Discover

Today
Animals
Explore
Archive
Search

Use it

Classroom
Resources
Field lab
Quiz
Saved

Trust

Methodology
Sources
Corrections
Accessibility
Contributors

Details

About
Contact
Privacy
Terms
Newsletter

Animal profile

Sumatran orangutan

Pongo abelii

MammaliaLowland and hill tropical rainforest, including peat swampCritically Endangered

Field profile

The Sumatran orangutan is slimmer and paler than its Bornean relative, with longer facial hair in males. It spends almost all its life above the ground and travels less on the forest floor than Bornean orangutans do. Density is highest in the swamp forests of Aceh.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-01-04

Sumatran orangutan

Orangutan stick tools cluster in one swamp

At Suaq Balimbing in Aceh, orangutans strip twigs into probes to lever seeds out of a stinging fruit and to fish insects from tree holes. Populations a short distance away, with the same fruit available, largely do not.

Read with evidence →

Sumatran orangutan | Daily Animal Facts