Orangutan is the primate of the human beings. This is a scientifically proved aspect about the connection between humans and Orangutans. The sad fact about them is that they are on the verge of extinction. These animals are included in the list of endangered species of animals. They are the largest one among the arboreal animals living today. The main specialty of them is that they have a longer arm as compared to the other animals in the species. The brain of an Orangutan is almost as developed as that of the human beings.
They have a higher perception in the group of animals in their species. They are able to use their hands just like that of the humans. There is scientific proof that the development of the humans to a great civilization was possible due to the higher agility in using the thump of the arm. The Orangutans are also having a very similar structure as that of humans. This makes them able to handle things well. Another interesting fact about them is that they make their bed themselves with leaves and other foliage for sleeping.
The native place of Orangutan is Malaysia and Indonesia. They are at present found only in the rain forests of Sumatra and Borneo islands. The various archeologists were able to find the fossils of Orangutans and baby Orangutan from different parts of the world such as the mainland of China and Vietnam. There were different species of Orangutans and at present, only two of those species are alive. Both these species are included in the list of endangered species of animals. Those two species of Orangutans are the Bornean Orangutan and the Sumatran Orangutan. In among them, the Sumatran Orangutans appear in the critically endangered group. The literal meaning of the name the Orangutan is “man of the forest” derived from a Malaya word.
An adult Orangutan will grow up to a height of 4 to 7 feet when standing. You will find Orangutan pictures in the World Wide Web, which shows the size of them. The body weight will vary according to the conditions. It comes in the range of 33 to 88 kg. The body weight of an adult male may even go up to over 100 kg. The hand of the Orangutan is just like a human hand. They have four long fingers and a thump. One feature that distinguishes the Orangutans from monkeys is the fact that the Orangutans do no have a tail. A good part of their food consists of fruits. They mostly prefer fruits having more sweetness and fatty pulp. They are easy to digest.