Primates-SG - Great Apes of the World Primate Watching Great Apes Of The World The great apes are more diverse – and more threatened – than many of us ever expected. We recognize 13 kinds of great ape: four subspecies of gorillas, four chimpanzees and the singular bonobo, all found in Africa, plus four kinds of orangutans known from tropical Asia. Altogether the gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobo occur in 21 African nations; of the orangutans, one species occurs in northernmost Sumatra, and the other (divided into three subspecies) survives on the island of Borneo. Along with all other primates, the great apes are included on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , a comprehensive survey of threats to our world’s biodiversity. The Red List provides conservation assessments for a tremendous array of threatened species – and it shows that the great apes are in near-universal decline. Only the mountain gorillas are not declining in number but are precariously stable at best, and so they are listed as Critically Endangered, along with the Cross River gorilla, the western lowland gorilla and the Sumatran orangutan.

¤ ¤ ¤ Great apes | WWF Great Apes African Great Apes Solutions Great Apes In both Africa and Asia, great apes – bonobos, eastern and western gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans – are rapidly losing much of their forest habitat to human activities such as agriculture, mining, and commercial logging. Many African great ape populations are found in areas where civil wars are raging, making conservation difficult if not impossible. The hunting of forest animals for bushmeat, once a subsistence activity, has become a major commercial enterprise throughout west and central Africa. Habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as susceptibility to disease, also threaten some species and populations. Asia's only great ape, the orangutan, is also in deep trouble. Its last remaining strongholds in the rainforests of Sumatra (Indonesia) and the island of Borneo (Indonesia and Malaysia) are being destroyed by illegal logging, a proliferation of palm oil plantations, and by widespread forest fires, many set by plantation owners.

Find out more: ORANGUTANS INDONESIA - INDONESIA PRIMATE - INDONESIA RED APES - INDONESIA MONKEYS - ORANGHUTAN BORNEO AND SUMATRA - ORANGUTAN ASIA - ORANGUTAN TOURS - VISIT ORANGUTAN ISLANDS INDONESIA ORANGUTANS OF INDONESIA PRIMATES The orangutans are two species of great apes known for their intelligence, long arms and reddish-brown hair. Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, they are currently found only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, though fossils have been found in Java, Vietnam and China. They are the only surviving species in the genus Pongo and the subfamily Ponginae (which also includes the extinct genera Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus). Their name derives from the Malay and Indonesian phrase orang hutan, meaning "man of the forest". The orangutan is an official state animal of Sabah in Malaysia.

The word orangutan (also written orang-utan, orang utan and orangutang) i s derived from the Malay and Indonesian words orang meaning "person" and hutan meaning "forest",thus "person of the forest". Orang Hutan is the common term in these two national languages, although local peoples may also refer to them by local languages. Maias and mawas are also used in Malay, but it is unclear if those words refer only to orangutans, or to all apes in general. The word was first attested in English in 1691 in the form orang-outang, and variants with -ng instead of -n as in the Malay original are found in many languages. This spelling (and pronunciation) has remained in use in English up to the present, but has come to be regarded as incorrect by some. The name of the genus, Pongo, comes from a 16th century account by Andrew Battell, an English sailor held prisoner by the Portuguese in Angola, which describes two anthropoid "monsters" named Pongo and Engeco.

It is now believed that he was describing gorillas, but in the late 18th century it was believed that all great apes were orangutans; hence Lacï¿½pï¿½de's use of Pongo for the genus. Orangutans are the most arboreal of the great apes, spending nearly all of their time in the trees. Every night they fashion nests, in which they sleep, from branches and foliage. They are more solitary than the other apes, with males and females generally coming together only to mate. Mothers stay with their babies until the offspring reach an age of six or seven years. There is significant sexual dimorphism between females and males: females can grow to around 4 ft 2 in or 127 centimetres and weigh around 100 lbs or 45 kg, while flanged adult males can reach 5 ft 9 in or 175 centimetres in height and weigh over 260 lbs or 118 kg. The arms of an orangutan are twice as long as their legs. Much o f the arm's length has to do with the length of the radius and the ulna rather than the humerus.

