Orangutan means “person of the forest” in the Malay language. Orangutans are great apes (猿). Wild orangutans live on two islands—Sumatra and Borneo in Southeast Asia. Orangutans have long and powerful arms, fingers and toes. These help them climb and swing between trees in the rainforest.

Orangutans mostly eat fruit. They also eat leaves, flowers, and sometimes insects. Over 300 different types of food have been found in their diet. Orangutans play a very important role in spreading fruit and plant seeds in the forest. This helps to keep their rainforest home healthy.

Orangutans are smart and intelligent. They create and use tools to get seeds from fruit. They also use tools to catch insects from the insides of trees. Orangutans memorize the rainforest where they live. This helps them know which trees have ripe (成熟的) fruit. They build a sleeping nest each night made of branches (树枝) and leaves.

However, orangutans are in great danger. Scientists say that there are less than 62, 000 orangutans remaining in the wild. Young orangutans are sometimes caught and sold as pets. Orangutans are also hunted for food. The biggest problem is that orangutans are losing their homes. Millions of rainforests are cut down each year for palm oil (棕榈油). Palm oil can be used to make candy bars, cookies, shampoos, soaps, and pet food. Most of the palm oil produced in the world is from Sumatra and Borneo.

Wildlife organizations are working hard to help protect the remaining rainforests. If the rainforests disappear, orangutans will disappear forever.