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15 Fascinating Facts About Those Great Apes, The Orangutans

Just like us, in so many ways.

15 Fascinating Facts About Those Great Apes, The Orangutans

December 12, 2021

We never got the whole big foot thing. If big foot was real, wouldn't it just be another great ape? It's not so much supernatural as just the existence of another big animal. In fact, we already know of the definite existence of plenty of amazing animals that deserve plenty of awe, wonder and respect.

At the top of our list is the ‘wise man of the forest’ aka the humble orangutan. These bad boys are not just capable of starring in comedy gems like Dunston Checks In, they also have neat orange hair and very fun faces. On top of that, they are one of the most peaceful and intelligent of the great apes. Sign us up!

From the incredible bond between mother and child to their insatiable appetite for those things called fruit, here are some fascinating facts about the great ape that paints better than most of us, the orangutan.

15

Orangutans

Orangutans THEY can TeacH THeMseLves TO SPeaRFISH. This ability was first spotted back in 2008 in an animal sanctuary in Borneo where the apes were basically mimicking what the humans were doing with their harpoons (and immediately outperforming us in the supple category). CRACKED.COM — Source: 5 Animals Who Taught Themselves Eerily Human Skills

14

Behold this sexy unit

Orangutans THOSE снеек PaDS are THeRe TO ве SEXY. Some males-not all -develop those pads called flanges around 30-35 years of age. It's pretty much just fatty tissue, but it's believed to be attractive to females. The males also have a throat sac to vocalize their availability toward a female, and they sometimes use it to ward off other males. CRACKED.COM — Source: Earth.org

13

Orangutan Art

Orangutans THEY Have THeIR own PeRSOnaL aRTISTIC STYLe. Yuki Molly Gypsy Julie Kiki Female orangutans in Japan made drawings that not only reflected their personal individuality but also their moods. Their drawings changed with the seasons, too. The five apes collectively created 1,500 drawings from 2006 to 2016, and some of the apes' paintings were more complex than others. CRACKED.COM — Source: IFLS

12

A Mother's Love

Orangutans MOM IS everything. The bonds between mothers and their infants are some of the strongest found in nature. Orangutan mothers are single parents, and they usually give birth to a single infant, sometimes twins. Moms teach their kids everything they need to know for the six to eight years they're together until the young ones are ready to go live on their own. Female orangutans often keep visiting their mothers until they're 16 years old. CRACKED.COM — Source: Animals Asia, WWF

11

Orangutans love the forest

Orangutans ORANGUTAN Means PeRson OF THe FOREST. They hang out in trees way more than down on the ground and, like birds, they make nests in the trees where they sleep at night. CRACKED.COM — Source: WWF

10

It's uncanny

Orangutans THEY LAUGH JUST LIKE US Orangutans will laugh when tickled, just like us and other great apes. CRACKED.COM — Source: Live Science

9

Who wore it better

Orangutans ORANGUTANS Have HaIRLINES, JUST LIKE US. They're the only primates who share our hairline that naturally grows down to the top of our eyes. CRACKED.COM — Source: National Geographic

8

Uh-oh

Orangutans THEY can use HITMEN Yep, it's been recorded how some orangutans will get other orangutans to kill any unwanted orangutans. CRACKED.COM — Source: Creepy Fact: Orangutans Can Use 'Hitmen'

7

Orangutans can get old

Orangutans THEY can LIVE FOR MORE THan 60 YEARS. In the wild, orangutans will usually live somewhere between 30 and 40 years, but some have been documented to grow older than 60. CRACKED.COM — Source: Earth.org

6

Don't come between an orangutan and their fruit

Orangutans THese GUYS aRe FRUIT LOVERS. More than 60% of their diet is made up of fruit, including lychees, mangosteens, jackfruit, mangoes and figs. They'll also eat young leaves and shoots, sometimes eggs, insects, and even tree bark and soil-only meat on rare occasions. CRACKED.COM — Source: WWF, Newsweek

5

Just an ape cracking a nut with a nature hammer

Orangutans THeY've Been seen USING HaMMERS TO CRACK nUTS. This behavior is believed to be one of the most complex tool-use behaviors in non-humans. CRACKED.COM — Source: Sci-News

4

Orangutans have some great communication skills

Orangutans THeY'Re THE ONLY non-HUMan PRIMATES WHO can REFER TO PaST THINGS. More specifically, they can talk in displaced reference, which is talking about things that aren't present or aren't happening right at the time. CRACKED.COM — Source: Smithsonian Magazine

3

So few orangutans left

Orangutans THeRe aRe BeTween 55,000 anD 65,000 WILD ORANGUTANS LeFT in THE WORLD. Of the three orangutan species we have (the Sumatran Pongo abelli, the Bornean Pongo pygmaeus, and the Tapanuli Pongo tapanuli), all three of them are endangered. Deforestation and hunting for the pet trade are their biggest threats. CRACKED.COM — Source: Orangutan.com, The Orangutan Project

2

Better than an 8-year-old

Orangutans ORANGUTANS aRe BeTTeR ат MAKING TOOLS THan HUMan CHILDREN 8 YeaRS anD UNDER. In a study done these great apes proved that they had a natural instinct for solving problems and could fashion a hook out of a wire, easy. CRACKED.COM — Source: Popular Mechanics

1

Orangutan says what?

Orangutans an ORANGUTAN Has LeaRneD HOW TO MIMIC HUMan SPeeCH. The 50-year-old great ape named Tilda has learned to make clicks and noises that sound like human speak. She can smack her lips together to make consonant sounds, and she can form vowels. The sounds she makes are also intentional, as she usually does this to get someone's attention, especially when she wants food. These sound-making abilities have never been seen in great apes before. CRACKED.COM — Source: The Washington Post

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