Christine Connor,, age 10 of Fredericton, N.B,, for her question:
Where is the home of the orangutan?
A visit to the homeland of the orangutan would take us south to the equator. Between northern Australia and the southern tip of Asia we shall find a necklace of ocean islands. Most of these tropical isles are part of the Republic of Indonesia. The orangutan is a native of the two biggest islands of Indonesia, Borneo and Sumatra. Here, among the lush foliage of dense tropical forests, the sad‑faced fellow makes his home.
The latest stories about him suggest that he may have a reason for looking sad. The orangutan is an ape, one of those animals which most closely resembles us, His name is a. native Borneo word meaning old man of the woods, Sad to say, the Old Man has been shamefully treated by man. Not so long ago, he roamed in great numbers through the bungles of northern Borneo. A recent count showed that only 500 of the big apes remain in this area.
The sad‑faced Old Man is a short, bulb fellow, weighing perhaps 150 pounds. He is only four and a half feet tall, but his long strong arms reach almost to the ground, His hand spread may be seven and a half feet from finger tip to finger tip. The big ape is entirely covered with a coat of long, shaggy brick‑teed hair.
In the wild, the orangutan is a solitary animal. He swings from branch to branch faster than a man can walk. Moat of the day is spent in feeding. He likes his tropical fruit unripe and rather sour. Each night he builds himself a bedroom, a platform of boughs and branches high above the ground, In the rainy season, he covers himself with a blanket of leaves and he does not arise until the morning sun has dried up the last drop of dew.
The natives of Borneo report that sometimes a foolish crocodile or silly python will attack the Old Man. They say that he rips the crocodiles haws apart and bites the python i n two. These tales may or may not be true. But, in any case, the powerful animal has no natural enemies in his native jungle.
Only man has harmed him. And the saddest part of this story is that it happened because we love him. We all love to watch the monkeys and especially the big ales at the zoo. A captive orangutan can dress himself, hammer nails unlock a door arid ride a tricycle. Some zoos pay 02500 for such a star attraction. Many of these high priced animals, however, are cruelly kidnapped from their native jungles as babies.
The mother orangutan has only one baby at a time arid she will fight to the death to protect him. For more than 20 years the apes have been protected by law, But many a hunter defies the law without mercy, He will capture a baby orangutan the only way he can, by killing its mother. The kidnapped baby soon forgets.his former lifer adjusts to human beings and learns to love them. He cannot return and cope with life in his native jungles,