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Wulan the female orangutan eating a leaf

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What do orangutans eat?

Primarily frugivorous, orangutans can forage for up to 6 hours a day in their rainforest home.

Baby orangutans rely on their mother's milk for the first 3-4 years of their life. As they grow they start to experiment with other, solid foods - much like human babies! Observing their mothers eat helps to teach them what foods are safe and what to avoid. Wild orangutans must forage for up to 6 hours a day in order to find enough food in the rainforest to survive.

A baby orangutan and mother at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

Although their diet is made up of about 60% fruit, they also eat leaves, tree bark, roots, insects and sometimes even small mammals like slow loris. The Bornean rainforest is renowned for having unpredictable seasons which can cause fruit availability to be scarce for long periods at a time. For this reason it is essential that other food sources can be consumed in their absence.

Goman the orangutan eating fruit in a tree at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

Bornean orangutans have evolved a unique digestive system which is better adapted than other primates for digesting fibre, storing fat and conserving energy. This means that they can better extract nutrients from the tough, fibrous parts of their diet more efficiently.

Betty the orangutan foraging in a tree at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

Termites make a delicious snack for orangutans and are a good source of protein. To make catching them easier orangutans use sticks as tools. They will poke a stick in a nest and wait for the tiny insects to cover it. Then they will pull the stick out and eat the termites off the stick a bit like a lolly pop! Although time consuming the activity is a source of entertainment as well as necessity.

Rosa the orangutan eating termites at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

In the wild orangutans mainly forage and eat first thing in the morning and in the late-afternoon when the heat of the day is less intense. During this time, they will use tree branches to slowly move through the forest canopy searching for tasty fruit whilst grazing on young tree leaves. Orangutans are often considered the "slow and steady" great apes because they conserve energy by moving slowly through the trees and limiting their activity.

Wild male orangutan moving through the trees looking for food at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

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