If you think you don't know any words of Malay, then you are wrong. The word orang means people, and the word hutan means forest; so in case you haven't worked it out yet, orang-utan means forest people - also known as "the old man of Borneo".

The information I keep reading from different sources informs me that the orang-utan is the only great ape that lives outside Africa; the other great apes being the gorilla and two types of chimpanzee. Aren't they forgetting something? I could have sworn there was another one that walks on two legs, is almost hairless and lives on every continent. One of them is writing this blog! It's as if we are too good to be part of the animal kingdom any more. Or maybe we are too bad. It used to be said that the orang-utan could swing through the trees from one side of Borneo to the other, without touching the ground. They can't any longer, because of huge palm plantations that have replaced much of the rain forest to provide the hairless apes with soap, shampoo and margarine.

The 10,000 or so remaining orang-utans are on the endangered species list, and could all be gone within 10 years, even if we stop destroying their home now. Imagine that - one of our closest relatives gone forever! The rehabilitation centre in Sepilok takes in orphaned orang-utans, and after bringing them back to good health, they are fed from four different platforms, each one increasingly further out into the jungle. When they reach the last one (which takes 6-10 years), it is hoped that they keep going and don't come back. Some do, some don't.

Apart from watching them come swinging through the trees for their breakfast, I was fascinated by the fact that they build nests up in the trees. You can see them from the ground. Incredible!

Just in case you are interested in adopting an orphan... www.orangutan-appeal.org.uk

Or better still; stop using products containing palm oil... www.littlesatsuma.com/scousesoaps