Orangutan Behavior during the Rehabilitation Process

A recent article “Fostering Appropriate Behavior in Rehabilitant Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)” published online in the International Journal of Primatology discusses research on the behavior of rehabilitant orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and P. abelii) at the Orangutan Care and Quarantine Centre in Pangkalan Bun, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). Much past research has focused on postrelease behavior of rehabilitated orangutans and on the behavior of wild individuals; therefore, this research is especially timely and useful for the number of centers currently attempting to rehabilitate the ever-increasing number of displaced great apes and other fauna (Descovich et al., 2011).

Curious Orangutan in Sabah, Malaysia (Photo: Kristin Abt)Orangutans (n=40) in this study included males and females, mass classes ranging from 5 to 25 kg, and good, moderate, and poor health distinctions. Individuals were observed continuously for a period of 5 hours during 3 separate forest excursions each. A number of behaviors relevant to postrelease success in the forest habitat were recorded (type of locomotion, social behavior, such as play, human caretaker interaction, point of height in tree or on ground, feeding and food choice, grooming, etc.).

Results from this study showed that rehabilitant individuals’ masses were associated with the amount of time spent at the centre. Authors note this finding as a result of the early age of admittance to the centre for most individuals. Further, orangutans in better health spent an increased amount of time consuming food and less time resting than other categories. In terms of locomotion (>30% of overall time), quadrupedal movement in trees was the dominant method (again, with orangutans in better health doing so more often). Individuals who had been at the Care Centre longer spent more time on the ground rather than swinging or other locomotion. As the day in which focal individuals were observed continued, human interaction increased.

As rehabilitation of orphaned individuals is a component of the long-term species survival of orangutans, research regarding the behavior of these individuals is important for increasing the chance of postrelease survival and success. Additionally, as their habitat is lost as a result of a number of conservation threats, land protection is necessary to provide habitat in which the released individuals and their wild conspecifics can live.

Reference
Descovich, K. A., Galdikas, B. M., Tribe, A., Lisle, A., & Phillips, C. J. 2011. Fostering appropriate behavior in rehabilitant orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). International Journal of Primatology. doi:10.1007/s10764-011-9491-1


Orangutan Foundation International (a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization) supports the work of the Orangutan Care and Quarantine Centre and other crucial efforts to promote orangutan conservation, including land protection, research, and education. Visit www.orangutan.org to donate directly to OFI. If you would like to donate items specifically to enhance the lives of individuals at the Care Centre, visit this wishlist to select items that orangutans, such as those in this study, will greatly benefit from. If you would like to learn more, look for the upcoming IMAX© movie Born to Be Wild to be released in theaters April 8, 2011.
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Orangutans may be more closely related to Humans

Orangutans may be more closely related to humans than scientists previously thought, a new genetic study has shown.

The first blueprint of the orangutan genetic code has confirmed that they share 97 per cent of their DNA with people.

Although that makes the red-haired apes less closely related to us than chimps - who have 99 per cent of DNA in common - a small portion of orangutan DNA is a closer match to human DNA, the international team of researchers found.

Wild thing: A juvenile orangutan in its native Borneo. DNA testing shows that the ape shares 97 per cent of our DNA

The study is the first time scientists have cracked the genetic code of the endangered great apes.

Researchers hope their findings will aid efforts to protect the species from extinction.

Today, only about 50,000 Bornean and 7,000 Sumatran orangutans remain in the wild. Their numbers have been dwindling as a result of deforestation.

The scientists first sequenced the genome of a female Sumatran orangutan named Suzie.

Using her DNA as a 'reference' they then compared the results with the DNA from another five Sumatran and five Bornean orangutans.

They recorded around 13 million DNA variations in the apes and found the two species split around 400,000 years ago - much more recently than previously thought.

Common traits: Orangutans in captivity can take on some typically human behavioural traits such as drawing

Humans are generally less related to orangutans than chimpanzees, the research showed.

More...Ambam, the swaggering silverback gorilla who walks around his pen on two legs.
Chimps and people shared a common ancestor around five to seven million years ago.
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Chimpanzees don't have the patience, Gorillas don't have the motivation, but Orangutans can problem solve

If you give an orangutan a screwdriver, chances are he will open up his cage and walk away.

Orangutans are the largest living arboreal animals and live in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. They are well adapted to living in trees, with long arms, long fingers, opposable thumbs/big toes set lower down their hands/feet so that they can better grasp branches, with fully rotational hip joints that allow them to swing in all directions.
The orangutan is probably the most intelligent of all of the great apes, especially if intelligence is measured by the ability to problem-solve. “A chimpanzee doesn’t have the patience,” Michelle Desilets says, “and a gorilla doesn't seem to have the motivation to problem solve. But the orangutan tends to have the incentive to determine the problem and sit and work at it until it's solved.”

