Orangutan map Pongo
Where the orangutan lives: an interactive map of its species and recorded sightings worldwide.
Approximate range, based on recorded sightings. Shapes are drawn by World Animal Map from 592 wild occurrence records on GBIF (CC0/CC BY 4.0; captive and fossil records excluded, isolated outliers removed), grouped into 1° grid cells and clipped to land. They show where the animal has been recorded, not an official range; gaps can simply mean no open data. Method · Records on GBIF
| Scientific name | Pongo |
|---|---|
| Mapped range layers | 2 |
| Records used | 592 wild occurrence records (GBIF, CC0/CC BY) |
| Group | Great apes |
Population
“A 2016 study estimates a population of 14,613 Sumatran orangutans in the wild.”
Source cited by Wikipedia: Wich et al., “Land-cover changes predict steep declines for the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii)”, Science Advances, 2016. Quoted from Wikipedia: Orangutan.
Interesting facts
- The most arboreal of the great apes, orangutans spend most of their time in trees. [source]
- From six months of age onwards, orangutans practise nest-building and gain proficiency by the time they are three years old. [source]
- Wild orangutans in Tuanan, Borneo, were reported to use tools in acoustic communication. [source]
About the orangutan
Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus Pongo, orangutans were originally considered to be one species. In 1996, they were divided into two species: the Bornean orangutan (P. pygmaeus, with three subspecies) and the Sumatran orangutan (P. abelii); a third species, the Tapanuli orangutan (P. tapanuliensis), was identified definitively in 2017. The orangutans are the only surviving members of the subfamily Ponginae, which diverged genetically from the other hominids (gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans) between 19.3 and 15.7 million years ago.
Species (6)
Species listed in Wikidata as children of Pongo (fossil-only taxa excluded). Classification is debated for many animals and lists differ between authorities.
- Pongo borneo
no open-licence GBIF records - Pongo grovesei
no open-licence GBIF records 
- Pongo wurmbii
no open-licence GBIF records
Photos
Text in “About”, “Interesting facts” and “Population” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Orangutan (revision 1381301865), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: sentences excerpted verbatim, citations and formatting removed. No text added. Taxa and status: Wikidata Q41050 (CC0).
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