Their fingers and toes are curved, allowing them to better grip onto branches. Orangutans have less restriction in the movements of their legs unlike humans and other primates, due to the lack of a hip joint ligament which keeps the femur held into the pelvis. Unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans are not true knuckle-walkers, and walk on the ground by shuffling on their palms with their fingers curved inwards. Adult male orangutans exhibit two modes of physical development, flanged and unflanged. Flanged adult males have a variety of secondary sexual characteristics, including cheek pads (called "flanges"), throat pouch, and long fur, that are absent from both adult females and from unflanged males. Flanged males establish and protect territories that do not overlap with other flanged males' territories. Adult females, juveniles, and unflanged males do not have established territories. A flanged male's mating strategy involves establishing and protecting a territory, advertising his presence, and waiting for receptive females to find him. Unflanged males are also able to reproduce; their mating strategy involving finding females in estrus and forcing copulation.

Males appear to remain in the unflanged state until they are able to establish and defend a territory, at which point they can make the transition from unflanged to flanged within a few months. The two reproductive strategies, referred to as "call-and-wait" for flanged male and "sneak-and-rape" for the unflanged male, were found to be approximately equally effective in one study group in Sumatra,[10] though this observation did occur during a period of instability in flanged male rank and unflanged male mating success may be lower in Borneo. Fruit makes up 65% of the orangutan diet. Fruits with sugary or fatty pulp are favored. The fruit of fig trees are also commonly eaten since it is easy to both harvest and digest. Other food items include: young leaves, shoots, seeds and bark. Insects and bird eggs are also included. Orangutans are thought to be the sole fruit disperser for some plant species including the climber species Strychnos ignatii which contains the toxic alkaloid strychnine. It does not appear to have any effect on orangutans except for excessive saliva production.

Orangutans use plants of the genus Commelina as an anti-inflammatory balm. Like the other great apes, orangutans are remarkably intelligent. Although tool use among chimpanzees was documented by Jane Goodall in the 1960s, it was not until the mid-1990s that one population of orangutans was found to use feeding tools regularly. A 2003 paper in the journal Science described the evidence for distinct orangutan cultures. According to recent research by the psychologist Rober t Deaner and his colleagues, orangutans are the world's most intelligent animal other than humans, with higher learning and problem solving ability than chimpanzees, which were previously considered to have greater abilities. A study of orangutans by Carel van Schaik, a Dutch primatologist at Duke University, found them capable of tasks well beyond chimpanzees’ abilities — such as using leaves to make rain hats and leakproof roofs over their sleeping nests. He also found that, in some food-rich areas, the creatures had developed a complex culture in which adults would teach youngsters how to make tools and find food.

A two year study of orangutan symbolic capability was conducted from 1973-1975 by Gary L. Shapiro with Aazk, a juvenile female orangutan at the Fresno City Zoo (now Chaffee Zoo) in Fresno, California. The study employed the techniques of David Premack who used plastic tokens to teach the chimpanzee, Sarah, linguistic skills. Shapiro continued to examine the linguistic and learning abilities of ex-captive orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park, in Indonesian Borneo, between 1978 and 1980. During that time, Shapiro instructed ex-captive orangutans in the acquisition and use of signs following the techniques of R. Allen and Beatrix Gardner who taught the chimpanzee, Washoe, in the late-1960s. In the only signing study ever conducted in a great ape's natural environment, Shapiro home-reared Princess, a juvenile female who learned nearly 40 signs (according to the criteria of sign acquisition used by Francine Patterson with Koko, the gorilla) and trained Rinnie, a free-ranging adult female orangutan who learned nearly 30 signs over a two year period.

For his dissertation study, Shapiro examined the factors influencing sign learning by four juvenile orangutans over a 15-month period. The first orangutan language study program, directed by Dr. Francine Neago, was listed by Encyclopedia Britannica in 1988. The Orangutan language project at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., uses a computer system originally developed at UCLA by Neago in conjunction with IBM.[17] . Zoo Atlanta has a touch screen computer where their two Sumatran Orangutans play games. Scientists hope that the data they collect from this will help researchers learn about socializing patterns, such as whether they mimic others or learn behavior from trial and error, and hope the data can point to new conservation strategies. Although orangutans are generally passive, aggression toward other orangutans is very common; they are solitary animals and can be fiercely territorial. Immature males will try to mate with any female, and may succeed in forcibly copulating with her if she is also immature and not strong enough to fend him off. Mature females easily fend off their immature suitors, preferring to mate with a mature male.

