The documentary showcases the lives of orangutans in the rainforests of Sumatra. A 42-year-old female orangutan and her 6-year-old daughter are featured, highlighting the mother's efforts to teach her child essential survival skills, such as foraging for food and building a nest. The documentary also shows a wild orangutan using a saw to cut through a branch, demonstrating its intelligence and adaptability.
In a different setting, a rescue center is working to rehabilitate and release orangutans back into the wild. The center is currently caring for around 600 orangutans, many of whom were rescued from palm oil plantations. One of the orangutans, Mama Abbott, and her baby are spotlighted, having been rescued from a palm oil plantation and nursed back to health.
The documentary also features a clever orangutan named Az, who has learned to communicate using a special language system. Az can identify and name various objects, including food, and can even use verbs and commands. His accuracy in using the language system is impressive, demonstrating his strong grasp of syntax and vocabulary, as well as his razor-sharp long-term memory.
Overall, the documentary highlights the intelligence, adaptability, and resilience of orangutans, as well as the importance of conservation efforts to protect these amazing creatures and their habitats.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. A 42-year-old female orangutan is teaching her 6-year-old daughter essential survival skills in the rainforest of Sumatra.
2. Orangutans care for their children longer than any other primate except humans.
3. It takes an orangutan 9 years to teach its youngster everything it needs to know about the forest.
4. Orangutans must learn to collect ants and termites, identify edible plants, and avoid poisonous ones.
5. A child orangutan must judge which branches can carry its weight and which insect nests are safe to raid.
6. Building a secure nest takes years of practice for an orangutan.
7. Orangutans must learn to make a shelter early in their lives due to the rainforest environment.
8. A 6-year-old orangutan may live to be 50 years old and pass on its expertise to its own children.
9. Orangutans have an opposable thumb that allows them to grasp and handle objects with precision.
10. A wild orangutan was observed using a piece of wood as a tool to saw a branch.
11. The orangutan used its feet as a vice to steady the branch while sawing.
12. A team is monitoring and helping a group of orangutans, including a male named Menteng, who is struggling to survive in the forest.
13. Menteng was found to be relying too heavily on humans for food and was not eating forest fruit.
14. The team is working to release a group of orangutans, including a mother and baby, back into the forest.
15. The mother, Mama Abbott, and her baby were rescued from a palm oil plantation and nursed back to health at a rehabilitation center.
16. Ninety percent of the orphans arriving at the center come from palm oil plantations.
17. The rehabilitation center has 600 orangutans, and the team is working to release them back into the forest.
18. A language system was developed specifically for orangutans, allowing them to communicate with humans.
19. An orangutan named Az was taught to use the language system and can communicate with his caretaker, Rob.
20. Az can use over 72 different words, including objects, numbers, and adjectives, and can even use verbs and commands.