Among Orangutans: Red Apes and the Rise of Human Culture

by Carel van Schaik, Perry Van Duijnhoven (Photographer)

The local people know him as the "Man of the Forest," who refused to speak for fear of being put to work. And indeed the bear-like Sumatran orangutan, with his moon face, lanky arms, and shaggy red hair, does seem uncannily human; one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, the orangutan may have much to tell us about the origins of human intelligence, technology, and culture. In this book one of the world's leading experts on Sumatran orangutans, working in collaboration with nature photographer Perry van Duijnhoven, takes us deep into the disappearing world of these captivating primates. In a narrative that is part adventure, part field journal, part call to conscience, Carel van Schaik introduces us to the colorful characters and complex lives of the orangutans who inhabit the vanishing forests of Sumatra. In compelling words and pictures, we come to know the personalities and temperaments of our primate cousins as they go about their building double-decker tree nests; using leaves as napkins, gloves, rain hats, and blankets, and sticks as backscratchers and probes; nurturing their infants longer and more intensely than any other nonhuman mammal. Here are the births and deaths, the first use of a tool, the defeat of a rival, the gradual loss of influence that, while fascinating to observe, may also help us to reconstruct human evolution.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science

256 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2004

About the author

also Carel P. van Schaik

Reviews

[Cheryl]

Sometimes a bit of a slog, as the author is a scientist and is very careful, precise, with thorough explanations of the observations and tentative theories. Unfortunately we may never get significant confirmation of the theories because of the damage being done to the Indonesian swamps in search of profit for, of all things, palm oil for such treats as Nutella! (The author does not name Nutella, but I learned about it from earlier research and that knowledge is what lead me to read this book.)

Most of the time, though, the book is engaging, and the author's voice is lucid and accessible when he lets his hair down. I recommend the book, if for no other reason than the pictures.

The analysis of comparative intelligence of primates, based on mountains of data, p. 128-9, is convincing. Previously the author said something like "it's likely that the plural of anecdote is data" but here there's more. "Val, a statistical wizard with a special interest in Bayesian methods (where rather than testing the fit of data to a preexisting model we estimate directly the most plausible relationships among variables), had developed a technique to bring together a number of incomplete comparisons in a single scale...."

"The male [chimp or human] advertises his qualities [not with a peacock tail but] by bringing home large chunks of meat and then generously giving it away to all. Females are supposed to find such generosity irresistible. If viewed in this historical perspective, the sexual division of labor seems to have little to do with sex differences... [but] turns out to be about the different reproductive strategies of the two sexes." So, naturally, women were not allowed to hunt.

[Carlos]

This book was informative, well written and eye opening. Carel van Schaik treats the reader to a thorough, but not overwhelming, introduction to this great Asian ape. He also manages to carefully support various insights into the development of culture and the impact it may have had on the evolving hominid line. Lastly, he gives the reader a current and grim picture of the danger that this cousin of ours faces but manages to give the reader some cautious reasons for optimism as well as giving the best explanation for the reasons behind the proliferation of conservationism.

[Ryan Lyppens]

Very well-written, learned a ton about orangutan development and in turn about human evolution. Super knowledgeable about Indonesian politics leading to a very pragmatic and accurate assessment of where orangutan conservation will go.

[Robby Deadline]

Good Book

[Kayle Stone]

Very informative! I have no clue why I read this but I didn't hate it, I think I just wanted to learn? lol

[Speakercoret]

hadiah kuis di jelajah giganto :D

yang gw baru tau:
* ternyata orangutan cinta kebersihan lho, kalau orangutan tersentuh kotoran, pasti langsung diseka pakai daun-daunan atau ranting..

* orangutan sering patah tulang, karena sering jatuh pas lagi berayun diantara pohon2 (lagian juga badan segede gitu maen ayun2an,nekat sih :p )

* mereka lebih pintar (apa lebih rajin ya) dari simpanse dan gorila. orang utan bisa mbuat sarang yang rapat dan kedap air yg bisa melindungi mereka dari hujan, beda ma gorila n simpanse yg pasrah aja kalo kena ujan

* ternyata diantara orang utan sering terjadi "pemerkosaan"
(ada kisah tentang ana dan dio yang membuat gw terheran2)

* biasanya orang utan betina dewasa yg memilih jantan dominan untuk menjadi pasangan dan bapak dari calon anak2nya utk mendapat perlindungan. tapi dikemudian hari "berselingkuh" dengan jantan lain yg dia pikir mempunyai potensi utk menjadi jantan dominan dimasa mendatang, agar bisa tetap mendapat perlindungan utk anak2nya..
( ini sebenarnya cuma kecurigaan dari tim2 peneliti, soalnya orangutannya gak bisa di klarifikasi sih :p )
takjub deh gw, serasa baca kisah2 keluarga kerajaan penuh intrik dan politik :p

jadi ni buku jauh dari pemikiran awal gw yg gw pikir bakal bikin gw bosen bacanya :D

[Claire]

Reading this book made me even more determined to join the effort, wanting to ask the author the situation in Suaq, go there, help tracking them for evaluating the population now and determine how we can raise conservation awareness in the general public...