The nutritional content of some fruits as feeding sources of Sumatran orangutans

Abstract

Orangutans are classified as frugivore that most of their feeding sources come from fruits. Bukit Lawang forest (BLF) as part of Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP) is known as the first center for orangutan rehabilitation (COR) established in 1973 and then closed in 1991. To date, the BLF is the orangutan viewing center (OVC). This study aimed to assess the nutritional content of some fruits feed by Sumatran orangutan (SOU) in BLF and to determine the energy adequacy from fruits eaten by SOU. The nutritional content was analyzed by proximate method. There were nine fruits from different tree species as SOU food sources analyzed in this study. According to the nutritional content, the best fruit for orangutan feed was P. lateriflora which the highest content of the fruit was water content (62.13%), followed by carbohydrate (23.81%), protein (13.72%), ash (0.21%) and fat (0.10%). This study indicated that the nutritional requirements of SOU at the BLF were categorized as sufficient. Therefore, no additional feed is needed for SOU in the area, and feeding time session can be eliminated in the OVC Bukit Lawang of GLNP.