Orangutans have even shown laughter-like vocalizations in response to physical contact, such as wrestling, play chasing, or tickling. Bonobos-Chimpanzees-Orangutans-Gorillas Great apes live in "range states": Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Malaysia and Indonesia. Fifteen of these 23 States are least developed countries in Africa. The Orangutan is found only in the islands of Sumatra and Borneo in Malaysia and Indonesia (Indonesian Kalimantan and Sarawak, and Sabah of Malaysia), while the other apes are scattered across 21 countries in Equatorial Africa, from Tanzania in the east to Senegal in the west. Bonobos,Chimpanzees, Orangutans and Gorillas are our not so distant cousins in the animal world. They are intelligent and exhibit feelings and emotions like we do.

All of these great apes are being threatened by deforestation and poaching. We must take action to save this part of our "family" now. We are similar in many ways, but for two, they can not "speak" and they do not destroy the environment like we do. The populations of all species are extremely low, or are falling rapidly. Bonobos, which are found in only one ecosystem in Congo DR, were estimated at 50,000. However, now, after years of civil war, there may be as few as 10,000 left. This species is the most likely to become extinct if no urgent action is taken. Chimpanzees, spread widely across Africa, are currently more numerous, but are also subject to hunting and habitat loss. The mountain gorillas, of the Virunga volcanos, bordering Congo DR, Rwanda and Uganda, have a tiny but relatively stable population of around 700 individuals. The Cross River Gorilla, inhabiting transborder areas between Nigeria and Cameroon, numbers only about 200 individuals, in isolated pockets.

Lowland gorillas of the large Congo basin number around 100,000; however numbers are declining fast. Orangutans total numbers range from 50,000 to 100,000. Loss of suitable forest habitat, is the greatest threat to the great apes. More than 70% of the habitat of African great ape species has been negatively affected by infrastructure development. Other threats include: - clearing of forests for logging or agriculture - hunting for "bushmeat" or for the pet trade - habitat fragmentation by encroaching human settlements - disease caused by pathogens such as the Ebola virus which can decimate populations of apes as well as humans Chimpanzees just don't understand how humans can be so careless To learn more about Bonobos, Chimpanzees, Orangutans and Gorillas visit and join the following organizations by clicking on their logo. Gorilla photographs by Karl Ammann Orangutan - Ape Alliance Ape Alliance Orangutan Orangutans are the largest arboreal ape. Once widespread throughout the forests of Asia, orangutans are now found on just two islands, Sumatra and Borneo.

There are two genetically distinct species: the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). The orangutan is one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, sharing 96.4% of our DNA. Indigenous peoples of Indonesia and Malaysia call this ape "Orang Hutan" which literally translates as "Person of the Forest". Orangutans are unique in many ways. They are the only Great Ape in Southeast Asia, and the only Great Ape (other than humans) found outside Africa. They are the only 'red' ape, and the only strictly arboreal ape, meaning that they spend their lives in the forest canopy, even building nests in the trees in which to sleep.

Src: orangutan-sos.org Legislation passed which prohibits the owning, killing or capture of Orangutans 1973 - 1975 Study of Orangutan's ability to learn sign language conducted 1983 - 1998 90% of Kutai National Park (habitat area) lost to massive fires 1986 Divided into 2 species: Bornean Orangutan & Sumatran Orangutan 1996 Sophisticated tool manufacture & use reported 2000 Sumatran species listed as Critically Endangered Bornean species listed as Endangered 2003 Researchers document evidence suggesting cultural diffusion exists amongst Orangutan groups 2011 Deforestation of Tripa for Palm Oil plantations seriously threatens habitat area Habitat They are found only in Sumatra and Borneo. Orangutans are in grave danger of extinction because their rainforest habitat is being converted for human use - the biggest threat is permanent agriculture in the form of palm oil plantations and, more recently, illegal logging within protected areas. Learn more about the Orangutan's habitat by watching Earth's Green Heart - Asia .