The orangutan is probably the most intelligent of all of the great apes, especially if intelligence is measured by the ability to problem solve. (Credit: Michelle Desilets)
She sums up their differing approaches, noting that “if you give a chimpanzee a screwdriver, he'll break it; if you give a gorilla a screwdriver, he'll toss it over his shoulder; but if you give an orangutan a screwdriver, he'll open up his cage and walk away.” She also provides examples of orangutan innovation, such as their tactic for staying dry. Because orangutans detest rain, they’ll often use leaves to craft umbrellas or construct roofs over their nests.
Desilets has worked on orangutan conservation alongside Lone Dröscher Nielsen, the internationally well-known champion of these apes, for over 15 years.

Laurel Neme: What does the name, orangutan, mean?

Michelle Desilets: The name “orangutan” comes from the Malay language. It’s two words: “or-ang” meaning person or people; and “u-tan” is forest. So, quite literally, person of the forest. The natives believed that orangutans were at one time a form of humans that took to the trees and pretended not to be able to speak in order to avoid being put to work. They could just play in the trees if they pretended they couldn't talk.

There are still some amongst the many different Dyak tribes who have a remnant feeling that there is something about orangutans that makes them human, or at least almost seem it, and that they deserve a certain level of respect.

Laurel Neme: What's special about orangutans?

Michelle Desilets: We know that, evolutionarily speaking, the orangutan is not quite as close to us as the chimpanzee, and probably the gorilla on the evolutionary tree. If we look at the DNA, [chimpanzees are] almost 99% identical to human, whereas orangutans aren't quite that much but it is still quite close. So, orangutans share a lot of the features of human beings. They’re one of the great apes. They have no tail.

Laurel Neme: How intelligent are orangutans compared to other apes?
Michelle Desilets: There are lots of ways of measuring intelligence of species. Scientists have done different tests, but most recently, about a year or two ago, some scientists came together and said "if intelligence is measured in the ability to problem-solve, then the orangutan wins hands down. It just blows the chimpanzee right off the block". Orangutans just have this tenacity. They are motivated to focus on the problem until they solve it. They stick with it.

Laurel Neme: How does that compare to chimpanzees and gorillas?
Michelle Desilets: A chimpanzee doesn’t have the patience, and a gorilla doesn't seem to have the motivation to problem solve, but the orangutan tends to have the incentive to determine the problem and sit and work at it until it's solved.
They say that if you give a chimpanzee a screwdriver, he'll break it; if you give a gorilla a screwdriver, he'll toss it over his shoulder; but if you give an orangutan a screwdriver, he'll open up his cage and walk away. I do believe the orangutan is the most intelligent species [of great ape].

Laurel Neme: What are the main threats to orangutans? It seems there are three main ones: the pet trade; the logging industry destroying their habitat; and the palm oil industry.

Michelle Desilets: That’s right, and they're all inter-connected. Basically, Sumatra and Borneo are like “the new frontiers”. They are not highly populated because they are quite wild and uninhabitable for humans. But neighboring islands, such as Java, are overpopulated. The Indonesian government has transmigration projects that move communities into these areas and use them as the work force to exploit the natural resources that are found on these two islands. So, population growth, and the need for these countries to economically grow and have products they can sell, drives a lot. We can’t deny them that development opportunity. We can hope that it’s developed in the most sustainable way possible.

So, [governments are] moving people into these areas, and bringing in large multinational companies, often Chinese, Malaysian and others, into areas such as Kalimantan and other areas first of all to [extract] hard wood – that is, the timber used to make your patio furniture and door frames – which will be sold in the West at a premium. It’s a very strong, beautiful wood that comes out of the forest of Southeast Asia. At the same time, there’s a huge amount of illegal logging that goes on in both of these areas, in Sumatra and Borneo, and that’s costing the Indonesian government quite a lot of money in lost revenue.
This is an excerpt from Laurel Neme’s podcast.
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Orangutans blow off the leaves in order to mislead pedators

BBC Online reported that wild orangutans could blow off the leaves in his mouth sound to simulate taller than their similar stature voice, in order to mislead predators Wensheng retreat.

