The bed of dry leaves and ferns were carefully arranged on a framework of broken branches, clear hallmarks of an orangutan nest. It resembled any other nest found in the canopies of Malaysian Borneo’s Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, with one crucial difference—this nest was on the forest floor. Ground-nesting behavior has never been recorded among wild orangutans before, and this unprecedented discovery has led Hutan to take measures to protect these remarkable great apes and their novel nests from any disturbances.

Mosaic landscapes—wild forest mixed with agricultural land—are common in Malaysian Borneo. Hutan has identified 34 ground nests within a 25-acre forest fragment surrounded by a palm oil plantation. While this area lacks enough mature trees to support orangutans full time, it has high conservation value because orangutans use it as a pitstop while traveling across the plantation to larger forests. After years of Hutan monitoring these commuting orangutans—convincing palm oil companies to preserve small islands of forest so their fragmented populations can maintain connectivity—orangutans are adapting to live in these mosaic landscapes.

orangutan nest

A top-down view of an orangutan in a nest, which are most commonly found high in trees.

orangutan ground nest

An orangutan nest on the ground, which has never been recorded by conservationists until now.

Ground-nesting behavior is the latest example of their ingenuity and resilience. The nests likely provide them with temporary shelter as they forage and even stay overnight in the forest patch. They would only build ground nests near agricultural zones if they recognized it as a safe place; safety derived from Hutan’s ongoing conservation efforts. To ensure it stays that way, Hutan is working with palm oil manufacturers to keep workers away from this important forest patch. As orangutans increasingly identify mosaic landscapes as suitable habitat, Hutan will continue promoting coexistence between orangutans and people.

Support Hutan

OTHER USERS BOUGHT THIS!!!

Previous articleCreating Outdoor Spaces for Indoor Cats: Dr Karyn’s Catio (with Video)
Next articleSO THIS IS WHY MY FISH ARE DISAPPEARING ?!! 🐟 #shorts
JessicaGG
Journalist specialized in online marketing as Social Media Manager. I help professionals and companies to become more Internet and online reputation, which allows to give life to the Social Media Strategies defined for the Company, and thus immortalize brands, products and services. I have participated as an exhibitor in various forums nationally and internationally, I am the author of several articles in digital magazines and Blogs.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here