Threats Palm Oil The orangutans' forest home is being felled and turned into oil palm plantations on a massive scale, logging continues even within national parks, and road networks divide the remaining forests into isolated fragments. To find out more, visit the Palm Oil Working Group page . Deforestation Indonesia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, and Sumatra has lost almost half of its forests in the last 25 years. Resources Orangutans | WWF Orangutans Orang-utans Orang-utans are the world's largest tree-climbing mammals. But their forest habitat in Indonesia and Malaysia is rapidly disappearing, putting the future of Asia's only great ape in peril. Subscribe to WWF Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) female swinging through the trees with male baby. Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia. © naturepl.com/Anup Shah / WWF Why orang-utans matter Orang-utans are known as gardeners of the forest.

They play a vital role in seed dispersal and in maintaining the health of the forest ecosystem, which is important for people and a host of other animals, including tigers, Asian elephants and Sumatran rhinos. So by conserving the orangutan’s habitat, we’re also benefiting local communities and other species. Physical description Orang-utans have a characteristic ape-like shape, shaggy reddish fur and grasping hands and feet. Their powerful arms are stronger and longer than their legs and can reach 2m in length, long enough to touch their ankles when they stand. There are two different types of adult male orang-utan: flanged and unflanged. Flanged males have prominent cheek pads called flanges and a throat sac used to make loud verbalizations called 'long calls'. They also have a long coat of dark hair on their back. The unflanged male looks like an adult female. Both reproduce and an unflanged male can change to a flanged male for reasons that are not yet fully understood. Orang-utans are the only primate in which this biological phenomenon occurs. Male orang-utans can tip the scales at 90 kg, while females weigh between 30-50 kg.

Social structure Orang-utan means 'person of the forest' in the Malay language. They live in primary and secondary forests. Although they can occur up to 1,500m above sea level, most are found in lowland areas and prefer forests in river valleys or floodplains. Orang-utans travel by moving from one tree to another, and usually avoid climbing down to the ground. But when they do, they move on 'all fours', placing their clenched fists on the ground. Orang-utans make a nest of vegetation to sleep in at night, and rest in smaller nets during the day. Adults are generally solitary, although temporary aggregations are occasionally formed. Males' large home ranges overlap with the ranges of several adult females. Adult males are generally hostile to one another, although they do not display territorially. Life cycle Orang-utans can live up to 50 years in the wild. Females first reproduce between 10-15 years of age. They give birth at most once every 5 years, and the interval between babies can be as long as 10 years. Orang-utans usually give birth to a single young, or occasionally twins.

Orang-utans stay with their mothers for the first 7-11 years of their life. An infant rides on its mother's body and sleeps in her nest until it is able to survive on its own. The long time taken to reach sexual maturity, the long interbirth periods, and the fact that orang-utans normally give birth to just a single young mean that orang-utans have an extremely low reproductive rate. This makes orang-utan populations highly vulnerable to excessive mortality, and means that populations take a long time to recover from population declines. About 60% of the orang-utan's diet includes fruit, such as durians, jackfruit, lychees, mangosteens, mangoes and figs. The rest comprises young leaves and shoots, insects, soil, tree bark, woody lianas, and occasionally eggs and small vertebrates. They obtain water not only from fruit, but also from tree holes. Two species There are two species of orang-utan - the Bornean and Sumatran - which differ a little in appearance and behavior. While both species have shaggy reddish fur, Sumatran orangutans have longer facial hair.

Sumatran orang-utans are also reported to have closer social bonds than their Bornean cousins. The Sumatran orang-utan is almost exclusively arboreal. Females virtually never travel on the ground and adult males do so only rarely. This is in contrast to Bornean orang-utans, especially adult males, which more often descend to the ground. Flanged male Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) © David Lawson / WWF-UK 01 Dec 2016 0 comments Population & distribution Orang-utans were once distributed widely across Southeast Asia, roaming as far north as southern China, and as far south as the Indonesian island of Javar. But today Asia's great ape is confined to just two islands, Borneo and Sumatra. As the orang-utan's range has decreased so have its numbers. A century ago, there were probably 230,000 orang-utans - around four times as many as there are today.

