A PRELIMINARY-STUDY OF FOOD SELECTION BY THE ORANGUTAN IN RELATION TO PLANT-QUALITY

We observed the foraging behavior of orangutans in Central Indonesian Borneo during October, November, and December 1980, and analyzed food and nonfood items for water content, neutral detergent fiber, crude protein, available crude protein, and protein:fiber ratio and the presence of alkaloids and tannins. The diet of the orangutan during this season was unusual because it consisted predominantly of seeds and unripe, rather than ripe, fruits. Also, the major diet item, the seeds of Irvingia malayana, had been ignored in previous years when it had fruited. In leaves, protein content was more closely associated with food choice than either neutral detergent fiber or the protein:fiber ratio. Flowers had the highest protein content and protein:fiber ratio of any food item. Tannins were found in most food items, but the presence of alkaloids was found in only one.