Single Orangutan Moms Set up Playdates for Their Kids

Being a single mom is no picnic, and female orangutans are left with no choice. Male orangutans contribute only genetic material before disappearing into the forest. This leaves mom to teach their kids survival skills like termite fishing and fruit picking for six to eight years. Despite the workload, playtime is crucial for growing up, especially for social animals.

But since orangutans are mostly solitary, moms have to go to great lengths to set up playdates for their kids. Researchers led by evolutionary anthropologists from the Max Planck Institute studied 31 mother-child orangutan pairs over 15 years, spending over 32,000 hours observing them. They discovered that mothers with offspring of similar ages shared forest space and their kids played together more often.

On playdate days, mothers traveled farther and even began their journey a day early, returning after playtime ended. The researchers believe orangutans rely on "forest gossip" to know where their neighbors are. These playdates, which occurred only six percent of the time and lasted around 20 minutes, are costly but valuable. However, it's unclear if the effort improves the young orangutans' future. A long-term study is needed to uncover the answer.