Orangutan Home Range Size and Its Determinants in a Sumatran Swamp Forest

Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in a Sumatran swamp forest used home ranges far larger than any described so far for the species, in spite of living at the highest density on record. Although it was difficult to estimate home range sizes, minimum reliably estimated home range sizes for adult females are ca. 850 ha, whereas subadult and adult males used ranges of at least ca. 2500 ha, and perhaps much more. Range overlap was very high: up to 16 adult females, 9 adult males and at least 15 subadult males were seen within a single 4-ha square in the center of the study area. We found no evidence for the use of seasonally distincthome ranges—commuters—, and only some subadult males may have been transients—wanderers—without a stable home range. The large size of the home ranges is attributed to the coarse grain of the habitat mosaic, with orangutans converging on parts with a high density of favored fruit trees. Orangutans at this swamp forest included a variety of habitat types within their ranges.

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