Visit Your Local PBS Station PBS Home PBS Home Programs A-Z TV Schedules Watch Video Support PBS Shop PBS Search PBS

Orangutans: Just Hangin' On
Introduction

Orangutans are our close relatives. It’s easy to fall under the charming spell cast by the auburn hair and quizzical expression of a playful youngster — especially when the child in question is a baby orangutan. These apes, featured in the NATURE program Orangutans: Just Hangin’ On, stir our emotions easily. Whether it’s their alert eyes, grasping hands, or desire to be hugged, many things about them seem humanlike.

That’s not surprising when you think about how closely related we really are. The only primate closer to us is the African ape. But as human as they seem, orangutans are actually wild animals perfectly suited to their forest environment. Weighing in at a hefty 200 pounds, an adult male orangutan is four times as strong as an adult male human and the largest animal to dwell in trees. When climbing on vines, orangutans’ flexible hip joints and hand-like feet make them seem to have four arms rather than two arms and two legs.

The natural home of the orangutan is the leafy canopy of the Southeast Asian rainforests in Sumatra and Borneo, which are abundant with the fruit that these apes eat. The growth of the logging industry in these areas has placed this habitat in grave danger, so many zoos have begun programs to increase the worldwide orangutan population.

Whether they live in treetops or zoos, orangutans exhibit a high level of intelligence. Orangutans in the wild are capable of creating and using tools; those in captivity demonstrate their ability to think and solve problems, like the puzzles at Washington DC’s National Zoo, featured in rangutans: Just Hangin’ On. It is no accident that the Malay name for this animal, “orang utan,” translates as “man of the forest.”

Online content forĀ Orangutans: Just Hangin’ On was originally posted December 1997.

   Print    Email    comments (24)

(25 votes)
Loading ... Loading ...
24 responses
alexis -- November 24th, 2008 at 3:10 pm

why are orangutans so fat and cuddly ? how long do there hair ? please dont say with anger

chouaib -- December 10th, 2008 at 8:05 pm

they eat alot of sweet bannanas and termites plus ants.89 in.

JOHN -- January 12th, 2009 at 2:01 pm

also they eat apple, vegetables like carrots, yam and romaine lettuce.

Tommi -- January 28th, 2009 at 5:45 pm

what are there defenses

caleb -- February 11th, 2009 at 12:49 pm

why do they have long arms

bob -- February 22nd, 2009 at 3:47 pm

to answer calebs question, they are just made that way!

namita -- March 3rd, 2009 at 12:47 am

why are they so huggable?

Nouchted -- March 5th, 2009 at 3:05 am

Thier environment is being completely destroyed by palm sugar plantations.

booya -- March 16th, 2009 at 1:10 pm

do they make weird noises?

but hole -- March 16th, 2009 at 1:11 pm

wat up you noo noos

Danielle Mason -- March 16th, 2009 at 2:07 pm

Orangutans are so cuite and cuddly!!!

haleigh miller -- March 26th, 2009 at 2:15 pm

i am curently doing a project on orangotans and i was wondering if anyone new some good sites i could get facts from !!!!!!!!!!!<3=hLEIGH

teaghen bentford -- April 19th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

ornang utans r sooooooooooooooo lovely and so cute!!!

cHRIS -- April 23rd, 2009 at 10:37 am

SO CUTE ORANGUTANS ARE MY PROJECT!

shine 33 -- April 24th, 2009 at 10:17 am

am doing a project on orangutans.

Lightsaber -- April 30th, 2009 at 4:02 pm

Orangutans r so like the best monkeys in the world!

alex -- April 30th, 2009 at 10:57 pm

orangutans actually aren’t monkeys; they are apes. And to answer caleb’s question, orangutans have long arms basically so that they can swing in trees efficiently.

sewe -- May 23rd, 2009 at 8:50 pm

oranutans are the coolest apes in the world and its a pity that they are on the verge of extinction

syed -- May 26th, 2009 at 8:50 pm

what important is orang utan from malaysia & i’m from malaysia…i work 4 johor national park that take care of malaysia forest if u need anything u can e-mail me

Bailey -- June 18th, 2009 at 5:44 pm

I love orangutans, and they have been here for a very long time. did you know that the name ” Orangutan” means man of the forest.

tvohchardz -- September 4th, 2009 at 6:58 pm

i thnk ths website is interesing. they do not have orangutans were i liv. & it is to cold in Russia where i have house. no jungles here. but i thot it cool because you hav warm ape south. We do hav cute, lovable white bear on ice though!

genesis -- September 14th, 2009 at 1:10 pm

hey….did you know that orangutans means “man of the fores”?

Nellie's Patch -- October 5th, 2009 at 1:15 pm

We produce handmade soap WITHOUT palm oil, in Shropshire, UK. We try to educate people about the need to protect these wonderful creatures. We hope people will learn to avoid products with palm oil in.

aaliyah -- October 26th, 2009 at 5:17 pm

thats a good story about orangutans

post a comment
Please note that the THIRTEEN editorial staff reserves the right to not post comments it deems to be inappropriate and/or malicious in nature, as well as edit comments for length, clarity and fairness. No solicitations or advertisements will be allowed. Users may link to other Web sites relevant to discussion, but most often links to commercial Web sites will not be permitted.

Produced by THIRTEEN    ©2009 Educational Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.

Major corporate support for Nature is provided by SC Johnson, Canon, CPB.