Critically-endangered apes Orangutans have more diverse DNA than humans, a research published in the science journal Nature claims.

Orangutans, the long-armed apes that are found in parts of Southeast Asia, share 97 per cent of genomes with humans. It may be noted here that human and chimpanzee genomes are 99 per cent identical. Thus, among the great apes, Orangutans are the most distant cousins of humans.

Speaking on the topic, evolutionary geneticist and lead author Devin Locke said, “We found that the average orangutan is more diverse - genetically speaking - than the average human.”

In the research, the international team of scientists found that Orangutans’ DNA has remained comparatively unwavering over the last 15 million years. Scientists believe that the new findings could help endangered species’ survival.

Once, tree-dwelling intelligent Orangutans were broadly scattered across Southeast Asia, but currently only two populations of the species remained in the wild (on Indonesian islands).

Around 40,000-50,000 Orangutans live in Borneo, while in Sumatra their population dipped to just 7,000. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) blames human activities, like deforestation and hunting, for the decline in the number of Orangutans.