Basic Facts about the Orangutan

The word Orangutan means "people of the forest" in Malay. They are those familiar looking great apes with the reddish brown hair all over their bodies. From the family "Hominidae" their are two different species of Orangutans Pongo pygameus  and Pongo abelii. These two different species are also more simply referred to as Borneo and Sumatran Orangutans, since thats where they are located. 

They are the largest arboreal animals in the world, spending about 95% of their time in the trees. They spend their time eating, sleeping, and traveling. They eat mostly fruit, leaves, flowers, insects, etc. but have also been know to be carnivores and eat slow lorises. They are sexually dimorphic animals, where the males are way bigger than the females. In fact fully developed males can weigh up to 300 lbs. Even their wingspan from fingertip to fingertip can be 8ft in length. 

                                             Pictured: a mother Orangutan with her infant

Sources:

http://www.orangutan.org/