Orangutans

Their History, Natural History and Conservation

Ronald Orenstein

$65

Hardback

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English

Firefly Books Ltd
17 June 2025

Wildlife: mammals

Native to the forests of Sumatra and Borneo, wild orangutans are listed as critically endangered. The rarest of them all, the Tapanuli orangutan, was only recognized as a separate species in 2017, and today, it is the rarest great ape in the world. In Orangutans, zoologist and conservationist Ronald Orenstein draws on the latest research to survey the natural and cultural history of these charismatic red apes as well as their present and future.

Divided into three parts, the book first traces orangutan ancestry from the distant past to the present and then explores the various roles orangutans have played throughout human history, from Indigenous cultures in Southeast Asia, to European colonialism and scientific exploration, to the pop culture of today. Part two details the latest scientific discoveries about orangutans and what we currently know about their habitat, diet, behavior, social structures and abilities. The final section of the book turns to the threats orangutans face today, from the destruction of their forest homes for agriculture to deliberate killings, captures and the illegal trade that supplies animals for display, collection and entertainment. The author also surveys the efforts being made to save them from extinction, to preserve their ecosystems and to return orphaned orangutans to a life in the wild.

Featuring over 150 full-color photographs, maps, a list of orangutan organizations to support and an extensive bibliography, Orangutans is an important, engaging and beautiful work about one of nature's most captivating animals.

AUTHOR: Ronald Orenstein is a zoologist, lawyer and wildlife conservationist who has written extensively on natural history issues. His most recent books are Ivory, Horn and Blood, Butterflies and Hummingbirds. He lives in Ontario, Canada, and spends several months each year in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Colour photographs

By: Ronald Orenstein
Imprint: Firefly Books Ltd
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions: Height: 279mm, Width: 229mm,
ISBN: 9780228103783
ISBN 10: 0228103789
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 17 June 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Ronald Orenstein is a zoologist, lawyer and wildlife conservationist who has written extensively on natural history issues. His most recent books are Ivory, Horn and Blood, Butterflies and Hummingbirds. He lives in Canada, and spends several months each year in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Reviews for Orangutans: Their History, Natural History and Conservation

""Ronald Orenstein's Orangutans is a thorough, lavishly illustrated guide to the three critically endangered ""red ape"" species. All live on Borneo (Indonesia/Malaysia) and Sumatra (Indonesia), which have lost 80% of their rain forests over the past 50 years. Playful and intelligent, orangutans are the most solitary apes but form strong mother-baby bonds. They make nightly nests and are crucial to ecosystems, creating gaps in the canopy and spreading seeds in their droppings. But deforestation and palm oil plantations pose grave threats to their survival in the wild. ""Can we coexist?"" asks Orenstein, a zoologist, lawyer and wildlife conservationist. Though honest about orangutans' imperiled situation, he expresses hope. Protection of forest, captive breeding programs, and reintroductions make a difference. In addition to the science, he gives an engaging pr cis of orangutans' cultural role: Queen Victoria visited one at the London Zoo; naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace spread knowledge; and orangutans have featured in literature and in Hollywood films. Moreover, certain Indigenous people believe they are reincarnated ancestors. The book inspires fondness and wonder--not least with its gorgeous photographs, so detailed they show individual facial hairs.""--Rebecca Foster ""Shelf Awareness"" (11/5/2024 12:00:00 AM)