Orangutan Wears Sack Clothes

Orangutans live in primary and old secondary forests, particularly dipterocarp forests and peat swamp forests. Both species can be found in both mountainous and lowland swampy areas. Sumatran orangutans live in elevations as high as 1500 m (4921 ft), while Bornean orangutans live no higher than 1000 m (3281 ft). The latter will sometimes enter grasslands, cultivated fields, gardens, young secondary forest, and shallow lakes. Orangutans are the most arboreal of the great apes, spending nearly all of their time in the trees. Most of the day is spend feeding, resting, and moving between feeding and resting sites. They start the day feeding for 2-3 hours in the morning. They rest during midday followed by traveling in the late afternoon. When evening arrives, they begin to prepare their nest for the night. Tigers are the major predatory threat to orangutans in Sumatra. Orangutans may also be preyed on by clouded leopards and crocodiles. The former can kill adolescents and small adult females but have not been recorded killing adult males. In Borneo, orangutans are not threatened by tigers and seem to descend to the ground more often than their Sumatran relatives. Orangutans do not swim. At least one population at a conservation refuge on Kaja island in Borneo have been photographed wading in deep water.
• Diet
Fruit makes up 65–90 percent of the orangutan diet. Fruits with sugary or fatty pulp are favored. Ficus fruits are commonly eaten, because they are easy to harvest and digest. Lowland dipterocarp forests are preferred by orangutans because of their plentiful fruit. Bornean orangutans consume at least 317 different food items that include young leaves, shoots, bark, insects, honey and bird eggs.
Orangutans are opportunistic foragers, and their diets vary markedly from month to month. Bark is eaten as a last resort in times of food scarcity; fruits are always more popular.