Numerous studies in the wild and in captivity indicate that the great apes, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, are among the smartest land animals on the planet.  The question is why are they so smart.  Does great ape sociality have anything to do with it? Orangutans live on two different large islands, Borneo and Sumatra. It is thought, therefore, that they consist of two different species.  Sumatran orangutans have been documented to be [...]

  Care Center, Field Update, News, Orangutan, Science Corner by Dr Birute Mary Galdikas and Cas White.

Orangutans are the only great ape outside of Africa and they are uniquely adapted to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. During the Pleistocene, orangutans ranged throughout forests in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Vietnam and southern China. As climate slowly changed over nearly 1.8 million years, the orangutan range shifted southward. Orangutan populations have declined dramatically, perhaps by as much as 97%, in the 20th century

  Science Corner   Natural History, Socioecology, by Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas and Leslie Smith.

It may seem strange to think of tropical forests and swamps together… but not to orangutans who call peat swamp forests home. The flooded river networks of Tanjung Puting National Park and Lamandau Reserve are key components of forest ecology. Without them, forests and fruit would be distributed differently, and so would orangutans and other species dependent on these unique ecosystem.

  Science Corner   Hydrology, Peat Swamp Forest, Tanjung Puting, by Leslie Smith.