Their dense forest home makes it difficult to determine population sizes, but the Bornean orang-utan is estimated to number around 54,000 individuals, while there are around 6,600 Sumatran orang-utans. The Sumatran orang-utan is now restricted to the north of Sumatra. It depends on high-quality primary forests, and is less able to tolerate habitat disturbance than Bornean orang-utans. Sumatran orang-utan densities reportedly fall by up to 60% with even selective logging. The population is currently fragmented into 13 populations in 21 forest blocks. Only 6 of these populations boast more than 250 animals and are therefore regarded as viable in the long term, but even these groups are under threat due to ongoing habitat loss. The Bornean orang-utan was once distributed throughout large areas of Kalimantan (Indonesia) and Sarawak and Sabah (Malaysia) on the island of Borneo. But its population has fallen by more than 50% over the past 60 years, while at least 55% of its habitat has disappeared over the last 20 years.

Most Bornean orang-utans are now found in Kalimantan, especially along the east coast. The majority of wild populations are located outside of protected areas, in forests that are exploited for timber production or are in the process of being converted to agriculture. Three subspecies live in different parts of the island: Northwest Bornean orang-utan is the most threatened subspecies with over 3,000 remaining. Northeast Bornean orang-utans are the smallest in size. Around 16,000 live in Sabah and parts of eastern Kalimantan. Central Bornean orang-utans are the most common subspecies with around 35,000 surviving. What are the main threats? Habitat loss is by far the greatest threat to orang-utans. Huge tracts of forest have been cleared throughout their range and the land used for agriculture, particularly palm oil - a product that is found in more than half of packaged products in supermarkets around the world. Road development, illegal timber harvesting and unsustainable logging, mining and human encroachment also contribute to habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation.

Today, more than 50% of orang-utans are found outside of protected areas, in forests under management by timber, palm oil and mining companies. But even protected areas are not secure since the boundaries of protected areas in Borneo are often not clearly delineated, which makes them difficult to patrol. Furthermore, many parks are understaffed and underfunded. Consequently, oil palm companies and logging firms have encroached into all the parks. Along with habitat loss, young orang-utans up to the age of seven are sought after for the illegal pet trade. When infants are targeted, usually the mother is killed so this trade represents a real threat to wild orang-utan populations. In addition, orang-utans are hunted in some areas for food. They are also sometimes killed when they move into agricultural areas and destroy crops. And fire is also a major threat. In 1997-98, the drainage of peat-swamp forest contributed to uncontrollable fires in Kalimantan, which lasted for 6 months and killed up to 8,000 orang-utans. Distribution of Sumatran orangutan, Sumatra, Indonesia.

Map created by Ian Singleton with Riswan and Rachmadi A. Dadi. Source: Singleton, I., S. Wich, S. Husson, S. Stephens, S. Utami Atmoko, M. Leighton, N. Rosen, K. Traylor-Holzer, R. Lacy and O. Byers (eds.). 2004. Orangutan Population and Habitat Viability Assessment: Final Report. IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. © Ian Singleton with Riswan and Rachmadi A. Dadi. Data from: Ancrenaz, M. and Lackman-Ancrenaz, I. 2004. Orangutan status in Sabah: distribution and population size; Meijaard, E. and Dennis, R. 2003. Assessment of the extent of remaining habitat for Bornean Orangutan, based on 2002 forest cover data. © In: Singleton, I., S. Wich, S. Husson, S. Stephens, S. Utami Atmoko, M. Leighton, N. Rosen, K. Traylor-Holzer, R.

Lacy and O. Byers (eds.). 2004. Orangutan Population and Habitat Viability Assessment: Final Report. IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. Loggers clearing a swamp forest for a palm oil plantation. (Illegal logging) Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. © Alain COMPOST / WWF Orangutan Project: Orangutan Volunteering Abroad Contact Us Volunteer in the beautiful jungles of Borneo Join The Great Orangutan Project and spend 2 or 4 weeks aiding orangutan conservation in the breath-taking Kubah National Park View Project Samboja Lestari Orangutan Project Join the orangutan project at Samboja Lestari and help with the rehabilitation of up to 250 of the resident orangutans. View Project Become an Orangutan Warrior! Join any of our orangutan conservation projects and help secure a future for our arboreal cousins by getting involved with tasks such as enrichment, husbandry, food preparation, reforestation and many more Find Out More Orangutan Conservation Projects Join an Orangutan project in Borneo and help the conservation efforts for these Great Apes.

Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, the Orangutan population can now only be found in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra and in a number of wildlife sanctuaries in throughout Borneo. Unfortunately the Orangutans are critically endangered and there is estimated to be fewer than 60,000 of them remaining in the two locations they now call home. The orangutan conservation projects we offer are attempting to counteract this problem and help to rescue, rehabilitate and release these animals. Southeast Asia Primates Southeast Asia Primates Southeast Asia Letters A Macaque mother and baby Orangutans, gibbons, proboscis monkeys, macaque monkeys and langurs are all primates found in Southeast Asia. You can see them in Indonesia, Malaysia (the Malaysian Peninsula, and Borneo) and Thailand. In the world of mammals, the order Primates includes some 235 species of animals, including the obvious ones like humans, gorillas and chimpanzees, but also less known ones like lorises. As humans we seem to have a fascination with the sub-order of primates known as anthropoids, meaning they are human-like. These include the great and lesser apes and the monkeys.

Primates that are the least like humans are in the sub-order prosimian. Where to find primates in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Macaque monkeys are just about everywhere -- sitting by the roadside in forests, on roof-tops, around temples and shrines, and unfortunately, picnic areas and parks where they have become accustomed to hand-outs. Please Do Not Feed Them. Human food is not a natural part of their diet, and they can become aggressive towards people. A monkey bite can easily become infected or give the recipient rabies. An alert visitor to Southeast Asia might see langurs as well as macaques. The apes and larger monkeys of Southeast Asia are concentrated in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo (both Malaysian and Indonesian). Here you'll find proboscis monkeys, gibbons, langurs and orangutans. Their habitat is threatened by the increasing expansion of palm oil plantations and the orangutans' very existence is now endangered. Political activism and Eco-tourism may be their only chances for survival (for instance, we don't buy palm-oil products). Educational opportunities abound!

Expeditions can be organized to access the habitats of these animals, and there are volunteer opportunities for those with more time. In Southeast Asia the largest (and therefore sometimes the most exciting) group of primates to see are the monkeys and apes. In the rainforests of Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) we saw 7 different species! Macaque monkeys are found throughout Asia and are common in and around religious shrines and roadside parks (where, unfortunately, they are often given hand-outs). The Dusky Langur we saw in Langkawi was an unexpected treat as they are somewhat shy. This page is not attempting to show anywhere near all the primates of SE Asia, but highlights the few that we were able to photograph. Many of the primates shown here were seen and photographed in Tanjung Puting National Park, Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. To get there by boat you sail up the Kumai River to the town of Kumai where you can hire a klotok boat (so named because of the sound of their single-cylinder diesel engines) to take you into the park.

By air, you need to fly from Jakarta (Indonesia's capital) to one of the main towns in Kalimantan such as Banjarmasin or Palangkaraya, then to Pangkalanbun, the airport nearest Kumai and the park. Getting to Langkawi, Malaysia one can travel by ferry from the Peninsula or by air from Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok. The national parks of Malaysian Borneo are easily accessed by air from Kuala Lumpur. For more on other animals (fauna) of SE Asia, both reptiles and mammals, see our Other SE Asia Animals page. Check our SE Asia Birds page for more on the birds we saw. Gibbon screaming in shelter Gibbon mother and baby While walking around the grounds of the Orangutan sanctuary in southern Borneo we came upon a troop of Gibbons Hylobates agilis who had taken over the a picnic shelter. And feeling very possessive of it! Swinging with incredible swiftness and agility, they moved from shelter roof to tree limbs to the ground like flashes of brown, black and white. Then we saw a female and baby suspended upside down in a nearby tree, so intertwined we couldn't tell which was which!

These distinctively long lesser apes are found only in SW Borneo and are sometimes known as the Black Handed Gibbon. (Their faces are also black, some with a white fur fringe.) Their diet consists of fruit, leaves, flowers and insects. Their very long limbs allow them to brachiate easily through the trees where they spend most of their time, though they do come to ground to feed and play. The mate for life, are very territorial and live in small family groups. A large gibbon, either male or female, might stand 75‑90 cm (30‑35 inches) high, with an arm span nearly twice as long. Photos ï¿½ Amanda Hacking, Tanjung Puting NP, Borneo Female Proboscis Monkey with upturned nose. Mine is bigger than yours! As we glided through the silent rivers of Borneo in our hired klotok (river boat) we heard deep honking noises coming from the trees above the riverbank. There, perched on the branches of a huge mangrove tree sat several large red-brown and grey Proboscis monkeys Nasalis larvatus. What strange looking apes they are!

