Animal Superpowers: Orangutans - Treetop Engineers 🦧🌙

Sleep Tight Science - A Bedtime Science Show For Kids

Sleep Tight Media

Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.4 • 738 Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode we learn how orangutans long arms and hand-like feet create extra leverage for hanging and reaching; why keeping the centre of mass below the branch makes wobbles settle; and how a gentle tug on a bendy sapling brings the next hold closer. We also learn about their nightly nests and simple tools. Grown-ups: we value your feedback. Our email and message link are in the episode notes—please send us your child’s questions and thoughts. Sleep Tight!, Sheryl & Clark ❤️👂📖 --- ✨ Want more stories and fewer interruptions? Join Sleep Tight Premium for ad-free listening, bonus bedtime stories every week, and personalized shout-outs for your little ones! Start your free trial now on Apple Podcasts or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sleeptightpremium.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Support Us 👉 Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Premium⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for AD FREE listening and extra bedtime stories! 👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sleep Tight Premium⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is now available in Apple Podcasts! 🎉 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts, or share our podcast with your friends. 📢 Have an interesting science topic you would like to investigate? Send us an email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@sleeptightscience.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , and we may feature it in an upcoming show. --- About Sleep Tight Science We’ve got bedtime down to a (Sleep Tight) Science! Sleep Tight Science is an award winning bedtime podcast that makes science accessible and enjoyable for the whole family. Snuggle in and drift off to sleep while learning about science topics submitted by listeners! Designed for curious young minds (but simple enough for grown-ups to understand), Sleep Tight Science uses big words to answer big questions that kids wonder about, like why do we feel icky sometimes and how do our legs help us move? Learn something new about the natural world while drifting off to dreamland. Have an interesting science question or a topic you’re curious about? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@sleeptightscience.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and it might just be the focus of an upcoming episode! Dedicated to enhancing the health and happiness of children, Sleep Tight Media helps families replace bedtime struggles with bedtime snuggles. -- Advertising provided by Starglow Media. Learn more about Starglow Media ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Sleep's High Science.
0:18.0	Did you know wild orangutans build a fresh leafy nest high in the trees almost every night?
0:27.7	What?
0:33.1	Hello, friends, and welcome back to Sleep Tight Science, a bedtime show that answers your questions about science.
0:43.7	Have you ever watched someone cross monkey bars at the playground?
0:49.3	They swing hand over hand, hanging underneath.
0:54.6	Well, orangutans spend their whole lives doing something similar.
1:00.6	But instead of metal bars, they navigate through a living jungle canopy,
1:06.5	blowing from branch to branch with incredible skill.
1:13.0	Many of you have sent in questions about apes.
1:16.9	Apes are a special subgroup of primates.
1:21.6	Unlike most monkeys, apes do not have tails, and their brains are usually larger compared to their body size.
1:31.3	This gives them the ability to solve problems, use tools, and even show emotions in ways that feel familiar to us.
1:41.3	Tonight's topic was suggested by Charlie in Scotland.
1:47.0	Thank you for sending in your curiosity.
1:50.1	And if you're not actually from Scotland, our apologies.
1:54.5	We don't always get everything right.
1:58.0	So our question is this.
2:01.5	What makes orangutang such incredible treetop engineers,
2:06.9	and how do they turn the forest canopy into their home, highway, and workshop?
2:16.6	We'll picture their rainforest home as a green canopy, a living ceiling, and learn how long arms,
2:26.1	flexible hips, and hand-like feet make a gentle hanging way of moving.
	...

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