| Orangutans and Humans: Cut From the Same Cloth? An exclusive article by Jenny L. Nielsen |
| Special Thanks to Orangutan Foundation International, and especially their vice president, Dr. Gary Shapiro, who answered many of my questions about orangutans and granted me an informative interview via the internet. |
| Long ago, when the World was just beginning, two great Bird-like beings set out to create all of the animals in Borneo. One day, after much work, the Bird gods discovered the formula for a new kind of animal--human kind. After successfully creating both a man and woman, the Bird gods rejoiced long into the night, celebrating their grand accomplishment with a gigantic feast. In the morning, the Bird gods decided to mix up another batch of humans. However, they were still very tired from their nightly revels, and accidentally left out a part of their recipe. To their great surprise, this second creation didn't turn out humans--they got a batch of orangutans instead! And that was how the Orangutan, the Man of the Forest, one of the first Great Apes, came into existence. |
| At least according to an ancient Dayak tribe myth, anyway! Truth be told, humans and orangutans are amazingly similar--we share approximately 97% of our genetic makeup. (Chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, just barely "beat" orangutans, possessing an approx. 99% identical DNA structure to man.) When I decided to write an article about the great apes, I contacted Orangutan Foundation International with some of my questions. Although all great ape species are important, I felt that orangutans--being more elusive and solitary by nature than their cousins, the chimpanzees and gorillas--gain less media attention. I decided that I would give this species a special focus in my article. Dr. Gary Shapiro, the Vice President of Orangutan Foundation International, quickly responded to my letter, and granted me the interview reproduced below. Q (from Jenny L. Nielsen): How close to being "human" (personality-wise, etc.) are orangutans, in your opinion? A (from Dr. Gary Shapiro): Apart from their genetic similarity to humans, orangutans do share much with humans in terms of the richness in various personalities and emotions they display. They display moodiness, jealousy [and] anger, as well as gentleness, affection, and playfulness. One only has to spend time with orangutans to see how these various emotions and tendences are reflected in their unique personalities. Younger orangutans tend to be more playful and affectionate, which is one reason why they have been in demand as pets. (NOTE: Sadly, such "humanlike" characteristics are one of the reasons the [orangutan] pet trade flourished during the 1990's to the detriment of the species. For every baby orangutan that was sold in the petstores of Taipei, perhaps 6-8 orangutans died in the process due to the killing of the mother, and their stress during capture and transport to the marketplace.) Q: What is the most amazing thing you have seen an orangutan do? I have seen orangutans do a number of amazing things. I have been amazed at the intelligence of orangutans and how they can use their intelligence to solve problems. Princess...an ex-captive orangutan who I "adopted" and taught sign language to over twenty years ago...amazes me with her ability to figure out how to use various tools and invent tools. Just last month, I watched her figure out how to use a two-person saw all by herself. She would use trial and error and go from using it as a scrapper to finally figuring out how to hold the saw and draw it across a stick or board. She also knows how to use keys, and has even created primitive wooden keys to unlock simple sliding locks on pantry doors to get at fruit kept inside. ---> More on following page, click here. |
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| Photo Courtesy Honolulu Zoo |