The males (right) have distinctive long, drooping noses (proboscis means nose) which begins to grow during puberty. Females (left) have much smaller, and up-turned noses, as do all juveniles. The young have blue faces and dark fur which turns lighter with age. These leaf-eating apes are found only on Borneo and a small nearby island. They have specially adapted digestive systems that allows them to eat huge quantities of mature (i.e. tough!) leaves. They also eat fungi, insects, and other plant parts such as fruits, seeds and buds. They live in the mangroves and Nipa palms on the edges of rivers, especially near the coast. The honking sound comes from the horn-like shape of the male's nose. Males weigh about 29 kg (64 lbs) and are 75 cm (30 in) tall. Females are smaller, about 10 kg (22 lbs) and 67 cm (26 in) tall.

We also saw many proboscis monkeys along the banks of the Kinabatangan River, in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and also in the mangrove mudflats of Bako National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. They are amazing jumpers -- we saw both full adults and juveniles reaching out their long arms, then leaping, fully stretched, to "fly" to a nearby tree trunk which they then climbed with ease. Photos ï¿½ Amanda Hacking, Tanjung Puting NP, Borneo, Indonesia Female long-tailed macaque Monkeys are often grooming We saw our first troop of Macaques Macaca spp on the roadside in Lombok. Our guide, unfortunately, pulled over and handed us bags of peanuts. We didn't want to insult him by refusing, so against our better judgment we held out the peanuts to the monkeys. They had obviously been fed a lot, for some were very aggressive. But it is fun to get close to the animals and watch as they groom, play and nurse.

In some areas, notably Seven Wells Waterfall, Langkawi Malaysia, and Weh Island, Indonesia, the macaques can be very aggressive to humans: barring their teeth (BIG teeth), hissing and feigning (or NOT feigning) attack. They can be quite scary, so be very careful if approaching a wild troop of monkeys. One of the main reasons for the aggression is the desire to be fed -- and the anger at not being fed. It's probably our own fault. They don't need our food. They can forage on their own well enough, thank you very much! Photos ï¿½ Amanda Hacking, Lombok, Indonesia It was nice to see wild Long Tailed Macaques (aka Crab-eating Macaque) Macaca fascicularis that are protected, and not fed human food! In Tanjung Puting NP, Indonesia, no one is allowed to feed them! The smallest of the macaque family, they are grey-brown, and some mature ones have cheek tufts. They live in groups of up to 30 individuals and gather by the dozens in trees near the river in the evening.

These macaques do eat invertebrates (including crabs, hence the name) but are also found in cultivated lands raiding crops. Photo ï¿½ Amanda Hacking, Tanjung Puting NP, Borneo Indonesia Much of the above information on lesser apes - Gibbons, Long-tailed Macaques and Proboscis Monkeys - comes from a guidebook to Tanjung Punting National Park by BMF Galdikas & G Shapiro This was a new (for us!) species of Macaque which we met in 2010. At Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary in Borneo we were introduced to this interesting character: the Pig Tailed Macaque Macaca nemestrina. The head seems to have a sort of dark cap, and the tail, as opposed to being long and prehensile (a la Long Tailed Macaques) is short and curled, sort of like a pig's tail. Hence the name. These monkeys were very aggressive and barred their big fangs at the orangutans who did not give way when they wanted to eat at the feeding platform. This species is listed as vulnerable, due to decimation of habitat.

Photo ï¿½ Sue Hacking, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia 2010 Orangutans are great acrobats We traveled for 4 days in the southern Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) fulfilling our goal of spending time with the wild and rehabilitated Orangutans Pongo pygmaeus. Classified as great apes, these large, reddish-brown primates are found only in Borneo and northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It is illegal to kill, capture or own an orangutan, but poaching continues and the Indonesian authorities often have other priorities. Many of the animals who live in the heavily forested Tanjung Puting Reserve have been re-taken from captivity or brought in when they were orphaned. Visitors are allowed to visit the feeding platforms where both wild and ex-captive orangutans are free to come feed on bananas and milk twice a day. The rangers call them by whistle, and the number of animals that feed varies from day to day and season to season. The protected rain forest in which they live supports over 200 different tree species that provide the orangutans with fruits, seeds, nuts and shoots.

