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Otto the Orangutan (26/26)


This is also part of this series: All About Animals (26)

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Subjects: Animal Behaviour, Animals, Evolution, Geography, Natural History, Nature

Grade Level: K-Gr3
Producer: BBC
Closed Captioned: No		 Running Time: 25 mins
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Study Guide: No
Copyright Date: 2004
Available in French: No

Otto lives in the rainforests of Sumatra with his mum. Orangs are fairly solitary most of the time but Otto has an older sister, Octavia, who lives around in the forest nearby. Sometimes they hang out together. And when a particularly rich fig tree is fruiting he sometimes catches a glimpse of his dad, Oswald, who is a huge adult male, the only one in these parts. Orang-utans live on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra in South-east Asia and are the only great apes found outside Africa. Orang-utans spend most of their time in the treetops of the rainforests - in fact the name “orang-utan” means “man of the forest”. They pass from tree to tree by climbing or swinging. Their strong arms stretch out longer than their bodies (up to 2.1m across) and allow them to move about in the rainforest canopy with ease, or to hang from branches eating fruit and leaves. When climbing, orang-utans use all four limbs - their big toes are opposable (like a human's thumbs) so they can grip branches with their feet as well as their hands. On the ground, orang-utans can stand upright, but they walk on all fours. They are active during the day, and at night the females and young males sleep in nests which they build in the trees each evening. Due to their heaviness, mature males often sleep on the forest floor. Female orang-utans typically give birth to one baby, although twins are not unheard of. Mothers take great care of their young, who remain with them for up to six years. The average lifespan for an orang-utan is 30 years, and maturity is reached at seven to 10 years of age. The most serious threat to orang-utans is the destruction of their rainforest habitat. In the last 20 years an estimated 80 per cent of suitable orang-utan habitat has disappeared, and only around two per cent of what remains is legally protected.

Links: http://http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/

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