What Do Baby Orangutans Look Like?

Newborn orangutans weigh roughly 3.3 pounds or so -- a far cry from the typical weights of mature specimens. Some mature male orangutans weigh a maximum of 200 pounds. Adult female orangutans are markedly lighter, approximately 90 pounds. Wee orangutans start their lives totally reliant on their mothers. Without their mothers' assistance, they don't even have the ability to put their heads up. Orangutan babies possess notably slender limbs. Young orangutans' muscles start to emerge after they spend time moving about in trees. Like humans, orangutan mothers usually produce single offspring. Twins are possible but not common.

Baby orangutans have soft pinkish visages. As they get older, their faces transform in color. They usually become either blackish or deep brown. Not only are newborns' faces pink, they're also somewhat shriveled in appearance, too. While many mammals are born with their eyelids tightly shut, that doesn't apply to orangutans. Baby orangutans' big and wide eyes are open from the start. They even have lengthy eyelashes. Like the vast majority of newborn human infants, young orangutans are born sans teeth.

When baby orangutans are born, they have some hair, but not much of it. The hair they have usually appears in clusters. The hair also doesn't lie close against them but instead spikes up conspicuously.

Baby orangutans rely on mama's nurturing for everything. They're always clutching tightly onto the hair of their mother's stomach regions. They do this all day long as their mothers go about their normal business, such as looking for sustenance. As young orangutans mature, they don't leave their mothers abruptly, either. Orangutan mothers typically commence the weaning process when their offspring are somewhere between 3 and 4 years old. The offspring generally live alongside their moms until they get to approximately 8 years of age.