Four Bornean orangutans live in the Ape Centre at Paignton Zoo: male Wousan, female Chinta and her baby Ranbi, and young female Natalia.
This species is native to hilly and lowland tropical rainforests on the Indonesian island of Borneo.
Orangutans are primarily herbivores in the wild, eating fruit, leaves, bark, buds, flowers and seeds.
Interesting facts!
- Orangutans are the second largest of the four great apes and are the largest tree-dwelling mammal in the world.
- The name ‘orang-utan’ means ‘person of the forest’ in the Malay language.
- These primates are very intelligent and share 97% of their DNA with humans!
Conservation
Wild orangutans have global legal protection. Some orangutans live within protected forests and there are successful rehabilitation programmes for rescued pets and orphans. The main threat to orangutans today is the loss of habitat due to unsustainable palm oil production, illegal logging and agriculture. Hunting and capture for the pet trade are also significant threats. We are proud to be an organisation that only uses and sells products made from sustainable palm oil.
There are conservation breeding programmes in zoos worldwide including an EAZA ex-situ breeding programme (EEP), that our orang-utans are part of.