahir di Pulau Orang Utan.Tambah Mustapha, melalui usaha itu, Orang Utan yang dilahirkan akan dilepaskan ke habitat semula jadi bagi membolehkannya hidup secara normal apabila tiba waktunya.

Sementara itu, Ahli Lembaga Pemegang Amanah YOU, Profesor Emeritus Datuk Dr. Abdul Latiff Mohamad berkata, sokongan dan kerjasama semua pihak penting bagi memastikan Orang Utan tidak pupus.                                                                           

     

Beliau berkata, 80 peratus daripada dana yang disumbangkan kepada YOU akan digunakan untuk melaksanakan program pemeliharaan, penyelidikan dan pembiakan orang utan di Pulau Orang Utan.

''Saya yakin dengan adanya sokongan dan sumbangan dana, hasrat untuk melestarikan pemeliharaan Orang Utan di sini akan mencapai kejayaan," katanya.Setakat ini, terdapat 23 ekor Orang Utan termasuk 12 ekor anak Orang Utan lahir di pulau itu sejak ia diwujudkan pada Februari 2000.

Katanya, mereka yang ingin mendapatkan maklumat mengetahui mengenai orang utan, kajian saintifik dan program YOU boleh melayari laman web: http://www.orangutanisland.org.my.pada/ majlis tersebut, YOU dan Yayasan Pulau Banding iaitu yayasan yang mempelopori usaha memulihara Hutan Belum-Temengor di Gerik telah melantik penyanyi Dayang Nurfaizah sebagai duta pemeliharaan dan pengekalan alam semula jadi.

Dayang Nurfaizah ketika ditemui pula memberitahu pemilihannya sebagai duta program berkenaan amat dihargai dan merupakan satu tanggungjawab besar bagi sama-sama melindungi Orang Utan.
''Saya teruja dan bangga dipilih sebagai duta dan ini merupakan satu tanggungjawab besar kepada saya.
''Sebagai anak Sarawak, saya akan memberikan maklumat mengenai Orang Utan dan kepentingan memelihara dan mengekalkan alam semula jadi demi kebaikan generasi masa depan," katanya.

(ORANG UTAN)

Orang Utan tidak berekor dan mempunyai telinga dan hidung yang kecil. Bulunya panjang, lembut dan berwarna keperangan. Bulu keningnya tidak begitu mudah dilihat manakala tulang mulut dan dagunya menonjol keluar. Kepalanya pula berbentuk bujur dan matanya bersaiz kecil. Orang Hutan mempunyai lengan yang panjang dan kuat.

Bagi Orang Utan jantan, purata ukuran panjang kepala dan badan adalah lebih kurang 96cm (38.4 inci) ketinggian 137cm (54.8 inci) dan berat 75kg (165 lbs). Purata ketinggian Orang Utan betina adalah 80 - 85% daripada Orang Hutan jantan dan beratnya adalah 50% lebih ringan.

Orang Utan hidup dengan memakan buah-buahan, terutamanya buah pokok ara serta daun-daun, kulit kayu, pucuk dan bunga. Orang Utan sentiasa hidup di atas pokok dan jarang turun ke tanah. Orang Hutan hidup bersendirian di mana hanya ibu dan anak saja yang mempunyai hubungan yang kekal. Orang Utan jantan hidup bersendirian dan hanya akan berduaan dengan Orang Utan betina pada musim mengawan. Pergaduhan jarang berlaku di antara Orang Utan jantan dan mereka jarang memonopoli kawasan kawalan. Jangka masa mengandung adalah dari 233-263 hari dan anaknya akan disusu selama beberapa tahun.

Orang Utan boleh di dapati di Borneo dan Sumatra dan tinggal di kawasan hutan tropika.