Otto the Orang-utan

Investigative guides which reveal amazing facts about members of the animal kingdom. This episode features Otto, an orang-utan living in the rainforests of Sumatra with his mum and older sister. Sometimes when fig trees are fruiting he catches a glimpse of his dad, the only adult male in the area.

Orang-utans live on Borneo and Sumatra in South-east Asia and are the only great apes found outside Africa. The name orang-utan means man of the forest. They spend most of their time in the treetops of the rainforests, passing from tree-to-tree by climbing or swinging. Their strong arms stretch out longer than their bodies and allow them to move about in the rainforest canopy with ease, or to hang from branches eating fruit and leaves.

They are active during the day, and at night the females and young males sleep in nests which they build each evening, a task which taxes young Otto.