Orangutans also occasionally eat small animals, including young monkeys. Samson, a young adult male Orangutans are generally solitary, females seeking out males when they are ready to mate. They then spend several days together until the female is pregnant. About 9 months later one baby is born. The babies stay with their mothers for up to 3 years, then go off on their own. Orangutan males are larger than females (95 cm tall and 77 kg vs 78 cm tall and 37 kg) and have large cheek pouches which give their voices a deep resonant sound. Orangutans spend most of their time in the trees, making nests in tree tops each night. Occasionally, solitary males will nest on the ground. When they do come out of the trees, orangutans walk on all fours. Canadian researcher Birutï¿½ Galdikas has been the primary researcher involved with the Borneo orangutans since the early 1970's. Her autobiography, Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo is an excellent read for those interested in these great apes.

Orangutans are an endangered species, due primarily to illegal poaching and habitat destruction. (The rain forest is being burned and cleared for palm old plantations, so we now boycott palm-oil products). For more information on the orangutans of Indonesia, see Orangutan.org Photos ï¿½ Amanda Hacking In 2010 we travelled to Malaysian Borneo, to the states of Sabah and Sarawak. The Sepilok Orangutang Rehabilitation Center outside the city of Sandakan is the better known of the 2 sanctuaries, and we saw a number of juvenile orangutans there. In Sarawak, outside the city of Kuching is the Semmengoh Sanctuary where there are more orangutans of various ages. The trick with Semmengoh is to visit when it is NOT fruiting season -- this forces the rehabilitated orangutans to come to the feeding platform. From November through February they have enough wild fruits to eat in the forest, so they don't need to come to the platforms and visitors are often disappointed.

Another amazing place to see really wild (not rehabilitated) orangutans in along the Kinabatangan River, in northern Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Here you can take river boat rides with the various eco-lodges, and if you're lucky you'll see wild orangutans, proboscis monkeys and long tailed macaques. On the island of Langkawi, in northern Malaysia, we came upon this elusive and shy Dusky Langur Trachypithecus obscurus obscurus resting on the telephone wires over the road one early evening. And later we saw Dusky Langurs again at Raile Beach, near Krabi, Thailand. Langurs are members of the family Cercopithecidae, which includes the macaques and proboscis monkeys. Langurs (also known as Leaf Monkeys or Lutungs) are long-tailed monkeys that live in troops, in trees. The Dusky Langur is found on the Malaysian Peninsula and parts of southern Thailand. It is also called the Spectacled Leaf Monkey, due to the obvious "spectacles" around it's eyes, and the fact that its diet consists entirely of leaves.

It has dark hair and a long gray tail. Its face is dark with characteristic white nose and eye circles. Unlike the macaque monkeys, langurs are not aggressive; in fact they tend to ignore human beings -- probably because we are not in the trees with them! Photo left ï¿½ Amanda Hacking, Langkawi, Malaysia. Photo right ï¿½ Sue Hacking, Railay Beach, Thailand The Dr. Seuss-like Silver Langur, feeding on leaves The Silver Leaf Monkey is also in Thailand On the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo we met these Dr. Seuss-like critters -- the Silver Langur Trachypithecus cristatus (aka Silver Leaf Monkey and Silvery Lutung). I prefer the term Langur to Leaf Monkey, but in fact they are named for their eating habits -- they munch away all day long on leaves, the more tender and young the better. Whole troops of them will nearly strip a tree, then move on to the next. Like other leaf-eating primates, they have specially adapted 3‑chambered stomachs to digest the tough cellulose of leaves. They are arboreal, with very long, prehensile tails.

They are found in Sumatra Indonesia, Borneo and the southern Malaysian Peninsula. They tend to live near the coast, and are often found in mangrove trees or nearby forests. They live in troops that are matrilineal, and the females give birth to one young after gestation periods of 180‑200 days. They are listed in the CITES appendix as Near-Threatened, due to loss of habitat to palm oil plantations and deforestation, and for hunting for food and the pet trade. These animals were photographed in Bako National Park, Sarawak, Borneo. Photos ï¿½ Sue Hacking, 2010

Question: What great ape can only be found in Indonesia and Malaysia?
Answer: Orangutans