A multinational research team of scientists recently found that wild orangutans of Borneo in South Asia can be placed in the mouth of the lower leaves of several sound frequency, issued more than its low sound of the voice, so that predators can be heard in this way After the sound waves caused by strong impression that made this sound who is tall and very strong in the target, but did not dare to come to offend, so that the apes cast trick saved the day.
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Orangutan Island to appear on TV

This video is of Orangutan Island. Even though Orangutans usually are solitary animals, in this video these 2 are quit different. Hear their story. The one Orangutan insists on the camera person eating and sharing his food with him. The camera person try to pretend that he's eating it, but the Orangutan knows better.
Video here

Seems As Though Orangutans Love Hot and Spicy Foods

Christmas is coming early for the orangutans at the Louisville Zoo. They were treated to some seasonal red and green pepper treats stuffed with rice and roasted tomatoes.

They say the apes love hot and spicy foods, so the festive treats are appropriate and important. Jane Anne Franklin of the Louisville Zoo says, "It's important we give them lots of variety in foods because, especially, orangutans eat over four hundred different things in the wild. So the more variety we can offer them and the more fun they can have to forage and eat, the better off they are going to be."

Zoo officials say these treats also help keep the animals active, especially since the orangutans become even competitive to see who can get the most treats.

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Orangutan Mums Sing To Their Babes

Eyes closed, hand on heart, this orang-utan mother appears to be belting out a ballad to her beautiful orange baby – perhaps I Will Always Love You-oo-oo?

Her offspring certainly seems impressed and screeches with delight while swinging among the trees in the wilds of Borneo.

As an endangered species, the orang-utan is perhaps more likely to be found singing the blues. Its numbers have dropped to just 40,000 as a result of logging, mining and forest fires.

I Will Always Love You-oo-oo: A mother appears to sing to her baby orang-utan

Nevertheless along with chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos, they have been found to laugh in response to physical contact such as wrestling, play chasing or tickling. They are also known to cry.

Found only in South East Asia on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the gentle red ape demonstrates significant intelligence, with an ability to reason and think.

According to recent research by Harvard University psychologist, James Lee, orang-utans are the world’s most intelligent animal other than man, with higher learning and problem solving ability than chimpanzees, which were previously considered to have greater abilities.

The name orang-utan translates into English as 'people of the forest'.

Emotions: Kano, a one-year old orang-utan, receives a kiss from his mother Anne during his birthday party at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta. Orang-utans are the world's most intelligent animal other than man

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Bornea Orangutans Using Leaves To Change Their Sounds

An orangutan changes its voice with a leaf.

M.E. Hardu

Five wild orangutans in Borneo—nicknamed Sam, Henk, Rambo, Kondor, and Sultan—have learned to create a new kind of distress signal, using leaves to lower the pitch of their common warning call, known as a kiss-squeak. The leaf-produced kiss-squeaks seem intended to make the orangutans sound bigger and more threatening. “Primates were assumed to have no control over their calls,” says Madeleine Hardus, a behavioral biologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, who classifies the orangutans’ ability to alter their standard call as “a cultural innovation.”

Hardus and her colleagues discovered that the orangutans had developed leaf-assisted calls to identify humans (and probably predators as well). She hypothesizes that the technique is passed down from one orangutan to the next. Researchers have rigorously documented leaf adaptation in the cluster of five but have also observed the behavior in the wider orangutan
population.

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The CBN at Georgia State, Studies Orangutan Cognition at Zoo Atlanta

The CBN at Georgia State studies orangutan cognition at Zoo Atlanta.

Zyance

Georgia State University’s Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) recently partnered with Zoo Atlanta to go forth with cognitive research, especially with the zoo’s great apes. The partnership has already proved to be a symbiotic relationship; not only has the CBN gained valuable research, but the Center also assisted in the birth of the giant panda cub, Mei Lan.

Though the beginnings of this collaboration were as early as late 2003, the Center has worked with the zoo to develop the Orangutan Learning Tree, which officially opened in April 2007. Other projects include gorilla cognition and tool-use and the Zoo Atlanta’s giant panda breeding program.

The biggest project, the Orangutan Learning Tree, is an exhibit at Zoo Atlanta where orangutans have access to a large touch-screen computer where they can perform certain cognitive tasks while the visitors outside observe. The visitors also have a computer screen in the viewing area where they can compare their cognitive abilities to those of the apes.

This exhibit, funded by GSU’s CBN, IBM and one anonymous donor, allows CBN and Zoo Atlanta researchers to learn about the cognitive processes of the great orange apes.

The collaboration continues between the two research entities as they focus on conservation efforts and educating the public on the importance of understanding cognitive ape behavior.

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How Do Orangutans Move?

Orangutan in the rainforest Sumatra, Indonesia. Orangutans move in an
irregular way which includes upright walking, four-limbed suspension
from branches and tree-swaying, whereby they move branches
backwards and forwards, with increasing magnitude.
(Credit: iStockphoto/Klaus Hollitzer)

ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2009) — Movement through a complex meshwork of small branches at the heights of tropical forests presents a unique challenge to animals wanting to forage for food safely. It can be particularly dangerous for large animals where a fall of up to 30m could be fatal. Scientists found that dangerous tree vibrations can be countered by the orangutan's ability to move with an irregular rhythm.

