The title of this blog is the Malaysian translation of the word orangutan. The Bornean orangutan is one of two orangutan species that lives in Southeast Asia. The Bornean orangutan, pictured here lives in the tropical rain forests of Borneo. This Asian ape’s diet is mostly fruit, but insects and leaves add to its diet. It is an arboreal ape living in the tree canopy where it makes nests from branches to sleep in. Once numbering slightly over 288,000 individuals, the its population has decreased to an estimated 104,000 and is predicted to drop to 45,000 by 2025 due to habitat loss from human activities. This orangutan is listed an endangered species due to this trend. Efforts to support genetic diversity of orangutans in zoos and in the wild through the Orangutan Species Survival Plan will help to prevent this species from becoming extinct. (Photographs from Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo that participates in the Survival Plan.)