Birth and motherhood are among the greatest miracles life has produced. In this video, we receive for the FIRST TIME EVER the opportunity to observe firsthand the magic of birth and the tender caring of a mother Sumatran Orangutan for her baby. Never before has the birth of a Sumatran Orangutan been caught on tape. But its what the mother does after she gives birth that is the most touching. After cleaning off her baby with gentle care, she brings her pride and joy to the conservationist to show what an incredible life she has created..
The word orangutan comes from the Malay and Indonesian words orang, meaning “human” and hutan, meaning “forest”. So orangutan means “human of the forest”. They are arboreal, which means they spend most of their time in trees. Almost every night they create a new, elaborately designed nest made of branches and foliage in which to sleep. The beds can be very complex and may have foliage versions of mattress, pillows, blankets and roofs.
The orangutan is an endangered species of great ape found only in Asia, and is one of the most intelligent animals on the planet. They frequently use a wide range of tools for a variety of purposes, using as many as 74 distinct tools for gathering and preparing food. Culture, defined by Merriam-Webster as the “beliefs, customs, arts, etc. of a particular society, group, place or time” was once believed to be exclusive to the human race. We now know that the great apes have their own distinct cultures, with various groups having different skills and tools than other groups, and orangutans have been observed learning tool use from each other.
Orangutans are social-solitary, which means they have social interactions but the adults spend most of their time alone. The most dominant social bond is between a mother and her dependent offspring. They can live to be about 30 years old and the females generally have their first offspring when they are about 15 years old. Their gestation period lasts about 8 months and they have a very long interbirth interval, the amount of time between births, which can be anywhere from 6-9 years long.
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