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Large male Orangutan The Orangutan - Man of the Forest living in the Paradise Forests of Asia Pacific

Orangutans are the closest relatives of humans. Their name means "man of the forest". They are the oldest of the big anthropoid apes and the largest animals living in trees. They mainly feed on fruit - skillfully picked with their hands.

Orangutangs live in the diverse tropical forests of Indonesia and New Guinea and the nearby archipelagos that form the Paradise Forests of Asia Pacific.

They share their home with over 500 species of mammals and over 1,600 species of birds such as the exotic Bird of Paradise, and around 30,000 species of plants such as Indonesia's giant Rafflesia flower that can grow up to one metre across.

Many people also live in the forest - in New Guinea alone over 800 languages are spoken, one third of all the languages spoken on earth.

The biggest threat to the forest is logging, agriculture, road-construction and forest fires from human fires that are lit to clear the land for crops.

Click here to take action today to help save the home of the Orangutan!

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Greenpeace Kids for Forests
For more information about the Kids for Forests Project contact your local Greenpeace office . For more information about Ancient Forests visit the Greenpeace website.

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