Appearance

An orangutan's standing height averages from 4 to 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5m) and weighs between 73 to 180 lbs (33 to 82 kg). Males can weigh up to 250 lbs (113 kg) or more. Orangutan hands are similar to humans hands; they have four long fingers and an opposable thumb. Their feet have four long toes and an opposable big toe. Orangutans can grasp things with both their hands and their feet.

Orangutans have a large, bulky body, a thick neck, very long, strong arms, short, bowed legs, and no tail. They are mostly covered with long reddish-brown hair, although this differs between the species.

The orangutan has a large head with a prominent mouth area. Adult males have large cheek flaps (which get larger as the ape ages) that show their dominance to other males and their readiness to mate to other females. The age of maturity for females is approximately 12 years. Orangutans may live for about 50 years in the wild. However, thousands of orangutans don't reach adulthood due to HUMAN DISRUPTION. Orangutans are killed for food while others are killed because of disruption in people's property. Mother orangutans are killed so their infants can be sold as pets. Many of the infants die without the help of their mother.

Mothers stay with their babies for six or seven years. There is significant sexual dimorphism, [systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species] females can grow to around 4 ft 2 in or 127 centimeters and weigh around 100 lbs or 45 kg, while flanged adult males can reach 5 ft 9 in or 175 centimeters in height and weigh over 260 lbs or 118 kg.

The arms of orangutans are twice as long as their legs. Their fingers and toes are curved, allowing them to better grip onto branches. Orangutans have less restriction in the movements of their legs than humans. Unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans are not true knuckle-walkers, and are instead fist-walkers.