21 Fun Facts You Won’t Believe About Orangutans

Orangutans are creatures that although seem intimidating due to their size, are very calm and collected. This is something that many people are not aware of when it comes to orangutans, but this is one of many fun facts about them that you most likely have never heard of before. Here are another 21 facts about orangutans that we are sure will put a smile on your face. 

1. Orangutans have very long arms. The average orangutan’s arm reaches 2.2m, which is impressive considering their height is on average 1.5m, making their arms bigger than their body. This is also equivalent to the size of a small car.

2. They often eat with their feet. Orangutans use both their hands and feet when collecting food in the trees. Their feet are similar to their hands so this is not surprising. 

3. They stay with their mothers till the age of 7. Orangutans pick up their skills from their mother and they stay by their side till they have fully developed and learnt to survive on their own. 

4. They have the longest birth interval of any land mammal. This is because they take 7 years to develop to the point where they can survive on their own. 

5. Orangutans can live up to 50 years old. On average orangutans live up to 30 years old, but many live to 50.

6. Much like other animals, orangutans make nests that they can sleep in. They do this in 10 minutes by pulling together branches.

7. Orangutans add roofs to their nests. During wet weather, orangutans often make a roof out of branches to keep them dry. 

8. Fruit makes up 60% of an orangutans diet. So half the time you see an orangutan eating it will most likely be fruit. 

9. There are 3 species of orangutans. This includes the Borneo orangutan, the Sumatra orangutan and the Tapanuli orangutan. The Tapanuli orangutan was only recently discovered and prior to this we only believe that 2 types of orangutans existed in today’s age. 

10. A third of orangutans do not have a nail on their big toe.

11. We share the same DNA as orangutans. These are our closest relatives after apes, with humans sharing 97% of DNA with orangutans.

12. Orangutans enjoy their alone time. Orangutans are not very sociable and you will often see them by themselves.

13. Females abandon the males after mating. Right after mating a female will abandon the male because they have no role in caring for the baby orangutans. The nurturing role is fully done by the female orangutan. 

14. Orangutans eat 300 types of fruit. This is unsurprising considering it makes up over half of their diet but is a large variety of fruit to choose from. 

15. Orangutans are the only great ape that lives outside of Africa naturally, this does not include humans. 

16. Orangutans are extremely strong. This means that they can swing upside down for long periods of time. They have adapted to this as they need it when trying to hunt for food and retrieve fruit from trees. 

17. Female orangutans are much smaller than males. Male orangutans weigh on average 300 pounds. 

18. The orangutan’s favourite food is the diurnal tree fruit, this is one of the worse smelling fruits in the world and can be described as smelling like sewage water.

19. The word orangutan means “person of the forest.”

20. Orangutans are smart creatures. They work with what they have around them, such as sticks to scoop up small animals in tight fit spaces. 

21. Orangutans are always observing. They are not impulsive creatures and will observe something before taking action.