1
00:00:06,987 --> 00:00:10,817
Fu Manchu was one of the most
notorious escape artists

2
00:00:10,817 --> 00:00:13,777
at the Omaha Zoo in the 1960s.

3
00:00:13,777 --> 00:00:15,498
But he wasn't a performer,

4
00:00:15,498 --> 00:00:17,220
he was an orangutan.

5
00:00:17,220 --> 00:00:19,527
The keepers who locked 
his enclosure every night

6
00:00:19,527 --> 00:00:21,628
were baffled to find him outside
the next day

7
00:00:21,628 --> 00:00:23,317
hanging out with friends in a tree,

8
00:00:23,317 --> 00:00:25,047
or sunning on the roof.

9
00:00:25,047 --> 00:00:27,288
Only after installing cameras 
did they realize

10
00:00:27,288 --> 00:00:29,668
Fu Manchu had been picking the lock

11
00:00:29,668 --> 00:00:33,797
with a metal wire that he kept hidden
under his cheek pouch.

12
00:00:33,797 --> 00:00:37,409
The keepers shouldn't have been
surprised at Fu Manchu's cunningness.

13
00:00:37,409 --> 00:00:39,798
Along with our other great ape cousins,

14
00:00:39,798 --> 00:00:40,529
the gorillas,

15
00:00:40,529 --> 00:00:41,250
chimps,

16
00:00:41,250 --> 00:00:42,299
and bonobos,

17
00:00:42,299 --> 00:00:44,928
they belong to our Hominidae
family tree,

18
00:00:44,928 --> 00:00:48,529
which stretches back 14 million years.

19
00:00:48,529 --> 00:00:50,658
But it's not just their striking red hair

20
00:00:50,658 --> 00:00:53,699
that makes orangutans unique 
among our cousins.

21
00:00:53,699 --> 00:00:55,850
As the only great apes from Asia,

22
00:00:55,850 --> 00:01:00,508
orangutans have adapted to a life
high in the rain forest canopies.

23
00:01:00,508 --> 00:01:03,820
Many of the skills they learn
are transmitted through the special bond

24
00:01:03,820 --> 00:01:05,418
they have with their mothers,

25
00:01:05,418 --> 00:01:08,968
the most extended in the animal kingdom
next to humans.

26
00:01:08,968 --> 00:01:12,008
Orangutan mothers usually give birth
to one baby at a time,

27
00:01:12,008 --> 00:01:15,071
waiting up to eight years before
having another.

28
00:01:15,071 --> 00:01:16,349
This gives the young,

29
00:01:16,349 --> 00:01:18,809
who begin as fully dependent infants,

30
00:01:18,809 --> 00:01:20,999
plenty of time to learn how to climb

31
00:01:20,999 --> 00:01:25,110
and distinguish the hundreds of plants
and fruits that make up their diet.

32
00:01:25,110 --> 00:01:28,830
Female orangutans even stay with
their mothers into their teen years

33
00:01:28,830 --> 00:01:29,960
to learn child-rearing.

34
00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:35,899
As they grow up, orangutans also develop
a complex set of cooperative social skills

35
00:01:35,899 --> 00:01:38,709
by interacting with their peers
and siblings.

36
00:01:38,709 --> 00:01:39,940
Much like ourselves,

37
00:01:39,940 --> 00:01:43,372
young orangutans involuntarily mimic
the facial expressions

38
00:01:43,372 --> 00:01:45,539
and emotions of their playmates,

39
00:01:45,539 --> 00:01:49,669
with behaviors that closely parallel
human smiling and laughter.

40
00:01:49,669 --> 00:01:51,760
Once they finally venture out 
on their own,

41
00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:54,900
orangutans continue to develop
their resourcefulness,

42
00:01:54,900 --> 00:01:57,586
putting the skills they've learned 
into practice.

43
00:01:57,586 --> 00:02:01,513
Adults build a new nest each night
by carefully weaving twigs together,

44
00:02:01,513 --> 00:02:05,350
topping them with soft leaves,
pillows, and blankets.

45
00:02:05,350 --> 00:02:11,621
This process requires dexterity,
coordination, and an eye for design.

46
00:02:11,621 --> 00:02:16,149
Orangutans also use a variety of tools
to make their lives in the jungle easier.

47
00:02:16,149 --> 00:02:19,470
They turn branches into fly swatters
and back scratchers,

48
00:02:19,470 --> 00:02:21,860
construct umbrellas when it rains,

49
00:02:21,860 --> 00:02:23,933
make gloves from leafy pads,

50
00:02:23,933 --> 00:02:27,721
and even use leaves as bandages
to dress their wounds.

51
00:02:27,721 --> 00:02:31,410
But orangutan intelligence goes far
beyond jungle survival.

52
00:02:31,410 --> 00:02:35,911
Research in controlled environments
has shown that orangutans are self-aware,

53
00:02:35,911 --> 00:02:39,736
being one of the few species to recognize
their own reflections.

54
00:02:39,736 --> 00:02:43,720
They also display remarkable foresight,
planning, and cognition.

55
00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,872
In one experiment, researchers taught
an orangutan to use a straw

56
00:02:47,872 --> 00:02:51,186
to extract his favorite fruit soup
from a box.

57
00:02:51,186 --> 00:02:54,606
That orangutan was later given the choice
between the straw

58
00:02:54,606 --> 00:02:57,442
or a grape that could be 
eaten right away,

59
00:02:57,442 --> 00:03:02,163
and he chose the straw just in case
he was given another box of soup.

60
00:03:02,163 --> 00:03:05,713
In another experiment, orangutans figured
out how to reach peanuts

61
00:03:05,713 --> 00:03:09,282
at the bottom of long tubes
by spitting water into them.

62
00:03:09,282 --> 00:03:13,855
While orangutans are able to pass
cognitive tests with flying colors,

63
00:03:13,855 --> 00:03:16,993
there are certain problems that they
need our help to solve.

64
00:03:16,993 --> 00:03:20,062
Indonesia has the world's highest rate
of deforestation,

65
00:03:20,062 --> 00:03:23,152
and millions of acres of rain forest 
are burned annually

66
00:03:23,152 --> 00:03:26,193
to support the logging 
and palm oil industries.

67
00:03:26,193 --> 00:03:30,193
Deforestation exposes the 30,000
orangutans remaining in the wild

68
00:03:30,193 --> 00:03:31,520
to poachers.

69
00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:36,542
They kill mothers so that baby orangutans
can be sold as exotic pets.

70
00:03:36,542 --> 00:03:40,063
But fortunately, the story often
doesn't end here.

71
00:03:40,063 --> 00:03:43,193
Orphans can be confiscated
and given a second chance.

72
00:03:43,193 --> 00:03:47,012
At special forest schools, they recover
from emotional trauma

73
00:03:47,012 --> 00:03:50,262
and continue to develop 
essential life skills.

74
00:03:50,262 --> 00:03:54,054
Against all odds, these orphans 
demonstrate incredible resilience

75
00:03:54,054 --> 00:03:56,243
and readiness to learn.

76
00:03:56,243 --> 00:04:02,064
In Malay, the word orangutan translates
literally to "the person of the forest,"

77
00:04:02,064 --> 00:04:05,025
a reminder of our common lineage.

78
00:04:05,025 --> 00:04:08,184
And despite orangutans being some
of the smartest animals on Earth,

79
00:04:08,184 --> 00:04:14,414
outsmarting their extinction requires
the creativity, empathy, and foresight

80
00:04:14,414 --> 00:04:16,664
that our species share.