Acey+M

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 **//Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo Abelii)//** //Classification // Orangutans spend almost all the time in the tree canopy of the rain forest. At night an orangutan will build a nest in the canopy using leaves and branches. During rain storms the Orangutan will use large leaves as a type of poncho to protect them from the rain. Type: Mammal Diet: Omnivore Average life span in the wild: 30 to 40 years Size: Standing height, 4 to 5 ft. (1.2 to 1.5m) Weight: 73 to 180 lbs. (33 to 82 kg) Protection status: Endangered  Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man

//Orangutan Behaviour // Orangutans' arms are well suited to their lifestyle because they spend much of their time (some 90 percent) in the trees of their tropical rain forest home. They even sleep aloft in nests of leafy branches. They use large leaves as umbrellas and shelters to protect themselves from the common rains. Orangutans can also use simple tools not only to shelter from the rain, but also for grooming and foraging. Wild Orangutans have been observed using sticks to scratch themselves as well as for collecting insects from holes. 60% of the day is spent searching the canopy for food. The females feeding range are a lot smaller than males. Female’s territorial boundaries can cross over especially when the trees are in fruit. Male’s territories are large but males keep a good distance away from each other to avoid conflict. A male will sometimes vocalise its territorial range with a long, low 'booming' noise. It serves to show its dominance to other local males and also attracting females.

//Orangutans Diet // Primarily frugivorous, orangutans have an important role as seed dispersers. They selectively choose ripe fruit whose seeds are adapted to withstand passage through the orangutans' gut. Once the seeds have passed through the gut, they find themselves in their own little compost pile, which helps them to become established.  Over 400 food types have been documented as part of the Orangutans diet, and although it consists mainly of fruit, in times of scarcity orangutans will shift their eating habits to lower quality food, such as bark, leaves & termites, rather than travel to a different area. As well as acting as seed dispersers, orangutans help to open up the forest canopy. This allows light to reach the forest floor, which helps the forest to regenerate naturally. They are a vital cog in the workings of the rainforest ecosystem.

//Life Expectancy // <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Goudy","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">Mothers and their young, however, share a strong bond. Infants will stay with their mothers for some six or seven years until they develop the skills to survive on their own. Female orangutans give birth only once every eight years—the longest time period of any animal. The animals are long-lived and have survived as long as 60 years in captivity.

//<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: "Goudy","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">Orangutan //<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: "Goudy","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;"> //Babies// <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Goudy","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">Newborn orangutan babies weigh about 3 pounds. They are born fully covered with hair, except on the face. Their eyes are open, and they can grasp. The mother will carry them everywhere for the baby's first year and then the baby will start to travel on its own. Mother and baby stay together closely until the age of four, when it begins to wander off for short excursions. The baby will not be weaned until it is about four years old. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Goudy","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">Orangutans have one baby at a time. The mother spends up to six years taking care of the baby and will not mate during this time. According to the Honolulu Zoo, no female with a baby less than four years old will mate, which is one reason why an adult male orangutan may kill a small baby---so the mother will go into heat. A female orangutan can only have three or four babies in her entire lifetime, which is one reason why the species is endangered.

//<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: "Goudy","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">Conclusion // <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Goudy","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">The Sumatran Orangutan is interesting to me because it can swing from tree, it has long arms, it has a big food diet and I think it was a good choice of animal that I could have for research at the zoo.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Goudy","serif"; font-size: 15.99px;">By Acey MARGHERITI 7B