Orangutans | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/orangutans/RSS feed for OrangutansenFri, 29 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000An Orangutan Sanctuary in Borneo Is Giving the Endangered Primates a Second Chance, Just When They Need It Mosthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/orangutan-sanctuary-borneo-giving-endangered-primates-second-chance-180987152/The critically endangered species gets a helping hand from an Indonesian facility as the island's human population is about to explodeFri, 29 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/orangutan-sanctuary-borneo-giving-endangered-primates-second-chance-180987152/In a First, an Orangutan Healed His Own Wound Using a Known Medicinal Planthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-an-orangutan-healed-his-own-wound-using-a-known-medicinal-plant-180984285/The primate named Rakus chewed up yellow root and applied it to an open facial wound, closing the sore within daysFri, 03 May 2024 18:41:18 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-an-orangutan-healed-his-own-wound-using-a-known-medicinal-plant-180984285/Orangutans Can Beatbox, Just Like Humanshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/orangutans-can-beatbox-just-like-humans-180982444/The primates can simultaneously make sounds with their mouth and throat, a finding that may shed light on the evolution of human speechThu, 29 Jun 2023 15:21:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/orangutans-can-beatbox-just-like-humans-180982444/Great Apes Love to Spin Around—Here's Whyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/great-apes-love-to-spin-around-heres-why-180982070/A recent study suggests that apes, like humans, seek out altered mental statesThu, 27 Apr 2023 20:17:45 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/great-apes-love-to-spin-around-heres-why-180982070/These Ecologists Borrowed Tricks From Astrophysicists to Count Endangered Orangutanshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astrophysics-helps-ecologists-count-endangered-orangutans-180971930/The thermal-imaging expertise of astronomers helped researchers find the great apes in the hot, humid jungles of BorneoWed, 10 Apr 2019 22:19:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astrophysics-helps-ecologists-count-endangered-orangutans-180971930/An Orangutan Was Shot 74 Times. She Survived.https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/orangutan-was-shot-74-times-she-survived-180971780/Dubbed ‘Hope,’ the orangutan was blinded by gunshots to her eyes. She also sustained bone fractures and had been stabbed with a sharp tool. Fri, 22 Mar 2019 16:54:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/orangutan-was-shot-74-times-she-survived-180971780/Orangutans Are the Only Non-Human Primates Capable of ‘Talking’ About the Pasthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/orangutans-are-only-non-human-primates-capable-talking-about-past-180970827/Mothers waited several minutes before alerting offspring to potential predators, pointing toward capacity for displaced referencingThu, 15 Nov 2018 17:21:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/orangutans-are-only-non-human-primates-capable-talking-about-past-180970827/Found: A New Species of Orangutan https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/found-new-species-orangutan-180967083/But it's thought to be already critically endangeredFri, 03 Nov 2017 19:13:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/found-new-species-orangutan-180967083/Wild Orangutans Can Breastfeed for Over Eight Yearshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wild-orangutans-can-breastfeed-over-eight-years-180963358/The primates take a while to wean their youngThu, 18 May 2017 17:16:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wild-orangutans-can-breastfeed-over-eight-years-180963358/UPDATE: Meet the National Zoo's Latest Bouncing Baby—an Orangutan (New Video)https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/meet-national-zoos-latest-bouncing-baby-orangutan-video-180960429/A historical birth of a male Bornean orangutan, the first in 25 years, took place in Washington, D.C.Tue, 13 Sep 2016 20:00:05 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/meet-national-zoos-latest-bouncing-baby-orangutan-video-180960429/