HABITAT AND NUMBER
Orangutans are very endangered. They live only in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra in Asia. Their exact number in the wild is unknown because they are so shy, but there may be between 5000 and 30,000 of them. The name orangutan means "person of the forest". They live in the forests, in the trees, and mostly travel around in the treetops. They make a new "bed" each night out of the leaves of the trees. They will even make "umbrellas" out of leaves for when it rains. 

DESCRIPTION
Orangutans have reddish hair and the females are smaller than the males. They have been called red apes. They males can weigh up to 200 pounds and the females weigh less than half that. A newborn orangutan is so small it can fit in a small bowl. The adult males have different faces than the females. They have throat pouches and cheek pads. 

WHY ARE THEY ENDANGERED?
Orangutans are endangered mostly because their habitats are being destroyed. Their forests are being cut down by loggers. This is called deforestation. Orangutans are also endangered because of poachers killing the adults so they can steal the babies. The babies are sold as pets. The baby orangutans are orphaned by man's greed. Orangutans females are wonderful mothers, who never leave their infants out of their sight. That is why poachers kill the mothers. They only reproduce every eight or nine years in the wild. In the book Among The Orangutans, author Evelyn Gallardo tells the story of Dr. Birute Galdikas. She started the Orangutan Project in Borneo which helps to reintroduce these orphans into their natural habitat. 

FOOD
Orangutans like to eat fruit and they also eat other things like bark and insects. There have been rare sightings of orangutans eating meat like squirrels, but mostly they have only been seen eating fruit. 

HOW TO HELP THE ORANGUTAN
Evelyn Gallardo has established a Great-Ape education program for school children all over the world. She also does school visits to help educate students and people of all ages about orangutans and mountain gorillas so we can better understand them and know not to hurt them. You can find information on how you can actively help orangutans when you go to the Orangutan Foundation International, established by Dr. Birute Galdikas. The website is: http://www.orangutan.org/home/home.php 
You can even foster an orphaned orangutan! You can find out how to sponsor one of the many orphaned orangutans at the foundation website.

**To find out how you can host Evelyn Gallardo at your school, go to her website at: http://www.evegallardo.com/  
**Teachers!!! Evelyn Gallardo has established a teacher area on her website which can add to your existing program for animal study. She also welcomes ideas you may have and will publish them if you wish on her website. Her website also has a kids section...where students can even take a quiz on orangutans!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Book-
Among the Orangutans by Evelyn Gallardo
Visit the website at: www.evegallardo.com  
See our photos of Ms. Gallardo's author visit at: 
Read our author chats we had with her on our Animal Diaries website.

Orangutan Foundation International - http://www.orangutan.org/home/home.php 

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