Orangutan - forest people.

Orangutan came to land in South-East Asia by 15 million years earlier than set foot there man ...

In the wonderful world of nature consists of hundreds of thousands of species of primates. Today, as you know, we get to know one of them, with the orangutan.

This is a huge primates that live high in the trees in the rainforest. Now they live only in Sumatra and Borneo. This Indonesian island - a paradise: they are covered with tropical forests and high mountains, the tops of which are lost in the clouds.

Orangutans are perfectly climb trees (sometimes at a height of 50 meters). Strong arms and legs to help climb up and down and move freely in the forest.

Unlike most primates, orangutans prefer to live alone, only occasionally coming together.

Males are twice the size of females, they can weigh 140-150 kg. With a significant mass, orangutans are relatively low animal growth about five feet. Pay attention to what some of them have big cheeks. They occur when males reach the age of 15. There is no scientific explanation for this, but it is believed that his cheeks love females (as nose Nosach ).

Orangutans belong to the group of apes , or apes. To top are still gorillas and chimpanzees. In this group there is no tail. All apes are able to cope with problems that can not afford other primates.

Orangutan or orangutan?

Long hair reddish-brown color, incredible strength, remarkable abilities, intelligent eyes - these creatures millions of years ago, for people living in South East Asia, a sort of separate tribe, the "forest people"

Gone are the days, but this ape called: orangutan, "forest people." In Malay "orang" means a person, and Utan is derived from a word meaning forest (hutan).

But Utang word translated as "debt" (it turns out that an orangutan g - the debtor).

However, in the Russian spoken language allowed both. And the world of zoology, like any other science, does not tolerate inaccuracies.

For the rest, these monkeys are building themselves couches sockets: they bend the branches like a circle, the resulting area of ​​tree tops - the perfect place to lie down ...

Large leaves of tropical plants - a very good thing. Of them can be "gloves." Orangutans are masters of kapok leaves protective pads with them easier to grasp at the branches and trunk of the thorn tree. Improvised Mittens allow animals to sit for hours in a tree and lick the sweet juice. And, you can make a "cap." Fern leaves and excellent protection from the sun.

Tropical forests are rich in a variety of goodies for these red apes. Their diet consists of leaves, roots, stems, bark, flowers, juice and a variety of insects. In the spring, when the trees mature fruit, orangutans prefer these sweet treats. And durian - a fruit tropical tree - a favorite delicacy. Animals tear fruit, peel and eat only meat, spitting out the seeds. Do orangutans good appetite. They constantly chew anything. They constantly wander through the trees in search of food and are well aware that where you can eat.

Forelimbs kings trees than the body length. The adult male arm span is two and a half meters. This fact and remarkable strength allow monkeys to fly from tree to tree in search of fruit and succulent leaves for a long time. Legs act as the hands. With their help, orangutans can move his head down.

In Borneo orangutans live in relative safety. But in the neighboring Sumatra jungle big cat roams - Sumatran tiger . He is not as large as the Indian, but no less dangerous.

Orangutans are very curious by nature. They need to understand which of the inhabitants of the forest is dangerous and who is not.

Man is the greatest threat to the existence of orangutans in the wild, he cut down the forest, the natural habitat of monkeys, catches their cubs, which are very expensive on the black market (and in fact for that you have to kill a female ...).

I read somewhere that at the end of the last century male orangutans beaten to death by a few people. These were the smugglers who prey on the female, to pick up her baby. They do not help even a firearm.

Animals listed in the Red Book of the world as a species at risk. (A number of Sumatran orangutan - critical).