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Posted: 10th September 2025

Orangutans learn bed-making from watching their mothers
Nests keep orangutans warm, secure and safe from predators.
Primates watch others and then practice constructions, study finds.

Primatologists from the University of Warwick have revealed that young orangutans learn to make their beds from watching others.

Sumatran orangutans will carefully watch their mothers and companions construct a nest, before practising each of the steps they observed.

A well-built nest is essential for the survival of many primates. As well as keeping the orangutans warm and secure while up high, the nests keep them safe from predators and even have anti-mosquito properties.

There are two types of nest that a Sumatran orangutan may build for themselves in the wild. While a ‘day nest’ is a basic and practical frame, a ‘night nest’ can go as high as 20m in the tree canopy and includes a roof and other comfort elements.

The research group, in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute, observed orangutans for long durations over the course of many years to establish how they were building these structures.

When orangutans were actively watching their mothers making nests, they were likely to follow it up by practicing building their own nests.

However, if the orangutan was distracted while their mother built the nest, they generally did not go on to practice themselves. This highlights the importance of active watching for them to develop this vital skill.

Special attention was usually paid to the more complex parts of nest-making, such as adding the comfort elements.

As they grew older, the orangutans would find new role models to diversify their building knowledge. New role models enabled them to diversify knowledge of tree types, materials and methods.

Caroline Schuppli, senior author of the study fro the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, said: “Aside from learning ‘how to’ build a nest, immature orangutans also appear to learn the ‘know-what’ of which materials to use. The choice of tree species is important, and infants — who primarily peer at their mothers — are more likely to select the same species their mothers use."

“Just like human teenagers finding their own path, maturing orangutans increasingly peer at the nest-building of others and begin experimenting with the tree species those individuals use."

The full study can be found in the journal Nature Communications Biology.

Image © Shutterstock



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