Orang-utans spend much of their lives on trees and sleep in nests they build in the tree tops - they are, in fact, the world's largest tree-dwellers.
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Orang-utans are gentle but strong. Naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace witnessed an orang-utan
killing a crocodile by "...pulling open its jaws and ripping up its throat..." Orang-utans spend much of their lives on trees and sleep in nests they build in the tree tops - they are, in fact, the world's largest tree-dwellers. |
In the ancient rainforests of Sabah and Sarawak lives one of Malaysia's best known and loved animal species: Pongo pygmaeus, the orang utan. These characterful primates are the largest-bodied fruit-eaters on earth, and the only representative species of the great apes to live outside Central Africa.
Indigenous only to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, a fully grown adult can weigh 100kg, which would certainly tip the scales against the average man! But perhaps the most remarkable feature of orang utans is the striking similarity that they bear to us human beings - which makes it all the more disgraceful and sad that they are on the 'endangered species' list.
Captain Daniel Beekman, an Englishman who saw them first-hand in up the Borneo jungle wrote in 1747 thus:"...but the most remarkable (apes) are those they call Orang-ootans....these grow to be six feet high; they walk upright, have longer arms than men, tolerable good faces (handsomer I am sure than some Hottentots that I have seen), large teeth, no tails nor hair, but on those parts where it grows on humane bodies..." It is no surprise, then, to know that 'orang utan' literally means 'jungle man'. It is reported that the local tribal people really used to believe that these creatures were formerly humans, metamorphosed into beasts for their blasphemy.
Nevertheless, metamorphosed humans or not, the orang utan has been persecuted relentlessly during the nineteenth and first half of this century - mainly by so-called 'civilised' Europeans. Ironically, perhaps, it is the very neary-humanness of these magnificent creatures that led to their exploitation. Thousands of individuals, both young and adult, were captured live, to perish short-lived in zoos or as pets in homes all around the world; thousands more died in the process of capturing these, while many were simply shot in the jungle for 'sports'.
There is no doubt that a baby orang utan makes a most engaging and loving pet; the similarly to human children in terms of behaviour is uncanny. And obtaining one is simplicity itself: shoot a mother, and the baby is yours. This sordid pratice, once widespread, is now illegal. Young orang utans, up to a year or two old, are totally dependent on their mother for food, transport and shelter. If the mother is shot, the helpless infant will easily adopt, as a surrogate mother, any human being that feeds and look after it, however poorly. Sadly, experience has shown that orang utan babies kept as pets in private households, tribal longhouses or timber camps only have a slight chance of survival. Typically they will die in a matter of weeks, either due to being given an inappropriate diet or though disease picked up from humans. They are particularly prone to colds, pneumonia and intestinal problems.
By the 1906s, the situation was thought to be critical, and the publication, in 1962, of Barbara and Tom Harrisson's book Orang Utan brought much attention to the plight of these creatures. The future of the orang utan then looked very bleak, with estimates of only a few thousand still surviving in the wild. Despite laws which made it illegal to keep orang utans as pets, it seemed that the lucrative, illegal trade, couple with the demand from zoos around the world could lead to their extinction by the end of the century.
In retrospect, it appears that the Harrisson figures were well short of the truth. Recent studies have shown that in fact orang utans are much more abdundant than previously thought. Some six years ago Herman Rijksen, working in Sumatra, estimated that there were between ten and fifteen thousand on that island, and perhaps five times as many as that in Borneo; the latest estimate by Cathy MacKinnon (wife of orang utan expert Dr. John MacKinnon) puts the number of orang utans living in the wild at around 100,000. This is obviously extremely good news, but these figures must be treated cautiously: They are only estimates based on the density of orang utans in selected sample areas, multiplied by the area of virgin jungle left.
Today any threat to the survival of the orang utan, as a species, from the 'baby trade' has passed. It is now rare to find young orang utans kept as pets, and the indiscriminate slaughter of adults has long since stopped. Instead, there is an increasing awareness for the need to preserve these creatures. At last the prevailing attitude seems to favour orang utans being allowed to live in their natural habitat, rather than being exploited for financial gain.
"Orang utans are not on the brink of extinction, but they are still a highly threatened species," said Jane Thornback of the Conservation Monitoring Centre in the UK. "Action is needed to protect their habitat. Ultimately their survival will depend on their home - the forest."
Looking on the brighter side, there are many hopeful signs. The Governments of both Malaysia and Indonesia have set aside certain areas as forest reserves.
Several schemes operating in Borneo and Sumatra have been extremely successful in 'rehabilitating' young oprhaned orang utans to life in the jungle. Teaching an orang utan to climb trees and forage for food may sound as ridiculous as teaching a fish to swim - but that is what happens at these centres! The point is that orang utans are the slowest growing apes. Their development to maturity takes about ten years; in fact it is closely related to that of the growing child. If they spend most of their childhood in captivity, ti becomes impossible for them to survive on their own in the jungle.
Imagine, for example taking a three year-old child out of its home setting, and putting it in the jungle to fend for itself...Life in the jungle is tough for a slowly developing animal, and the slower an animal develops, the more is the teaching required from its elders. Orang utan learn almost all their jungle survival skills through direct teaching by the mother, and basic necessities for jungle life like climbing, nest building and foraging for food are quickly forgotten by young orang utans taken into captiviy. Hence the need for rehabilitation. Young orphaned orang utans need to be encouraged to climb, and forage for their own food, if they are to live in the wild.
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Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, located near Sandakan in Sabah, is the oldest of the four similar centres in Borneo and Sumatra. Started in 1964, Sepilok consists of 10,000 acres of preserved virgin lowland forest, which is the prime habitat for orang utan. The rehabilitation centre itself is located on the edge of the forest, and once young orang utans have learned to fend for themselves, they re then taken much further in. Visitors are welcome at Sepilok, and you will almost certainly see some young orang utans in the 'nursery area' if you are there at the morning feeding time.
In their wild state, orang utans are essentially arboreal creatures, living in the canopy of the forest. It is quite unusual for them to be found down at ground level; almost all activity takes place up in the branches. They build nests by twisting together the branches, and will sleep in these at night. Usually they will build a new nest every couple of days; sometimes every day.
Long-term observations have shown that orang utans consume more than 300 types of fruit, bark and flowers, as well as occasional insects, and if they can find it, honey. At a good feeding point - for example a tree which has come into fruit - several orang utans may come into close proximity, but they will appear to ignore each other. Adult males are normally solitary, and if two come into close contact they can become very aggressive. During the day time, the males spend much time calling out - probably to establish territories.
Adult females are often accompanied by one or two young, but seem to be equally unsociable most of the time. They are, however, devoted mothers to their offspring until these are about four or five years old. After that, they will leave mum's care and until the age of about ten, when they reach sexual maturity, they will play together in groups. This seems to be the only period of their life that orang utans show much sociable behaviour.
The future of orang utans today looks much more certain than it did in 1960. At the moment, Sepilok receives 20 to 30 orphaned orang utans each year; living in these preserved areas, their future is assured.