Bornean orangutan swinging on vine, Sepilok Reserve, Sabah, Borneo
Too heavy to leap the way smaller primates do, orangutans travel through the trees with a hand-over-hand motion known as brachiation. They also use their sheer body weight to bend saplings and swing on lianas, pendulum-style, onto a next support. They take the easiest path through the forest, and I have often seen them use the same vines along the same route, day after day. |