A new discovery by SFU doctoral student Brent Loken demonstrates that orangutans may be even more adaptable than originally thought.

His research reveals the orangutan population of Borneo may be in the process of adapting to the rapid and unprecedented loss of their tropical and subtropical habitat. Their forests have been increasingly eroded by timber plantations, agro-forestry, and mines.

Loken has been conducting research in Borneo since 2011, and began studying orangutans shortly thereafter.

Originally Loken was doing research on clouded leopards when he noticed that a surprising number of camera trap photos were of orangutans. Upon further investigation, he discovered a lack of previous studies on orangutan terrestriality — that is, their behaviour on the ground. Loken published his first paper on orangutan terrestriality in 2013, which, to his knowledge, was the very first paper published on this topic.

This study is unique in that it indicates that orangutans are not only arboreal, but that they are terrestrial under many circumstances. They seem to walk on the ground in logged forests and take advantage of newly-built logging roads.

They also walk on the ground in primary forests, where one would think to only find them in trees.

Great apes are very intelligent animals, and share approximately 97 per cent of the same DNA with humans.

“Orangutans are incredible animals to study,” Loken stated. “Their name literally means ‘man of the forest,’ and when you see them in the forest, you feel that you are looking at a long-lost cousin.”

He continued, “getting to study this amazing animal is truly a gift, and I’m happy to be able to share some interesting findings about orangutans with people around the world.”

Ultimately, Loken’s findings indicate that orangutans are very opportunistic and possibly even resilient to some level of human disturbance. He noted that this “is important because of the potential role of sustainably logged forests for orangutan conservation.”

For now, orangutans may be making use of the newly-created roads, but the threshold is still unknown for the level of disturbance they can survive. Despite their adaptability, Loken maintains that these forests should take into account orangutan conservation strategies.

“We must be careful not to reinforce the notion that orangutans can survive in any human-altered landscape,” he concluded. “Orangutans still need trees, and lots of them, and protection of Borneo’s remaining forests should continue to be of highest priority for both Indonesia and the global community.”