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Explores the life of the orangutan, and the problems they must deal with in their native habitats in Indonesia.

The conservation of charismatic and functionally important large species is becoming increasingly difficult. Anthropogenic pressures continue to squeeze available habitat and force animals into degraded and disturbed areas. Ensuring the long-term survival of these species requires a well-developed understanding of how animals use these new landscapes to inform conservation and habitat restoration efforts. We combined 3 y of highly detailed visual observations of Bornean orangutans with high-resolution airborne remote sensing (Light Detection and Ranging) to understand orangutan movement in disturbed and fragmented forests of Malaysian Borneo. Structural attributes of the upper forest canopy were the dominant determinant of orangutan movement among all age and sex classes, with orangutans more likely to move in directions of increased canopy closure, tall trees, and uniform height, as well as avoiding canopy gaps and moving toward emergent crowns. In contrast, canopy vertical complexity (canopy layering and shape) did not affect movement. Our results suggest that although orangutans do make use of disturbed forest, they select certain canopy attributes within these forests, indicating that not all disturbed or degraded forest is of equal value for the long-term sustainability of orangutan populations. Although the value of disturbed habitats needs to be recognized in conservation plans for wide-ranging, large-bodied species, minimal ecological requirements within these habitats also need to be understood and considered if long-term population viability is to be realized.

Recent analyses have revealed that orangutan alpha satellite higher-order repeat (HOR) arrays in complete centromeres are composed of three to four distinct HOR blocks, each sharing only 80–90% sequence identity, thus forming a patchwork-quilt pattern of independent HOR expansions. In contrast, using our novel HOR-detection algorithm GRhor, we analyzed the complete Y chromosome centromere in orangutan and identified a highly ordered and complex alpha satellite 58mer superHOR array, comprising 67 HOR copies, including 46 highly identical canonical copies with a remarkably low divergence of only 0.25%. Given that the largest known human alpha satellite HOR is the 34mer on the Y chromosome, this novel 58mer structure qualifies as a superHOR. The canonical 58mer HOR contains only 44 distinct monomer types, with 14 types repeated within the unit, resulting in a unique five-row cascading organization. Such complexity is not detectable using standard HOR-searching tools employed in previous studies. Additionally, we identified a second, less pronounced 45mer cascading superHOR array with 0.81% divergence. For comparative purposes, we also detected a cascading 18mer HOR in gorilla and a Willard-type 28mer HOR in chimpanzee Y centromeres. Notably, preliminary genome-wide analysis in orangutan reveals other superHORs, including 84mer and 53mer arrays in chromosome 5; a 54mer in chromosome 10; a 51mer in chromosome 14; a 53mer in chromosome 15; and a 45mer in chromosome 22. These findings underscore the power of GRMhor in revealing highly structured and species-specific HOR architectures, with potential implications for centromere evolution and primate comparative genomics.

Making economic decisions in a natural foraging situation that involves the use of tools may require an animal to consider more levels of relational complexity than merely deciding between an immediate and a delayed food option. We used the same method previously used with Goffin's cockatoos to investigate the orangutans' flexibility for making the most profitable decisions when confronted with five different settings that included one or two different apparatuses, two different tools and two food items (one more preferred than the other). We found that orangutans made profitable decisions relative to reward quality, when the task required the subjects to select a tool over an immediately accessible food reward. Furthermore, most subjects were sensitive to work-effort when the immediate and the delayed option (directly accessible by using a tool) led to the same outcome. Most subjects continued to make profitable decisions that required taking into account the tool functionality. In a final multidimensional task design in which subjects had to simultaneously focus on two apparatuses, two reward qualities and two different tools, the orangutans chose the functional tool to access the high quality reward.

This study presents the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Plasmodium pitheci , a malaria parasite that infects Bornean orang-utans ( Pongo pygmaeus ). The mitochondrial genome spans 5871 bp in length encoding all essential mitochondrial genes in a conserved arrangement typical of Plasmodium species. Using Bayesian phylogenetic analyses, the evolutionary relationships of P. pitheci with other Plasmodium species that infect non-human primates were investigated. Findings of this study confirm that the previously identified Plasmodium sp. VM and VS and Plasmodium sp. Pongo clade A and clade B from orang-utans correspond to P. pitheci. However, the taxonomic classification of Plasmodium sp. Pongo clade C remains unresolved. The detection of P. pitheci infections in orang-utans across Borneo provides insights into the parasite’s geographic distribution. This genomic information contributes to a deeper understanding of P. pitheci and its evolutionary relationship with other malaria parasites. Comparative genomics with other Plasmodium species, including those infecting humans, will deepen the general understanding of malaria's evolutionary pathways. Furthermore, the availability of the complete mitochondrial genome of this parasite provides a foundation for developing species-specific molecular diagnostic tools. These tools will improve malaria diagnosis in orang-utans, assist in conservation efforts, and potentially aid in zoonotic malaria control strategies for humans in regions where cross-species transmission is a concern.

