Orangutans hit the ground walking

Red apes leave the trees when nobody’s watching

MATERNAL LEAVE  A video camera in a forest on the island of Borneo caught an adult female orangutan in action as she moved along the ground carrying an infant.

© Andrew Hearn, Joanna Ross

Logging has orangutans on the run in Borneo. But an unappreciated tendency to go to the forest floor and scoot short distances while upright or on all fours gives red apes a chance to survive in patchy, partially destroyed forests, researchers report February 13 in Scientific Reports.