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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Personality and subjective well-being in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii).

Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus and Pongo abelii) are semisolitary apes and, among the great apes, the most distantly related to humans. Raters assessed 152 orangutans on 48 personality descriptors; 140 of these orangutans were also rated on a subjective well-being questionnaire. Principal-components analysis yielded 5 reliable personality factors: Extraversion, Dominance, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Intellect. The authors found no factor analogous to human Conscientiousness. Among the orangutans rated on all 48 personality descriptors and the subjective well-being questionnaire, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and low Neuroticism were related to subjective well-being. These findings suggest that analogues of human, chimpanzee, and orangutan personality domains existed in a common ape ancestor.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Microsatellite DNA variation in Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).

Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra are considered two separate subspecies. However, the genetic relationships between isolated populations on Borneo are not clear. This study determined the extent of variation within the Bornean subspecies of orangutan, using microsatellite DNA analysis. Blood samples were collected from 96 individuals of known origin from East, West and Central Kalimantan. Human microsatellite primer pairs located at human map position D2S141, D4S431, D 11S925, D16S420 and D17S791 were suitable for use in primates. D4S431 appeared monomorphic for all orangutans. In three cases (D2S141 East and West and D16S420 West), a highly significant excess of homozygous allele frequencies was detected, but with other primer pairs no significant difference in allele frequencies occurred. We conclude that the divergence between the different populations on Borneo is less than the variation within the populations. There was also evidence that inbreeding occurred within the populations.

Alleles↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Oral tool use by captive orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).

Eight captive orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) were given wooden blocks embedded with raisins and bamboo as raw material for tool making in a study of manual laterality. In about three quarters of the raisin extraction bouts, the orangutans held the tool in the lips or teeth rather than in their hands. Three adult males and 2 adult females showed extreme (> or =92%) preference for oral tool use, a subadult male and an adult female used oral tools about half the time, and 1 adult female preferred manual tool use. Most oral tool users made short tools (approx. 4-10 cm long) that were held in the lips and (probably) supported by the tongue. Preference for oral tool use does not correlate with body weight, age or sex, but it may be related to hand size or individual preference. This is the first report of customary oral tool use as the norm in captive orangutans; it resembles the behavioral patterns reported by van Schaik et al. and Fox et al. in nature.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Suspected dermatophilosis in an adult orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus).

An adult female Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) had a pruritic, vesicular skin disease, particularly of the extremities, trunk, and face. Over a 2-yr course, symptoms resolved only transiently after corticosteroid treatment. Antibiotic treatment and withdrawal of all corticosteroids resulted in complete recovery of the animal and return to normal activity patterns. On the basis of the dermal histopathologic lesions, Dermatophilus congolensis was suspected as the causative organism, although subsequent cultivation was not attempted because of the stress additional procedures would have caused to the orangutan.

Actinomycetales↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Molecular genetic divergence of orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus) subspecies based on isozyme and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.

The orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus), as currently recognized, includes two geographically separated subspecies: Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus, which resides on Borneo, and P. p. abelii, which inhabits Sumatra. At present, there is no known route of gene flow between the two populations except through captive individuals which have been released back into the wild over the last several decades. The two subspecies are differentiated by morphological and behavioral characters, and they can be distinguished by a subspecies specific pericentric chromosomal inversion. Nei-genetic distances were estimated between orang utan subspecies, gorilla, chimpanzee and humans using 44 isozyme loci and using 458 soluble fibroblast proteins which were resolved by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Phenetic analysis of both data sets supports the following conclusions: the orang utan subspecies distances are approximately 10 times closer to each other than they are to the African apes, and the orang utan subspecies are approximately as divergent as are the two chimpanzee species. Comparison of the genetic distances to genetic distance estimates done in the same laboratory under identical conditions reveals that the distance between Bornean vs. Sumatran orang utans is 5-10 times the distance measured between several pairs of subspecies including lions, cheetahs, and tigers. Near species level molecular genetic distances between orang utan subspecies would support the separate management of Bornean and Sumatran orang utans as evolutionary significant units (Ryder 1987). Evolutionary topologies were constructed from the distance data using both cladistic and phenetic methods. The majority of resulting trees affirmed previous molecular evolutionary studies that indicated that man and chimpanzee diverged from a common ancestor subsequent to the divergence of gorilla from the common ancestor.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Variation in tooth morphology of Pongo pygmaeus.

This study examines the postcanine morphology of Pongo pygmaeus, identifying sexual, populational, and subspecific differences, with particular focus on the cusp area proportions. Little differences between the sexes were found in molar shapes, and cusp area proportions can be considered population specific. Inter-population differences are significant between the two Bornean populations, with the Kapuas River as a biogeographic barrier, and are as great as inter-subspecies (Borneo-Sumatra) differences.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Speciation and intrasubspecific variation of Bornean orangutans, Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus.

