Indonesia/Sumatra: Gunung Leuser NP – Orangutans

Gunung Leuser National Park is home to the Sumatran Orangutan (which is actually an absolutely distinct species from the Borneo Oranguran I saw before). They are almost exclusively arboreal (living in trees) – an evolutionary adaptation to avoid predators on the ground, specifically the Sumatran Tiger. They make nests high up in the trees (fresh sleeping nests out of bent branches every single night), and rarely descend to the ground. While many are solitary, mother-offspring bond is one of the strongest in animal kingdom, and the young orangutan spends 8-9 years with the mother (and this is exactly what we saw – a mother, a 3 year old male and a 2-week old baby together). Sumatran orangutans are extremely intelligent and famous for their sophisticated tool use. Even moving in the trees showed intelligence – they don’t just hop around, but rather used their weight to bend branches so they would comfortable walk from one to another.