Professor Robin Crompton, from the University of Liverpool's School of Biomedical Sciences, explained that these challenges were similar to the difficulties engineers encountered with London's 'wobbly' Millennium Bridge: "The problems with the Millennium Bridge were caused by large numbers of people walking in sync with the slight sideways motion of the bridge. This regular pattern of movement made the swaying motion of the bridge even worse. We see a similar problem in the movement of animals through the canopy of tropical forests, where there are highly flexible branches

"Most animals, such as the chimpanzee, respond to these challenges by flexing their limbs to bring their body closer to the branch. Orangutans, however, are the largest arboreal mammal and so they are likely to face more severe difficulties due to weight. If they move in a regular fashion, like their smaller relatives, we get a 'wobbly bridge' situation, whereby the movement of the branches increases."

Dr Susannah Thorpe, from the University of Birmingham's School of Biosciences, added: "Orangutans have developed a unique way of coping with these problems; they move in an irregular way which includes upright walking, four-limbed suspension from branches and tree-swaying, whereby they move branches backwards and forwards, with increasing magnitude, until they are able to cross large gaps between trees."

The team studied orangutans in Sumatra, where the animal is predicted to be the first great ape to become extinct. This new research could further understanding into the way orangutans use their habitat, which could support new conservation programmes.

Dr Thorpe continued: "If the destruction of forest land does not slow down, the Sumatran orangutan could be extinct within the next decade. Now that we know more about how they move through the trees and the unique way that they adapt to challenges in their environment we can better understand their needs. This could help with reintroducing rescued animals to the forests and efforts to conserve their environment."

The research is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Orangutans Keep Maps In Their Heads

Our close cousin is an incredibly intelligent animal. Did you know that he keeps a map in his head, which tells him where the fruit trees are fruiting and when – even more difficult when you consider that in the resource-poor environment that is the rainforest, some trees only fruit once in four years!

The young Orang-utan spends the first five to seven years with mum, during which time he learns where the trees are and when they fruit building up his mind map. This is why it is not possible to rehabilitate an Orang-utan to the wild. Captive orang-utans were always babies when caught (by murdering mum) and brought up by people, thus not developing a mind map. In the rehabilitation centre at Bohorok, the orang-utan does go back into the forest, but for the rest of his life he will always come back for food hand-outs as his lack of knowledge fails him in finding food. And he lives a good forty to fifty years.

This is also why ‘sustainable logging’ is rubbish – it murders 60% of the Orang-utan in the forest, because it takes out some of the fruit trees – and there is no alternative in their map. They starve to death looking for another fruiting tree and waiting for their next one to ripen.

The orang-utan is a very tough, strong animal. Living in the trees as he does, he actually has four arms and no legs. The hunters go after babies to sell them as pets. They will need to shoot mum about ten times before she actually falls out of the tree, and she can still hang on with two broken arms.

The only good news is that in the Leuser ecosystem that is home to most of the remaining Sumatran Orang-utan, the local population knows this and reports to our rangers anybody who has an illegal baby orang-utan. There has only been one case so far this year, which is a BIG drop, so we are winning this war.

It’s too late for a lovely Orang-utan sub-species that lived near Sibolga in Sumatra. Dark red hair, long fingers, highly intelligent, none have been seen for many a year. But in Leuser we have 7,500 of the main Sumatran species, and there are another 600 to the north that we aim to bring into the reserve next year. They are safe. It is a different story in Borneo, where there may be 11,000 Orang-utan, but they are scattered and in small bits of forest, reduced to eating oil palm nuts.

These fractured populations are not really viable. A female Orang-utan has a baby about once every 5 to 7 years, and will have at most 7 in her lifetime, so populations grow very slowly.

How do you recognise an Orang-utan researcher? By the missing fingers…. Occasionally we have had to relocate Orang-utan. We would tranquillise the ape high in the tree with a dart gun. As he gets woozy and sleepy, being very smart he comes down to the ground, where we can throw a net over him. These nets have centimetre thick, heavy nylon cords, but he will still bite through them like cotton. And when the researcher thinks he is asleep, and can start taking his measurements and samples, he is often just awake enough to nip the nearest finger…

Find out more about the work Force for the Forest are doing in Sumatra, where we have saved 7,500 Orang-utan in 25,000 square kilometres of forest, the last remnant of the great expanse that coated SE Asia.

