Video: Borneo orang-utan



Posted on 21 January 2004  | 
Orang-utans are the largest tree-climbing mammal and the only great ape found in Asia. They have a characteristic ape-like shape, shaggy reddish fur and grasping hands and feet, with very long arms that may reach 2 m in length. Legs are relatively short and weak, but the hands and arms are powerful. Adult males are distinguished by their large size, throat pouch and cheek pads on either side of the face.

The lowland forest habitats of this red "man of the forest" are fast disappearing under the chainsaw, or being burned deliberately to make way for agriculture and oil palm plantations. Unless these unique great apes are conserved in well-managed, secure protected areas, and in wider forest landscapes connected by corridors, they may well be facing extinction in the wild.

WWF is working with its partners to secure a future for the orang-utan. This will require a broad based approach, not only by providing protection for orang-utan populations, but also by fighting to prevent destruction of the species' forest habitat. Action is also needed to stamp out a widespread trade in orang-utans as pets.
Bornean orang-utan, Sarawak (Borneo), Malaysia.
Bornean orang-utan, Sarawak (Borneo), Malaysia.
© WWF-Canon / Michel Terrettaz Enlarge

Download

Related links

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required
Measure your footprint

see all WWF gifts

Building a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

Photos and graphics © WWF or used with permission. Text available under a Creative Commons licence.