10 interesting facts about orangutans
- Orangutan is the only ape that is strictly arboreal. At the same time, it is the largest tree-living mammal in the world.
- In the earlier times, people thought an orangutan to be a person hiding in the trees, trying to avoid having to go to work or become a slave.
- Orangutan females give birth only about once every 8 years, the longest time between births of any mammal on earth.
- An orangutan baby has the longest childhood dependence on its mother in the world, averaging at six years.
- Orangutans are very intelligent. They have been known to use leaves as umbrellas, in rainy season, as well as cups, to help them drink water.
- The hands of an orangutan are very much like that of humans. They have four long fingers and an opposable thumb.
- Orangutans do not swim.
- Every evening, orangutans construct a ‘nest’, of leaves and branches, on trees, in which they will curl up and sleep at night.
- The arms of an orangutan are incredibly long and almost reach down to their ankles.
- Orangutans have an enormous arm span. A male orangutan can stretch his arms as much as 7 ft (2.1 m) wide, from fingertip to fingertip.