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Female Orangutans Stay in Charge of Reproduction

Because female orangutans don't get to choose who they mate with, they have instead evolved more subtle strategies to select the father of their offspring, a study published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences reveals.

Near ovulation, females seek out and willingly mate with prime males - those with impressive flanges on the sides of their face - while avoiding lesser males. At times when the risk of conception is low, however, they consent to mate with any male they encounter. This means that even if prime males don't have more sex than other males, they will still have more offspring.

It is thought that this behaviour probably evolved as a result of male orangutans being about twice the size of females, meaning the latter find it hard to say no when it comes to sex. Mothers usually provide all the care for young orangutans and are keen to increase their chances of survival by ensuring they have the strongest genes.

Researchers also suggest that females use sex to protect their young from the risk of infanticide - thought more likely to occur at times when there is instability in a group, such as when a new alpha male takes over. Pregnant females actively solicit sex, especially from prime males, thereby causing confusion about who the baby's father is. It is thought that males are more likely to be protective of, or at least less likely to harm, a young orangutan they think might be theirs.

Results come from a study in Borneo which involved observing the natural behaviour of wild oraguntans, as well as collecting urine samples to test the hormone levels of different animals.

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Orangutan Facts

Info about Orangutans. Know them and love them.

* Adult males lead mostly solitary lives (except when consorting with females.)
* Females associate with their infant and juvenile offspring and occasionally an adult sister or mother for short periods of time.
* Males communicate by the "long call" for territorial and courting purposes.
* Both sexes are arboreal, spending most of their time in trees, building nests at night, swinging through the trees, and eating in the trees.
* The lighter an orangutan is, the more active; as they grow older and heavier, they become slower and more cautious, testing each branch before putting their full weight on it.
* They rarely descend from treetops to ground; when they do, they usually walk on all fours (quadrupedal).
* Orangutans’ arms are stronger and longer than their legs (1½ times longer).
* Their reach from fingertip to fingertip can be as long as 8 feet.
* They pucker up their lips to feel the texture of a piece of fruit or food before they bite into it. .
* While they are primarily herbivorous and love jungle fruits like durian, jackfruit, and lychee nuts….orangutans have been observed in the wild catching and eating a small animal called a slow loris.
* Females only give birth every 7 to 9 years, and their gestation period is about nine months (227 to 275 days).
* Infants nurse on their mothers for 4 to 5 years and stay in their mother’s nest for about 7 to 8 years.
* Females raise their infants alone.
* Orangutans can live 40 years in the wild and over 50 years in captivity.

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How Close Are We To Orangutans?

If you thought the Lyre Bird was a good mimmic, you're in for a treat. This clip will bring your heart to your mouth as you wonder at how close orangutan behaviour is to our own. From the BBC documentary series, Life of Mammals. Watch more high quality videos on the BBC Earth YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com and visit www.BBCEarth.com for all the latest natural history exclusives and fantastic new wildlife videos.

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Orangutan Mum Gives Birth

Beautiful Video

Orangutans Fight for Survival as Palm Oil Producer Clears Jungle

Scots firm accused of destroying endangered apes’ rainforest home

Orangutans fight for survival as palm oil producer clears jungleBy Kathy Marks in Sumatra

THE ANCIENT peat swamp forests of Tripa, on Indonesia's Sumatra island, were once home to 1500 orangutans. Now just 280 remain. The rainforest is being torn down to plant the latest wonder crop, palm oil - and a Scottish company that made its fortune from the Chinese opium trade is helping to destroy the critically endangered ape's habitat.

Jardine Matheson, an internationally renowned trading group with a long and colourful history, owns one of Indonesia's biggest palm oil producers, Astra Agro Lestari. AAL, part of a Jakarta-based conglomerate, is one of the leading operators in the Tripa area, where it is burning and clear-felling large tracts of the coastal jungle.

Global demand for palm oil - a cheap and versatile oil used in scores of food and household products, including Mars bars, Hovis, Persil, Special K and Flora margarine - is regarded as the main threat to the orangutan's future. The Sumatran species is particularly vulnerable - with only 6600 left in the wild, it is likely to become the first great ape to disappear.

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In Sumatra, locals call oil palm the "golden plant", thanks to the income that the rapidly growing industry is bringing. But conservation groups say the economic benefits come at a high price, and they deplore Jardine Matheson's role in hastening the orangutan's extinction.

Jardines, founded in 1832 by two Scottish traders, William Jardine and James Matheson, is still controlled by a Dumfriesshire family, the Keswicks. The company's chairman, Henry Keswick, was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours this month for "services to British business interests overseas".

