Collective works on the orang-utan, from the broader evolutionary perspective to the details of what makes this animal not just unique among humanoids, but distinctive among primates in general.

This book describes one of our closest relatives, the orangutan, and the only extant great ape in Asia. It is increasingly clear that orangutan populations show extensive variation in behavioural ecology, morphology, life history, and genes. Indeed, on the strength of the latest genetic and morphological evidence, it has been proposed that orangutans actually constitute two species which diverged more than a million years ago - one on the island of Sumatra the other on Borneo, with the latter comprising three subspecies. This book has two main aims. The first is to carefully compare data from every orangutan research site, examining the differences and similarities between orangutan species, subspecies and populations. The second is to develop a theoretical framework in which these differences and similarities can be explained. To achieve these goals the editors have assembled the world's leading orangutan experts to rigorously synthesize and compare the data, quantify the similarities or differences, and seek to explain them. Orangutans is the first synthesis of orangutan biology to adopt this novel, comparative approach. It analyses and compares the latest data, developing a theoretical framework to explain morphological, life history, and behavioural variation. Intriguingly, not all behavioural differences can be attributed to ecological variation between and within the two islands; relative rates of social learning also appear to have been influential. The book also emphasizes the crucial impact of human settlement on orangutans and looks ahead to the future prospects for the survival of critically endangered natural populations.

With the arrival of European explorers in Southeast Asia around 300 years ago, the orangutan - the world's second-largest ape and one of our closest biological relatives - began a battle for survival. As the rainforest was cleared and burnt, and the orangutans were poached and sold, remnant populations have dwindled to alarmingly small numbers. This is the amazing story of how a small Australian zoo offers hope for the orangutans, through its very successful captive breeding program. The story is told through the eyes and heart of Leif Cocks, whose personal encounters with the orangutans in his care have enabled him to provide fascinating insights into their unique intelligence and individual personalities. The photographs capture some wonderful moments in the orangutan enclosures at the zoo.

The orang-utan is a superb representative of a major sector of the structure of biological diversity in Sumatra and Borneo. Conservation of the living conditions of the orang-utan implies maintaining the integrity of the entire natural ecosystem of indigenous plant and animal species known as the West Malesian rainforest, i.e. the natural tropical evergreen forests of distinctive floral composition which stretch from the isthmus of Kra, in Thailand, across peninsular West Malaysia, south and eastwards, including Sumatra, Borneo and Java. The main question behind this study is: What is the current status of the orang-utan? Or in other words: • what is the current geographical distribution range? • what have been the trends in the size of its range and numbers? • to what extent is this range covered by (a) conservation areas, (b) timher concessions (i.e. modified habitat) and (c) plans for conversion (i.e. obliteration of the habitat)? • what is the current quality of habitat in this range and what is the prospect for conservation or restoration of such habitat? • what is a plausible average density of the ape in such habitat? • what are the prospects for protection of the ape? • what should and can be clone to give the ape a chance of survival? Several actions were undertaken to find answers to these questions, and the major results are: • In Sumatra the orang-utan has a much more extensive range than was hitherto

A fascinating tour of evolutionary biology that calls into question our implicit social and political commitment to the current theories, offering persuasive evidence that our closest relative is not the gorilla but the orangutan. 16 page black-and-white photo insert. Illustrations.