Orangutans Are Orange! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rainforests

With a name that means "person of the forest", orangutans are considered to be the largest tree dwelling animal on earth. It has been estimated that adult male orangutans spend about 90% of their time in trees; females spend even longer. They make comfortable nests out of leaves and twigs.

In fact, young orangutans practice making nests for quite some time before they separate from their mothers. Scientists believe orangutans rarely leave the trees because their body shape makes it difficult to walk. With feet that are shaped more like hands, it is easier for them to swing from trees than it is to walk on the floor of the forest.

Answer: Borneo and Sumatra

The only great ape found in Asia today, it is believed that orangutans originated in Africa and branched out about 15 million years ago. When classified originally, it was believed that all orangutans were one species. In 1996 they were divided into two species, the Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan. Both species have since had their genomes sequenced; as a result, it has been determined that they split apart about 400,000 years.

Answer: It is a solitary animal.

Scientists believe that orangutans are largely solitary creatures due to the scarcity of food that occurs in their habitat from time to time. Females tend to live with their offspring until they become adults; at that time the adult female offspring, as well as males, typically live alone. Adult females do have a home area, which may overlap with the areas of other females, as well as a male, who is the mating partner of the group.

The other great apes - chimpanzees (troop or tribe), gorillas (troops or band) and bonobos (troop), tend to live in groups.

There is no collective name for a group of orangutans.

Answer: Cheek flaps

Males begin to display cheek flaps, also called pads or flanges, sometime between the ages of 15-20 (sources vary regarding the exact age). Mostly made of fatty tissue, they are attached to the face. Having cheek flaps seems to make males more aggressive. Scientists have gathered evidence that shows that during the growth of cheek pads a male's level of testosterone increases.

This, of course, makes him more attractive to the ladies and more aggressive, as the large flanges help the male to establish its dominance over other males.

It is at this time that each male will claim its own territory. Hopefully, the male also has large throat pouches. These assist in what is called the "long call", which is meant to attract females and keep other males away.

Answer: Fruit

Orangutans are very territorial animals, and each has its home range, which it may or may not share with others. Central to the area inhabited, however, is the favored fruit tree, which may be shared by many. They love fruit, especially the fruit of the durian tree, but they only eat the flesh, throwing away the skin and spitting out the seeds, which helps new trees to grow! Even though fruit is an important part of their diet, it is not always available; orangutans must also rely on other foods, which include honey, insects, and bird eggs.

Answer: False

Orangutans are very intelligent and have been observed using tools in many different situations. When it is raining hard, for example, they will use the leaves of the trees for umbrellas. Normally they drink water off the leaves, but when water is difficult to find, they will chew the leaves and use them as sponges to stick in crevices of trees to find water there. They have also been observed using sticks to stick in holes to get insects and also to measure the depth of water before crossing.

Answer: Male orangutans are larger than females.

Of all of the primates, there is the largest difference in size between male and female orangutans. Adult males may reach a height of over 4 feet and weigh more than 160 pounds; females are, on the average, less than four feet tall and weigh 82 pounds.

Answer: Every eight years

This long cycle, of course, raises concerns regarding how fast populations of orangutans can recover after a catastrophic event occurs. A healthy female orangutan can remain fertile as long as thirty years, and normally gives birth to one baby every eight years. (Sources vary a bit on this number; some say every 6-7 years). Orangutan mothers will typically nurse their babies 6 or 7 years.

In fact, the infant holds on to the mother's body as the mother travels for the first 4-6 years of its life.

Their relationship is very close.

Answer: Birute Galdikas

One of Louis Leakey's "Trimates", Birute Galdikas is to orangutans as Jane Goodall is to chimpanzees and Dian Fossey was to gorillas. She began her study in 1971 in Borneo; since then it has become one of the longest continual studies of a mammal to have ever taken place.

Her work has not only led to a better understanding of the orangutan, but rehabilitation and conservation efforts as well. Her findings include the fact that the orangutan has the longest birth interval of any animal, a list of over 400 foods that orangutans eat, and much information about their social lives.

Answer: True

In November 2017 a third species of orangutan, the Tapanuli orangutan was identified. Found on the island of Sumatra, the Tapanuli orangutan was first discovered in 1939; rediscovered in 1997, it took several years before it was described as a separate species. Believed to have diverged from the Sumatra orangutan 3.4 million years ago, and the Bornean orangutan about 670,000 years ago, scientists believe the Tapanuli traveled from island to island when land bridges were available.

While they are much the same to the others in body build and color, their heads and faces are shaped differently from the others.