But not all Sir Henry's fellow Britons appreciate his work. Every year dozens of orphaned and injured orangutans, many from Tripa, end up at a rescue centre run by Ian Singleton, a zoo keeper from Hull. Singleton says: "There's a lot of concern about illegal logging in Indonesia, but legal conversion for palm oil is far more serious. Once a forest has been converted to plantation, it's gone forever."

At his centre, set on four jungle-clad hectares near the city of Medan, young orangutans clamber around a cage, gorging on bananas and swinging on ropes. Sold as illegal pets after their mothers were killed by farmers or plantation workers, they will eventually be released back into the wild.

Singleton - who teaches the apes how to find forest fruit, build a nest and even how to climb trees - says human-orangutan conflicts are increasingly common as the latter's territory shrinks. Many arrive with air rifle or machete wounds. "For every 10 babies we get, probably another 10 have been killed, plus 20 adult females," he says.

Asia has always been Jardine Matheson's focus. After the British East India Company lost its monopoly on trade with China, Jardines sent the first private shipments of tea to London, Liverpool and Glasgow. It also trafficked opium into China from India, helping to spark the so-called Opium Wars, which led to Hong Kong being ceded to Britain.

The Keswicks, descendants of William Jardine's sister, dominated the group as it expanded into shipping, property and insurance, acquiring enormous influence in the region. The Jardines chairman became known as the "taipan", or big boss. The novelist James Clavell based a series of racy historical dramas on the family.

Nowadays the company's wide-ranging interests include the Mandarin Oriental hotels and Asian branches of Ikea and Starbucks. AAL is a small but lucrative part of the empire, increasing net profits last year by 33% following record plantation earnings.

With Indonesia now the world's largest palm oil producer, Sumatra - a lush, mountainous island where monkeys scamper in the bushes and water buffalo wander by the roadside - appears to be at risk of turning into one vast plantation. The short, stumpy oil trees are now beginning to blanket the landscape, with the monotony relieved only by occasional scarred brown hillsides.

As you fly over Tripa, designated a priority conservation site under a United Nations plan to save the great apes, the scale of devastation becomes clear. The green tangle of forest abruptly gives way to gigantic rectangles studded with thousands of palms. Numerous illegal fires are visible, including on AAL's estate.

The peat swamps not only harbour exceptional biodiversity, they also acted as a protective buffer when the 2004 tsunami struck Sumatra's Aceh province. They also hold massive carbon stores, which are now being released, exacerbating climate change.

Helen Buckland, UK director of the Sumatran Orangatan Society, said this week: "It is frankly shocking that the chairman of Jardine Matheson has been knighted while his company is actively contributing to the demise of the Sumatran orangutan. British businesses must be held accountable for their part in the destruction of this globally important area of forest."

In a statement, Jardines said: "Both AAL and Astra International take environmental stewardship seriously. AAL believes in and supports the preservation and conservation of the natural environment in Indonesia, and this is fully reflected in its sustainable palm oil growing programmes."

The firm added it was confident AAL's plantations function "in full compliance" with local laws, including environmental studies covering the potential impact on endangered species.

AAL denied destroying orangutan habitats and said it planned to develop only half its 13,000 hectares in Tripa because of conservation concerns. It denied setting fires and said it operated according to sustainable principles and practices, taking "careful account of the economic, social and environmental impact of all our plantations".

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Orangutan Hunts Fish With Spear

Evolution in action?

This is some fascinating news that sparks all kinds of questions. According to a new book, Thinkers Of The Jungle, by Gerd Schuster, Willie Smits and Jay Ullal, the below image shows an orangutan in the process of attempting to spear a fish. If this is in fact what the ape is doing, then it is a first. No other orangutan has ever been seen using a tool to hunt.

Image from Dailymail

The image was captured in Borneo on the island of Kaja, where apes are rehabilitated into the wild after being rescued from zoos, private homes where they were being kept as pets, and even from the butcher shop.

Unfortunately, the ape was unable to master the skill of fishing, but not for lack of trying. Later, he was able to use his makeshift spear to catch fish that were already trapped in fishing nets.

Some speculation has risen from the picture as to the importance of the event. Many claim that it seems a bit convenient that the orangutan was able to find such a perfect spear on his own. Others say that perhaps this is simply a learned reaction after watching humans, and that perhaps he was mimicking, rather than actually trying to catch a fish.

The other side of the argument is that perhaps this is the greatest evidence for the theory of evolution, and that we have actually been privy to a breakthrough of monumental significance."

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Orangutans Swimming

These incredible pictures of orangutans swimming in an Indonesian river have left wildlife experts stunned.

Playing on the Rungan River, near to Palas Island on Borneo, these 12 orangutans can be seen swimming and submerging themselves in the muddy waters.

