'Human of the forest' The orangutan belongs to the group of primates known as great apes. The indigenous Dayak people of Borneo tell an old legend that the orangutan was originally a human who pretended not to be able to speak and climbed up the trees to escape having to work. The name 'orangutan' originates from two different Malay and Indonesian words: 'orang' (human) and 'hutan' (forest). Orangutan thus means 'human of the forest'. The orangutan shares no less than 97 percent of its DNA with humans. They therefore share many physical similarities with humans. Although this one lives in a cage free zoo, at times they appear sad. But, their lives and habitats in the wild are becoming less and less. This is only one way to preserve them so they can keep living and not go extinct. He does have a mate, but from what I understand, this male died a couple of years ago. Old age I believe, but who really knows.