ORANGUTAN

 

For: Preliminary

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News Flash

India’s only Orangutan, who was at the Nandan Kanan Zoo on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar city has died.

 

Orangutans

• The name orangutan means “man of the forest” in the Malay language.
• Orangutans are the world’s largest tree-climbing mammals.
• They live in primary and secondary forests.
• Orangutans travel by moving from one tree to another, and usually avoid climbing down to the ground.
• There are three species of orangutan – the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli – which differ a little in appearance and behavior.
• All three kinds of orangutans are listed as “Critically Endangered” by the United Nations-affiliated International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• The Bornean and Sumatran species have shaggy reddish fur, Sumatran orangutans have longer facial hair.
• Sumatran orangutans are also reported to have closer social bonds.
• The Sumatran orangutan is almost exclusively arboreal, spending most of their time in trees.

 

Vulnerable

The long time taken to reach sexual maturity, the long interbirth periods (Once in every 5 years), and the fact that orang-utans normally give birth to just a single young mean that orang-utans have an extremely low reproductive rate.

Status: Critically Endangered

Scientific name: Sumatran orang-utan (Pongo abelii), Bornean orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus)

 

Source: Indian Express

 

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