Tapanuli Orangutan

Posted on June 11th, 2026 Last modified on June 11th, 2026 Comments

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News: As per a new report, deadly floods and landslides in Indonesia’s Sumatra last year wiped out at least 7% of the total population of the critically endangered Tapanuli Orangutan.

About Tapanuli Orangutan

Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) — Source: DTE

Aspect	Details
About	The Tapanuli Orangutan is a species of orangutan found on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. They are one of three known species of orangutan, alongside the Sumatran orangutan and the Bornean orangutan.
Scientific name	Their scientific name is Pongo tapanuliensis.
Habitat	They live in tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests.
Distribution	They are endemic to North Sumatra, Indonesia and are only found in the Batang Toru Ecosystem within North Sumatra.
Appearance	They resemble Sumatran orangutans in body build and fur colour. Their hair is frizzier than that of other orangutans, with smaller heads, and flatter and wider faces. Dominant males have prominent moustaches and large flat cheek pads, known as flanges, covered in downy hair. Both male and female Tapanuli orangutans have beards. Males are larger than females.
Diet	They are omnivores and have a unique diet that contains unusual items like caterpillars and conifer cones. They also consume fruits such as figs, mangoes, lychees, durian, and other plants.
Behaviour	They are exclusively arboreal species and spend most of their time high up in the trees. They lead a solitary life and can be seen in pairs only when a mother is raising her young. They are active during the day, moving slowly in search of food through the trees. At night, they build a nest for sleeping up high in the canopy out of folded branches. They communicate with various sounds.
Threats	They face severe survival threats due to rapid habitat fragmentation, flooding, and human development.
Conservation status	They were described as a distinct species in 2017. IUCN: Critically endangered

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