The scientific description of the orangutan was first documented in 1758. The term “Orangutan” originates from the Malay and Indonesian expression ‘orang hutan’, which translates to ‘people of the jungle’.

The Sumatran orangutan mostly inhabits the canopy of tropical rainforests, displaying a strong preference for arboreal habitats. Females are almost never seen traveling on the ground, and mature males do so seldom. Sumatran orangutans are documented to have stronger social bonds compared to their Bornean counterparts. This phenomenon has been ascribed to the abundant fruit production on fig trees, which attracts gatherings of Sumatran orangutans for feeding purposes. Adult males usually live alone, whereas females are usually joined by their young.

In the past, the Sumatran orangutan could be found over the whole island of Sumatra and even extended farther south into Java. The species’ distribution is now limited to the northern part of the island, mostly concentrated in the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh.

Orangutans are the only Asian great ape and have a genetic similarity of around 96.4% with humans. Formerly prevalent across southern Asia, they now exist just on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. There are three officially acknowledged species of orangutans: the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmeaus), the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), and the newly identified Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis). The Tapanuli orangutan inhabits an area located to the south of the Sumatran orangutan’s territory, with the nearest populations being a mere 100km apart from each other.