For experts the behaviour of these orangutans - who like all apes have a natural fear of water because of predators such as crocodiles - could prove to be a significant step forward in their evolution.

'This is a rarity - to see orangutans coming down for a swim is unheard of in the wild,' says Simon Husson - project advisor and scientific consultant for Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation.

This extremely rare picture shows an Orangutan after swimming through the waters of the Rungan River, in Central Borneo, Indonesia

'However, we know that orangutans are intelligent and innovative.

'They try out different behaviours, or ways of solving problems in their environment, and over time develop cultural innovations.'

Palas Island is one of five neighbouring islands of Nyaru Menteng, which is the rescue and rehabilitation centre of BOS.

The orangutans on these islands have been saved from de-forestation and cruelty and are in the final stages of pre-release until they can ultimately be returned to the wild.

'When orangutans have a large food supply, then they feel emboldened to experiment with their surroundings,' says Simon Husson.

'The islands on which BOS has placed these orangutans to prepare them for release back into the wild have more (and better) food resources than the average forest, so it is unsurprising that these apes are trying out different things - like swimming.

'Also, in this area there is a very low to non-existent crocodile population which may have been noticed by the orangutans, who have then shared this behaviour among themselves.'

According to experts, it is unusual for orangutan to swim in the river because they are afraid of water and of predators like crocodiles

Whereas the huge apes used to swing from branch to branch across the water they now have no choice but to take to the water

Villagers who live near to the banks of the Rungan River have been aware of the unusual activity of the apes for months.

'I had been informed that the orangutans swam here by contacts I have with the locals,' explains Ardiles Rante, the wildlife photographer who took the amazing pictures.

'I spent three days on a boat waiting for the orangutans to come to the river bank and swim and on the third morning I got what I wanted.

'They appeared like they were simply playing and messing around in the water and were thoroughly enjoying themselves.'

Witnessing around 12 orangutans of mixed sex in the water, the photographer was as stunned as the experts have been.

'The water here can get up to 30 feet deep in places and the orangutans just seemed to wade out and swim,' he said.

'The majority of them used a branch for support, but they did not seem put off by the water or being wet.

'They could see across the river which was around 20 feet in breadth and they all seemed to know exactly what they were doing.' Rescued and placed at the Nyaru

Menteng centre by BOS, the orangutan is increasingly coming under threat from the worldwide demand for palm oil.

The rising worldwide demand for Palm Oil used to make bio-diesel fuel, has led to mass deforestation in areas like Borneo

An ape takes to the water in search of food. The photographer said: 'I spent three days on a boat waiting for the orangutans to come to the river bank and swim and on the third morning I got what I wanted'

Experts claim that an areas roughly the size of two football fields is destroyed very minute, all of which is the orangutans natural environment.

It is estimated that 100 years ago there were up to 300,000 wild Bornean orangutans.
Now that number is approximately 30 to 40,000 and extinction in the wild is feared if the logging for palm oil is not controlled.

'They (the orangutans) remain at Nyaru Menteng for up to eight years of their lives, cared for by our teams of local men and women who teach them how to adapt to life in the wild,' says Lone Droscher-Neilsen, Founder and Manager of Nyaru Menteng, where BOS places its rescued orangutans.

'They're then relocated in groups of about 25 to a Palas Island for the first stage in their release, where they live a semi-wild existence, but are provided with food monitored on a daily basis.

'A couple of years later, those who are ready for total freedom, will be taken to an area of protected rainforest, and released back into the wild.'

According to Simon Husson even though the level of care the orangutans receive could have led to them discarding their fear of water, a more simple reason may explain their ventures into the water.

'There is also the possibility that the orangutans are living on an overcrowded island and looking for a way to escape,' reasons Simon.

In addition, Simon also feels that instead of an evolutionary step forward, this could indeed be a step back.

'This could be a case of males in the area feeling dominated by an alpha male and looking for a way off the island to procreate,' says Simon.

'If that were the case, then that would be a step backwards in time and not necessarily a development of the species.'

Please visit the BOS website for more information: www.savetheorangutan.org.uk

An orangutan wades through the river after grabbing some food

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The Whisting Orangutan, Ujian

An orangutan in Heidelberg Zoo has attracted attention after teaching himself to whistle. Now the 14-year-old ape has recorded his first CD.

Male orangutan 'Ujian' whistles in his enclosure in the zoo in Heidelberg, Germany, 07 May 2009.

Although somewhat underrated as a musical technique, a spot of whistling can often add a certain something to a song. Who can forget Otis Redding's poignant whistling on the soul classic "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" or the haunting whistle refrain on the fall-of-the-Wall rock anthem "Wind of Change" by Germany's Scorpions?

