Orangutans

In a recent study, researchers examined 40 videos of great apes spinning on ropes and calculated their average rotational velocity.

Great Apes Love to Spin Around—Here's Why

A recent study suggests that apes, like humans, seek out altered mental states

Cool Finds

These Ecologists Borrowed Tricks From Astrophysicists to Count Endangered Orangutans

The thermal-imaging expertise of astronomers helped researchers find the great apes in the hot, humid jungles of Borneo

An Orangutan Was Shot 74 Times. She Survived.

Dubbed ‘Hope,’ the orangutan was blinded by gunshots to her eyes. She also sustained bone fractures and had been stabbed with a sharp tool.

Orangutan mothers waited an average of seven minutes before alerting infants to a potential predator's presence

Orangutans Are the Only Non-Human Primates Capable of ‘Talking’ About the Past

Mothers waited several minutes before alerting offspring to potential predators, pointing toward capacity for displaced referencing

A member of the new orangutan species, Pongo tapanuliensis.

New Research

Found: A New Species of Orangutan

But it's thought to be already critically endangered

Orangutans may not wean for years, a new study shows.

New Research

Wild Orangutans Can Breastfeed for Over Eight Years

The primates take a while to wean their young

Batang and her infant are doing well and Zoo staff report she is nursing the new male Bornean orangutan.

UPDATE: Meet the National Zoo's Latest Bouncing Baby—an Orangutan (New Video)

A historical birth of a male Bornean orangutan, the first in 25 years, took place in Washington, D.C.

Borneo orangutan

New Research

Learn the Secrets of Ape’s Sleeping Habits

Apes sleep better and longer than other primates

New Research

One Orangutan Has Learned to Sound Just Like Us

This defies scientists’ former assumption that great apes just couldn’t learn new calls

loading icon