Bornean Orangutan
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| Pongo pygmaeus Linnaeus, 1760 |
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Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus |
The Bornean Orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus is a species of orangutan native to the island of Borneo. It is the only species of great ape that lives in Asia. It is slightly larger than the other species of orangutan, the Sumatran Orangutan. The Bornean Orangutan is more common than the Sumatran, with about 45,000 individuals existing in the wild; there are only about 7,500 of the Sumatran species left in the wild. Orangutans are becoming increasingly endangered due to habitat destruction, and the bushmeat trade, and young orangutans are captured to be sold as pets, usually entailing the killing of its mother.
The Bornean Orangutan has a life span of about 35 to 40 years in the wild; in captivity it can live to be 60.
There is evidence that there was gene flow between the geographically isolated Bornean Organtuan populations until recently. The Bornean and Sumatran Orangutan species diverged 1.5 - 1.7 million years ago. This occurred well before the two islands (Borneo and Sumatra) separated. The two species of orangutan are more distantly related than the Common Chimpanzee and the Bonobo. Despite the difference, the two orangutan species were only considered subspecies until as recently as 1996, following sequencing of mtDNA.
[edit] Behavior
The Bornean Orangutan is more solitary than the Sumatran Orangutan. Two or three orangs that have overlapping territories may interact for small periods of time. Babies stay with their mothers until they are about 8 or 9 years old. Orangutans have a long childhood compared to other apes.
The Bornean Orangutan travels on the ground more than its Sumatran counterparts. It is theorized this may be in part because there is no need to avoid the large predators which only exist in Sumatra such as the Sumatran Tiger.
[edit] References
- ^ Eudey, A. & Members of the Primate Specialist Group (2000). Pongo pygmaeus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
