Orangutan Fun Facts

Let's start off with some fun, shall we? 

• Orangutans and Humans share nearly 97% of the same DNA 
• They're found in southeast asia, specifically the islands around Indonesia: Borneo and Sumatra 

• 'Orangutan' comes from the Malay words 'orang hutan', which translates to 'human of the forest' 
• There are three species of orangutan: the Bornean, the Sumatran and the Tapanuli- this third species were discovered in 2017 

• An orangutan's arms span to over 7 feet, making their arms generally 1.5x longer than their legs... 
• They use branches and sticks to dig out bees, termites, and ants from tree holes...
• ...and use leaves as gloves when handling prickly plants, fruits and branches! Intelligent... 

• They're very dexterous - anyone remember Dexter from Night at the Museum??  Naturally, orangutan limbs are honed for climbing and agility- their hands and feet are almost identical 

• Baby orangutans, or orangutan young and infants, stick with their mothers until they're 7 years old. They learn everything from her in order to survive
• Orangutans have the longest birth interval for a land mammal: they only have young every 7 - 9 years
• But, many live until their 50s 

• Adult males that have matured fully (around age 35) will develop flaps of fatty tissue on the sides of their faces. These are known as flanges, and not all of males will develop them
• Females might consider the existence of a male's flanges when selecting a mate 
• It takes just ten minutes for orangutans to build their nests! 
• They make nests, nightly, from several branches and sticks varying in size and thickness... when it rains, they'll even make a roof! 

What's the Orangutan Population At? 

• Around 100,000 Bornean Orangutans were lost between 1999 and 2015 
• In 2017, there were an estimated 100,000 Bornean orangutans left, fewer than 14,000 Sumatran and less than 800 Tapanuli orangutans... 
• This classifies them as critically endangered, especially given how long it takes them to naturally reproduce 

Why are Orangutans Endangered Animals? 

• Loss of habitat & deforestation 

This is caused by:

• logging for timber materials 
• forest fires 
• increased plantations of palm oil 

Save the Orangutans! 

Bare Kind's Bamboo socks donate 10% of profits towards the Orangutan Foundation. 4 Bare Kind orangutan socks saves an acre of rainforest for a year, meaning the orangutan habitat is protected. 100 orangutan socks funds field gear for habitat patrol teams and 200 socks provides food, medicine and veterinary care for an unwell orangutan for a week! So what are you waiting for? Let's save them!