by Meish Goldish

1500_Orangutans_CoverFINAL.indd 1 11/16/07 2:29:18 PM [Intentionally Left Blank] by Meish Goldish

Consultant: Gary Shapiro, Ph.D. Cofounder/Chairman Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative www.orangutanrepublik.org

1500_Orangutans_FNL.indd 1 11/15/07 12:08:37 PM Credits Cover, © Frans Lanting/Minden Pictures; Title Page, © Frans Lanting/Minden Pictures; 4T, © Ralph Arbus; 4B, © Gary Shapiro, Ph.D.; 5, © Professor Anne E. Russon, Glendon College Toronto and BOS Canada; 6, © Gary Shapiro, Ph.D.; 7, © Gary Shapiro, Ph.D.; 8L, © Robert Shumaker Ph.D./Great Ape Trust of Iowa; 8R, © Robert Shumaker Ph.D /Great Ape Trust of Iowa; 9, © Smithsonian National Zoo; 11, © Rodney Brindamour/National Geographic Image Collection; 12, © Professor Anne E. Russon, Glendon College Toronto and BOS Canada; 13, © Perry van Duijnhoven; 14, © Chris Hellier/CORBIS; 15, © Mark Stouffer/Animals Animals-Earth Scenes; 16, © Perry van Duijnhoven; 17, © Rodney Brindamour/National Geographic Image Collection; 18, © Konrad Wothe/Minden Pictures; 19, © Ingo Arndt/Nature Picture Library; 20, © Anup Shah/Nature Picture Library; 21, © Andrew Murray/Nature Picture Library; 22, © Michael Nichols/National Geographic Image Collection; 23, © Shane Moore/Animals Animals- Earth Scenes; 24, © Professor Anne E. Russon, Psychology Dept., Glendon College Toronto and BOS Canada; 25, © Gerry Ellis/Minden Pictures; 26, © Nigel Dickinson/Peter Arnold; 27, © REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad; 28, © Adam Jones/Danita Delimont/Alamy; 29T, © Stuart Conway; 29M, © Emily Sohn; 29B, © Professor Anne E.Russon, Psychology Dept., Glendon College Toronto and BOS Canada.

Publisher: Kenn Goin Editorial Director: Adam Siegel Creative Director: Spencer Brinker Photo Researcher: Beaura Kathy Ringrose Original Design: Dawn Beard Creative

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Goldish, Meish. Orangutans / by Meish Goldish. p. cm. — (Smart animals!) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-59716-578-5 (library binding) ISBN-10: 1-59716-578-6 (library binding) 1. Orangutan—Juvenile literature. I. Title.

QL737.P96G566 2008 599.88’3—dc22

2007030332

Copyright © 2008 Bearport Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

For more information, write to Bearport Publishing Company, Inc., 101 Fifth Avenue, Suite 6R, New York, New York 10003. Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1500_Orangutans_FNL.indd 2 11/15/07 3:14:57 PM Contents

A Clever Princess ...... 4 Signs of Language ...... 6 Using a Computer ...... 8 Learning in the Wild ...... 10 Sounding Off ...... 12 Making Tools ...... 14 Tools for Food ...... 16 Group Learning ...... 18 Acting Human ...... 20 Brain Champs ...... 22 Special Feelings ...... 24 Protecting Orangutans ...... 26

Just the Facts ...... 28 More Smart Orangutans ...... 29 Glossary ...... 30 Bibliography ...... 31 Read More ...... 31 Learn More Online ...... 31 Index ...... 32 About the Author ...... 32

1500_Orangutans_FNL.indd 3 11/13/07 5:19:29 PM A Clever Princess Princess had a problem. She wanted some food that was locked in a storeroom. Yet Princess didn’t have a key. What could she do to get the food?

A Princess is an orangutan that was born on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.

4 A Princess as a baby

1500_Orangutans_FNL.indd 4 11/14/07 9:50:47 AM First, Princess picked up a stick. Next, she bit the end until it fit inside the keyhole. She poked the “stick key” through the hole and wiggled it back and forth. At last the lock opened. Princess didn’t need someone else’s key to solve her problem. She was smart enough to make her own!

Orangutans belong to a group of animals called great apes. Chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas are also A Princess using a “stick key” smart animals in this to open a lock group. 5

1500_Orangutans_FNL.indd 5 11/13/07 5:19:41 PM Signs of Language Scientists studied Princess to see how intelligent she was. They wondered if she could learn to communicate with people by using American Sign Language. Other scientists had taught chimpanzees and gorillas how to make the hand movements that stand for different words. Could orangutans learn this language, too?

A Dr. Gary Shapiro teaching sign language to Princesss

6

1500_Orangutans_FNL.indd 6 11/13/07 5:19:48 PM Dr. Gary Shapiro taught Princess for two years. She was a good student. Between 1978 and 1980, she learned more than 30 signs. Princess used them to name objects and express her needs. She used some signs when she wanted food. She used other signs when she wanted to be tickled or to have her hair combed. She even combined signs to describe new things. After tasting pineapple for the first time she signed “sweet fruit.”

Princess was able to use sign language to make simple sentences, such as “You there scratch.”

A Princess and Dr. Gary Shapiro take a swim together. 7

1500_Orangutans_FNL.indd 7 11/13/07 5:19:58 PM Index

Azy 8–9, 10 kiss-squeak 13 bonobos 5 long call 12–13 Borneo 4, 10, 28–29 Neesia fruit 16–17 Camp Leakey 10–11, 12, 29 pet orangutans 26 Chantek 29 poachers 26 chimpanzees 5, 6, 14, 22–23 Princess 4–5, 6–7, 8, 21 communication 6–7, 8–9, 12–13, rain forest 10, 16, 26–27, 28 26 Shapiro, Dr. Gary 6–7 computers 8–9 Shumaker, Dr. Robert 8 copying humans 21, 29 sign language 6–7, 8, 29 emotions 25 Sumatra 10, 18, 28 endangered species 27 Supinah 29 food 11, 14–15, 16–17, 18–19, 28 symbols 8–9 Galdikas, Dr. Biruté 10–11, 12 tool use 4–5, 14–15, 16–17, gorillas 5, 6 18–19, 20–21, 22, 26, 29 habitat 10–11, 26, 28 Unyuk 24–25 Indah 8–9, 10 van Schaik, Dr. Carel 18

About the Author Meish Goldish has written more than 100 books for children. 32 He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

1500_Orangutans_FNL.indd 32 11/15/07 11:41:01 AM [Intentionally Left Blank] Princess had a problem. She wanted some food that was locked in a storeroom. Yet Princess didn’t have a key. What could she do? Princess made her own key—out of a stick! Look inside to discover more about Princess and other orangutans that are smart enough to use sign language, make tools, hammer nails, saw wood, and even use plates and spoons to eat food.

Chimpanzees Crows Dogs Dolphins Elephants Gorillas Octopuses Orangutans Parrots Pigs Sea Lions Whales Wolves

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