ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2012
Nest-building orangutans demonstrate engineering know-how to produce safe, comfortable beds.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed.
- The locomotor ecology of wild western lowland gorillas: How does the largest ape exploit complex arboreal environments?Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- Article
- Observational social learning of "know-how" and "know-what" in wild orangutans: evidence from nest-building skill acquisition.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Sleeping site use of François' langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) inhabiting limestone forest of Nonggang, southwest China: the importance of foraging efficiency.Primates; journal of primatology · 2025Article
- Article
- Developmental and Sex-Based Variation in Nest Building Among Wild Immature Chimpanzees.American journal of primatology · 2025Article
- Article
- Climate, climate change and the global diversity of human houses.Evolutionary human sciences · 2024Article
- Chimpanzees select comfortable nesting tree species.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Nest construction in mammals: a review of the patterns of construction and functional roles.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Review
- The evolutionary ecology of nests: a cross-taxon approach.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Potential resilience treatments for orangutans (Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2023Article
- PhytoKeys · 2023Article
- No time to rest: How the effects of climate change on nest decay threaten the conservation of apes in the wild.PloS one · 2021Article
- Helical Microstructures of the Mineralized Coralline Red Algae Determine Their Mechanical Properties.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2020Article
- Densities of Bornean orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) in heavily degraded forest and oil palm plantations in Sabah, Borneo.American journal of primatology · 2019Article
- Nesting, sleeping, and nighttime behaviors in wild and captive great apes.Primates; journal of primatology · 2019Review
- Design principles of biologically fabricated avian nests.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Spontaneous innovation of hook-bending and unbending in orangutans (Pongo abelii).Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Nest-building activity as a reproducible and long-term stroke deficit test in a mouse model of stroke.Brain and behavior · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Nest-building orangutans must daily build safe and comfortable nest structures in the forest canopy and do this quickly and effectively using the branches that surround them. This study aimed to investigate the mechanical design and architecture of orangutan nests and determine the degree of technical sophistication used in their construction. We measured the whole nest compliance and the thickness of the branches used and recorded the ways in which the branches were fractured. Branch samples were also collected from the nests and subjected to three-point bending tests to determine their mechanical properties. We demonstrated that the center of the nest is more compliant than the edges; this may add extra comfort and safety to the structure. During construction orangutans use the fact that branches only break half-way across in "greenstick" fracture to weave the main nest structure. They choose thicker branches with greater rigidity and strength to build the main structure in this way. They then detach thinner branches by following greenstick fracture with a twisting action to make the lining. These results suggest that orangutans exhibit a degree of technical knowledge and choice in the construction of nests.
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