Now a whistling orangutan at Heidelberg Zoo in Germany is set to release his first CD. Entitled "Ich Bin Ujian" ("I Am Ujian"), the CD single by Ujian, a 14-year-old orangutan, will go on sale at the zoo in June. Proceeds will go toward the extension and renovation of the zoo's ape house.

The song, a jaunty pop-rock number with reggae elements, features Ujian's melodic whistling as a background element. The lyrics, sung by Tobias Kämmerer, follow a similarly self-aggrandizing stance as the classic "I Wan'na Be Like You" sung by the orangutan King Louie in the animated movie "The Jungle Book," with the chorus including the lines: "I am Ujian the orangutan, I am so cool, man, I'm a star."

Local musician Christian Wolf, who was one of the producers of the song, was passing Ujian's enclosure one day during a visit to the zoo with his son. He stopped in amazement in front of Ujian's cage when he heard the animal whistling.

He returned with a digital recording device. With the help of Bernd Kowalsky, who is responsible for apes at the zoo, they recorded five hours' worth of audio, from which they gathered enough of Ujian's whistling for the song.

Ujian apparently taught himself to whistle last summer. According to the newspaper Stuttgarter Nachrichten, Ujian was inspired to start whistling after a vegetable delivery man was late coming to his cage. Ujian let out an exasperated whistle in a bid to get him to hurry up. From simple notes, the gifted ape soon graduated to melodic phrases.

But Ujian is not only talented musically. Along with fellow Heidelberg Zoo orangutans Puan and Grisella, he paints and has produced a number of abstract works. The zoo has been holding an auction of their paintings to raise money, with Thursday marking the closing date for bids.

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Bonnie, The Whistling Orangutan

Whistling Orangutan Amazes Scientists: A new talent has been discovered at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. An orangutan with a penchant for whistling has scientists, and visitors alike, marveling over the evolution of speech.

WASHINGTON -- Every morning, when the crowds at Washington National Zoo start to gather, Bonnie the orangutan makes her appearance.

"She likes to take her time and watch the public. She is very much a people watcher," Erin Stromberg, Bonnie's keeper, said as the 32-year-old orangutan proudly dangles and poses on a cable that is high over the heads of her admirers.

Bonnie is the second oldest and perhaps most theatrical orangutan in the nation's capitol.

"She likes to mimic what we do so she quite often washes windows or sweeps the floor, but she is very inquisitive and is always studying what we do,"Stromberg said.

Bonnie also learned one more skill that has caused quite a stir in the scientific community -- she can whistle.

"I actually did not think it was possible for orangutans to learn how to whistle," said zoo visitor Tara Greene.

While chimpanzees and orangutans have been trained to whistle in the past, Bonnie's ability is highly uncommon as she learned on her own without rewards from human trainers.

"I don't find it too uncommon as far as the possibilities of learning from all the people that stop by. As you watch little kids develop, they learn. I learned how to whistle from my father," said zoo visitor Brad Adams.

Yet, primatologists sayy human ability and apes, vastly differ in this realm. According to primatologists great apes, like chimpanzees and orangutans, can never speak because they do not have the type of vocal cords humans do. However, the fact that Bonnie can learn how to whistle on her own is groundbreaking because it provides insight into how human speech evolved.

In Bonnie's case, Aside from lacking motivation via a reward, the simple act of whistling takes a good amount of control to achieve.

The ape would have to know how to use her lips and control her breath to make a sound.

Stromberg says knowing Bonnie's personality, she is not surprised the orangutan learned to whistle by herself.

"It is kind of her nature. She is very inquisitive. She never misses a beat, and I think she (likes) challenges."

Born in captivity and raised by humans, Bonnie has always been in close contact with her more evolved cousins; Stromberg thinks Bonnie picked up her famous skill from hearing a zookeeper whistle.

Her whistling pastime first began in the 1980s, says Dr. Karyl Swartz of the Great Ape Trust. According to Swartz, the scientific community at the time was not interested in studying ape language. As a result, Bonnie went unnoticed, until two decades later when Bonnie's musical talent has finally become a hot research topic.

Zookeepers and scientists from the Great Ape Trust, including Swartz, experimented with Bonnie's whistle to see how much she could control it.

A researcher would give some short whistles then long ones. Bonnie was able to imitate the whistles of varying lengths -- giving scientists more insight to the evolution of speech.

While the research continues around her, Bonnie continues on, whistling her days away. Although she will probably not win any musical contests with her whistles, she's already a star in the eyes of her fans who come around the country to see the talented whistling orangutan.

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