Mitochondrial DNA control region sequences of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) from six different populations on the island of Borneo were determined and analyzed for evidence of regional diversity and were compared separately with orangutans from the island of Sumatra. Within the Bornean population, four distinct subpopulations were identified. Furthermore, the results of this study revealed marked divergence, supportive evidence of speciation between Sumatran and Bornean orangutans. This study demonstrates that, as an entire population, Bornean orangutans have not experienced a serious genetic bottleneck, which has been suggested as the cause of low diversity in humans and east African chimpanzees. Based on these new data, it is estimated that Bornean and Sumatran orangutans diverged approximately 1.1 MYA and that the four distinct Bornean populations diverged 860,000 years ago. These findings have important implications for management, breeding, and reintroduction practices in orangutan conservation efforts.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Malignant rhabdoid tumor in the gastric wall of an aged orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus).

A 34-year-old female orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) developed renal failure and became uremic. At necropsy, large gastric masses were present around the cardia and in the corpus. Abdominal metastases occurred in the liver, pancreas, and right ovary. Light microscopic examination of the tumor revealed polygonal cells with vesicular nuclei and prominent nucleoli. The growth pattern was predominantly solid. Focal areas contained excentric cytoplasmic intermediate filament inclusions, as identified by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. Immunohistochemical procedures demonstrated mainly the vimentin type of intermediate filaments. Except for occasional cytokeratin, other intermediate filament markers and neural, lymphocytic, and histiocytic markers stained negative. The morphologic and ultrastructural characteristics are typical for a malignant rhabdoid tumor, a term used in human pathology to describe a rare and extremely aggressive malignancy of uncertain histogenesis. Although usually located in the infant kidney, a few reports have documented the occurrence of similar lesions in extrarenal sites of adults. In human tumors, vimentin is often combined with the expression of cytokeratins. The sparsity of the cytokeratin filaments in this case might be due to species-specific variations and/or may reflect the hypothesis of a phenotypic concept encompassing a spectrum of histogenetic diversity.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Diverticulitis with rupture and fatal peritonitis in a Sumatran orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus).

A 30-year-old male Sumatran orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) presented with signs of depression, lethargy, anorexia, and diarrhea that progressed to acute colic. Exploratory laparotomy revealed fibrinopurulent peritonitis and 50 cm of devitalized small intestine. The surgically resected small intestine contained several mucosal diverticula along the mesenteric attachment; one had ruptured, resulting in peritonitis. Fifteen days after surgery, the orangutan's abdominal incision dehisced. Repeated laparotomy revealed dehiscence of the distal intestinal anastomosis site, as well as extensive adhesions and purulent exudate. The defect was repaired, and the abdomen was extensively irrigated and closed, but the animal died within 24 hours. To our knowledge, this is the first report of diverticulitis in a great ape. Diverticulosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis for great apes that present with signs of depression, lethargy, anorexia, and/or diarrhea.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Object permanence in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus).

The authors tested orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) on object permanence tasks. In Experiment 1, orangutans solved all visible displacements and most invisible displacements except those involving movements into 2 boxes successively. In Experiment 2, performance of orangutans on double invisible displacements and control displacements (assessing simple strategies) was compared. Orangutans did not use the simple strategy of selecting the box visited last by the experimenter. Instead, poorer performance on double invisible displacements may have been related to increased memory requirements. In Experiment 3, squirrel monkeys were tested using the procedure of Experiment 1. Squirrel monkeys solved visible but did not comprehend invisible displacements. Results suggest that orangutans but not squirrel monkeys possess Stage 6 object permanence capabilities.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Estimating and operating on discrete quantities in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).

This study investigated the ability of 3 male orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus; 1 subadult, 2 adults) to estimate, compare, and operate on 2 sets of small quantities (1-6 cereal bits). Experiment 1 investigated the orangutans' ability to choose the larger of 2 quantities when they were presented successively as opposed to simultaneously, thus being perceptually unavailable at the time of choice. Experiment 2 investigated the orangutans' ability to select the larger quantity after the original quantities were augmented or reduced. Orangutans were capable of selecting the larger of 2 quantities in Experiment 1. There was also some evidence from Experiment 2, albeit weaker, that orangutans may mentally combine quantities (but not dissociate) to obtain the larger of 2 quantities. This study suggests that orangutans use a representational mechanism (especially when comparing quantities) to select the larger of 2 sets of items.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Imitation in free-ranging rehabilitant orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).

We made an observational study of spontaneous imitation in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Previous studies may have underestimated great apes' imitative capacities by studying subjects under inhibiting conditions. We used subjects living in enriched environments, namely, rehabilitation. We collected a sample of spontaneous imitations and analyzed the most complex incidents for the likelihood that true imitation, learning new actions by observing rather than by doing, was involved in their acquisition. From 395 hr of observation and other reports on 26 orangutans, we identified 354 incidents of imitation. Of these, 54 complex incidents were difficult to explain by forms of imitation based on associative processes grounded in experimental learning alone; they were, however, congruent with acquisition processes that include true imitation. These findings suggest that orangutans may be capable of true imitation and point to critical eliciting factors.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[Light and scanning electron microscopic observations of the long hair of an orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) with trisomy 22].

