Orangutans have adapted to a life high in the rain forest canopies. Most of the skills they learn come from a special bond they have with their mothers. Mom's have one baby at a time, and wait up to 8 years before having another. This gives the young plenty of time to acquire the skills they need to survive. Female Orangutans even stay with their mothers through their teen years, to learn about child-rearing (the process of bringing up a child or children). As they grow up, Orangutans also develop complex social skills by interacting with their peers or siblings.
Adults build a new nest each night by carefully weaving twigs together, topping them with soft leaves. This process requires dexterity, coordination, and an eye for design. Orangutans also use a variety of tools to make their lives in the jungle easier. They turn branches into flyswatters and backscratchers, construct umbrellas when it rains, make gloves from leafy pads, and even use leaves as bandage to dress their wounds.
Orangutans also display remarkable foresight, planning, and cognition. In one experiment researchers taught an Orangutan to extract his favorite fruit juice from a box. That same Orangutan was later given the choice between a straw and a grape, which could be eaten right away, and he chose the straw just in case he was given another box of juice.
Deforestation exposes the 30,000 Orangutans remaining in the wild to poachers. They kill the mothers so that baby Orangutans can be sold as exotic pets. Fortunately, the story doesn't tend to end here. Orphaned Orangutans can be confiscated and given a second chance. At special forest schools, they recover from the emotional trauma and continue to develop essential skills so that they can one day return to the forest.
