Orangutan means “person of the forest” and is a fitting name for a primate that is happy to spend its day hanging out in the treetops. The only truly arboreal ape, the orangutan is also the largest tree-dwelling animal.

Did You Know?
Orangutans are highly intelligent, able to fashion tools, solve puzzles, and operate computers.
The big ape is too heavy to jump from tree to tree so when it needs to cross a gap in the canopy, it will sway the tree back and forth until it can reach out with its long arms and grab a neighboring tree with its hook-like hands. As a large animal with a hefty appetite for fruit, the red ape’s survival requires the protection of large areas of forested habitat.
- High up in the trees, the orangutan is safe from its main natural predator, the tiger.
- An orangutan can spend an entire day gorging on fruit in a single tree.