Hair samples of a female orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) suffering from Trisomy 22 and three healthy orang-utans had been investigated in regard of their resilience, colour, medulla, cross sectional view, shaft diameter and cuticula structure. There were no characters noticed concerning the orang's hair with Trisomy only. The remarkable sex-specific differences found out in hair shaft diameters have been interpreted as a manifestation of the considerable sexual-dimorphism in orang-utans. The hair samples of all four individuals contain some with an anomaly of the cuticula-structure, which may be seen as an expression of the not species-specific environment in zoos.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Production and comprehension of referential pointing by orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).

We report 3 studies of the referential pointing of 2 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Chantek was raised in an enculturated environment; Puti, raised in a nursery, had a more typical captive life. In Experiment 1, flexibility of pointing behavior was investigated by requiring subjects to point in novel circumstances (for an out-of-sight tool, not food). In Experiment 2, we investigated the orangutans' comprehension of the significance of a human point in helping them to locate food. In Experiment 3, we investigated whether these pointing subjects comprehended that a human recipient must be looking for the point to achieve its attention-directing goal. In all experiments the enculturated orangutan showed better understanding of pointing than the captive orangutan. This finding is consistent with recent studies that have found differences in the cognitive and social-cognitive abilities of apes that have had different types of experience with humans.

Animal Communication↗
PubMed1994

Persistent, recurring diarrhea in a colony of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) caused by multiple strains of Campylobacter spp.

A colony of 10 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) experienced persistent, recurring diarrhea caused by multiple infections with Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli. Infections appeared to have occurred through several mechanisms, including fecal-oral transmission between orangutans, and possibly transmission by houseflies contaminated with the organisms from nearby chicken feces. Among the 14 fecal and environmental C. jejuni isolates, 4 different antibiotic susceptibility profiles were detected; there were also 4 different profiles among the 8 isolates of C. coli. In 5 orangutans, there were back-to-back infections by different strains of C. jejuni, suggesting that a single C. jejuni infection may not confer protective immunity against heterologous strains circulating in the same vicinity. Transmission was effectively interrupted by environmental modifications and a 7-day course of oral erythromycin.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Negative-pressure pulmonary edema complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome in an orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus abelii).

A 22-yr-old, 86-kg, morbidly obese female orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) was immobilized and transported to the Denver Zoological Gardens hospital for a routine physical examination. Immediately after arriving at the hospital, cyanosis and apparent inadequate ventilatory efforts were noted. Clinically significant hypoxia occurred despite attempts to ventilate the orangutan through face mask, and attempts to place an endotracheal tube began. A large volume of pink-tinged frothy fluid flowed from the trachea when the laryngoscope was inserted into the oropharynx. Severe pulmonary edema due to negative-pressure pulmonary edema, precipitating life-threatening hypoxia was suspected. The orangutan was maintained on a mechanical ventilator using the neuromuscular blocking agent cisatracurium besylate and sedation with periodic doses of isoflurane and midazolam for 48 hr. Positive end-expiratory pressure was used while the orangutan was ventilated mechanically to improve respiratory function. The edema and hypoxia improved, but respiratory arrest ensued 30 min after extubation, when the orangutan was removed from mechanical ventilation. Necropsy and histopathology demonstrated that serious lung injury had led to acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

DNA profiling of orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) feces to prove descent and identity in wildlife animals.

In this study, orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus ssp.) DNA was extracted from excrements, obtained from individual zoo populations. To examine whether human short tandem repeat loci (STR) are suitable for the reconstruction of kinship in orangutans, nine STRs, commonly used in forensic studies in man and the amelogenin system, were amplified in a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach. Five of the nine human autosomal STRs in question amplified successfully in orangutans. Furthermore, the experiments revealed that orangutans possess allele distributions comparable to humans in these systems. Fragment length determination allowed kinship structures to be reconstructed.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Genetic divergence of orangutan subspecies (Pongo pygmaeus).

Microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA sequences were studied for the two subspecies of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), which are located in Borneo (P. p. pygmaeus) and Sumatra (P. p. abelii), respectively. Both subspecies possess marked genetic diversity. Genetic subdivision was identified within the Sumatran orangutans. The genetic differentiation between the two subspecies is highly significant for ND5 region but not significant for 16s rRNA or microsatellite data by exact tests, although FST estimates are highly significant for these markers. Divergence time between the two subspecies is approximately 2.3 +/- 0.5 million years ago (MYA) estimated from our data, much earlier than the isolation of their geological distribution. Neither subspecies underwent a recent bottleneck, though the Sumatran subspecies might have experienced expansion approximately 82,000 years ago. The estimated effective population sizes for both subspecies are on the order of 104. Our results contribute additional information that may be interpreted in the context of orangutan conservation efforts.

Animals↗