orangutans

Alba, believed to be the world's only albino orangutan, was rehabilitated after she suffered a harsh captivity in Borneo. She's now been released and is living in the wild again.

World News

Alba The Albino Orangutan Is Now Free, Living In The Trees Again

3:15pm December 21, 2018

by Bill Chappell

With striking blue eyes and white hair, Alba was rescued last year by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation — which calls her "the only albino orangutan ever recorded."

Borneo has lost more than 100,000 orangutans in the last 16 years – about half of the critically endangered species native to the island.

Borneo Has Lost 100,000 Orangutans Since 1999

12:05pm February 15, 2018

by Merrit Kennedy

That's more than the number of the critically endangered species remaining. The orangutans have been hit hard by deforestation and hunting. The animals are native to the island.

Rocky spent his first few years raised by people, and is particularly attuned to human speech and behavior, researchers say. But his remarkable ability to learn and match human pitch and common sounds of speech surprised them.

Orangutan's Vocal Feats Hint At Deeper Roots of Human Speech

9:50am March 14, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

Rocky wowed scientists when he showed he could control his vocal cords much the way people do. His abilities suggest that early humans might have spoken words 10 million years ago.

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A baby orangutan wearing a diaper swings through the trees at the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program outside Medan, capital of Indonesia's North Sumatra province. The program takes mostly orphaned orangutans, nurses them back to health and releases t

As Palm Oil Farms Expand, It's A Race To Save Indonesia's Orangutans

10:40pm March 11, 2015

by Anthony Kuhn

Demand for palm oil is destroying the habitat of endangered Sumatran orangutans. One group is working to rescue, rehabilitate and reintroduce these often-orphaned primates back into the wild.

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Tilda the orangutan, relaxing between gabfests at the Cologne Zoo.

From The Mouths Of Apes, Babble Hints At Origins of Human Speech

8:56am January 16, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

You say banana; this orangutan says ... well, it's hard to tell what she's saying. But the rhythmic, speechlike sounds of the zoo-dwelling ape have started scientists talking.

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Sandra, an orangutan owned by the Buenos Aires Zoo, was given the right to leave the zoo after a court ruled she was entitled to more desirable living conditions.

Orangutan Declared To Have Basic Legal Rights In Argentina

9:48am December 23, 2014

by Bill Chappell

A Buenos Aires judge ruled in favor of advocates, who are calling for more freedom for Sandra, a 28-year-old orangutan who was born in a zoo.