Interactions between conservation and the social sciences are frequently characterized by either critique (of conservation by social scientists) or co‐optation (of social scientific methods and insights by conservationists). This article seeks to push beyond these two dominant positions by exploring how conservationists and social scientists can engage in mutually transformative dialogue. Jointly authored by conservation scientists and social scientists, it uses the global nexus of orangutan conservation as a lens onto current challenges and possibilities facing the conservation–social science relationship. We begin with a cross‐disciplinary overview of recent developments in orangutan conservation—particularly those concerned with its social, political and other human dimensions. The article then undertakes a synthetic analysis of key challenges in orangutan conservation—working across difference, juggling scales and contexts and dealing with politics and political economy—and links them to analogous concerns in the conservation–social science relationship. Finally, we identify some ways by which orangutan conservation specifically, and the conservation–social science relationship more generally, can move forward: through careful use of proxies as bridging devices, through the creation of new, shared spaces, and through a willingness to destabilize and overhaul status quos. This demands an open‐ended, unavoidably political commitment to critical reflexivity and self‐transformation on the part of both conservationists and social scientists. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. Abstrak Interaksi antara konservasi alam dan ilmu sosial sering dikarakteristikan dengan kritik (konservasi oleh ilmuwan sosial) atau kooptasi (metode ilmu sosial oleh praktisi konservasi). Artikel ini berupaya untuk melampaui dua posisi dominan ini, dengan menggali bagaimana praktisi konservasi dan ilmuwan sosial bisa berdialog secara transformative untuk kedua pihak. Artikel ini ditulis secara bersama oleh ilmuwan konservasi dan ilmuwan sosial, dan menggunakan perhubungan (nexus) global konservasi orangutan sebagai lensa untuk melihat tantangan dan peluang yang saat ini dihadapi oleh hubungan antara konservasi dan ilmu sosial. Kami mulai dengan tinjauan lintas keilmuan mengenai perkembangan terkini dalam konservasi orangutan—khususnya yang berkaitan dengan dimensi sosial, politis, dan dimensi manusia lainnya. Artikel ini kemudian melakukan analisis sintesis dari tantangan‐tantangan utama dalam konservasi orangutan—bekerja menjembatani perbedaan, menggabungkan berbagai skala dan konteks, dan menangani masalah politik dan ekonomi politik—yang dihubungkan dengan keprihatinan terkait dalam hubungan antara konservasi dan ilmu sosial. Pada akhirnya, kami mengidentifikasi beberapa cara bagaimana konservasi orangutan secara khusus, dan hubungan konservasi dan ilmu sosial secara umum, dapat diperbaiki: penggunaan proksi/perwakilan secara cermat sebagai alat penghubung, penciptaan ruang bersama yang baru, dan kebersediaan untuk merombak status quo. Upaya ini membutuhkan komitmen yang terbuka dan yang tidak terhindarkan dari politik untuk refleksi kritis dan transformasi diri, dari kedua belah pihak konservasi dan ilmuwan sosial. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Over the past decade, more than 600 rehabilitated Bornean Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) have been released into protected forests in Borneo. Releasing rehabilitant Bornean Orangutans into the wild is a standard conservation practice, yet monitoring postrelease survival remains a challenge. Limited data exist on post release survival, with many individuals classified as “missing but presumed dead” due to the absence of a carcass for confirmation. Detecting carcasses in tropical forests is particularly difficult due to dense vegetation and the narrow time frame for observing remains before complete decomposition or scavenger removal. Here, we report the first documented observation of a wild adult female Bornean Orangutan carcass decomposing process in the Danum Valley Conservation Area, Malaysian Borneo, on 21 May 2023. The approximately 30 kg carcass was monitored using camera traps and field observations. Decomposition was assessed using Payne's (1965) decomposition framework, the Total Body Score (TBS) system, and Accumulated Degree Days (ADD) to evaluate the influence of ambient temperature on decay. Decomposition progressed to the dry‐remains stage within 6 days, primarily driven by vertebrate scavengers such as the Asian water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) and blow flies (Calliphoridae). This rapid decomposition rate challenges existing knowledge on the rate of decomposition of medium‐sized carcasses (> 10 kg) and suggests that the common practice of weekly monitoring for post‐release orangutans may be insufficient. Understanding decomposition processes and scavenger activity in tropical forests can improve carcass detection, refine mortality estimates for released Orangutans and other endangered species, and enhance conservation strategies for this critically endangered primate. We documented the complete decomposition process of a wild Bornean orangutan carcass in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. This represents the first detailed observation of great ape decomposition in Borneo. Our study provides a rare insight into the often‐overlooked process of carcass breakdown and decomposition in tropical rainforest ecosystems.

Cardiovascular diseases have been identified as a major cause of mortality and morbidity in Borneo orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus). Transthoracic echocardiography is usually performed under anesthesia in great apes, which may be stressful and increase risks of peri-anesthetic complications in case of cardiac alteration. The aim of the present pilot study was hence to develop a quick and non-stressful echocardiographic method (i.e., the COOLEST method) in awake Borneo orangutans (CardiOvascular examination in awake Orangutans: Low-stress Echocardiography including Speckle Tracking imaging) and assess the variability of corresponding variables. Four adult Borneo orangutans trained to present their chest to the trainers were involved. A total of 96 TTE examinations were performed on 4 different days by a trained observer examining each orangutan 6 times per day. Each examination included four two-dimensional views, with offline assessment of 28 variables (i.e., two-dimensional (n = 12), M-mode and anatomic M-mode (n = 6), Doppler (n = 7), and speckle tracking imaging (n = 3)), representing a total of 2,688 measurements. A general linear model was used to determine the within-day and between-day coefficients of variation. Mean±SD (minimum-maximum) images acquisition duration was 3.8±1.6 minutes (1.3-6.3). All within-day and between-day coefficients of variation but one (n = 55/56, 98%) were <15%, and most (51/56, 91%) were <10% including those of speckle tracking systolic strain variables (2.7% to 5.4%). Heart morphology as well as global and regional myocardial function can be assessed in awake orangutans with good to excellent repeatability and reproducibility. This non-stressful method may be used for longitudinal cardiac follow-up in awake orangutans.