RSPB Minsmere

RSPB Minsmere is a nature reserve owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) at Minsmere, Suffolk. The 1,000-hectare (2,500-acre) site has been managed by the RSPB since 1947 and covers areas of reed bed, lowland heath, acid grassland, wet grassland, woodland and shingle vegetation. It lies within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Suffolk Heritage Coast area. It is conserved as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Ramsar site.

The nature reserve is managed primarily for bird conservation, particularly through control and improvement of wetland, heath and grassland habitats, with particular emphasis on encouraging nationally uncommon breeding species such as the bittern, stone-curlew, marsh harrier, nightjar and nightingale. The diversity of habitats has also led to a wide variety of other animals and plants being recorded on the site.

Before becoming a nature reserve, the area was the site of an ancient abbey and a Tudor artillery battery. The marshes were reclaimed as farmland in the 19th century, but were re-flooded during World War II as a protection against possible invasion.

The reserve has a visitor centre, eight bird hides and an extensive network of footpaths and trails. Entry is free for RSPB members. Potential future threats to the site include flooding or salination as climate change causes rising sea levels, coastal erosion and possible effects on water levels due to the construction of a new reactor at the neighbouring Sizewell nuclear power stations.

## Landscape

The area around Minsmere consists of the wide valley of the Minsmere River with Dunwich cliffs to the north and Sizewell cliffs to the south. Two extensive sandbanks lie off the coast, and the beach is sand overlain with shingle. The cliffs have a maximum height of about 17 m (56 ft) and are amongst the most rapidly eroding in the UK, at an annual rate of 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft).

From 500 BC to 700 AD, the sea level in Suffolk was about 6 m (20 ft) higher than it is today, and the low-lying areas of the present coast were then tidal estuaries. The river mouth was finally closed in the 18th century as sand and shingle deposits formed off the coast. The higher land consists of a deep layer of gravel and sand, the legacy of the beach formed by the sea before it retreated. The geology of the wetland areas below the topsoil is marine clay with darker freshwater deposits from the Minsmere River.

## History

### Before 1947

In the Domesday Survey in 1086 Minsmere was known as Menesmara or Milsemere. It is recorded as having six households headed by freemen with one plough team. The manor, which was in the Hundred of Blythling, was held by Roger Bigot.

Ranulf de Glanvill, King Henry II's Lord Chief Justice, founded a Premonstratensian abbey on the marshes at Minsmere in 1182. The area was embanked to protect the abbey from the sea and to reclaim farmland, but still suffered several years of severe flooding in the 14th century. The site was abandoned in 1363, and the stone from the buildings was used to rebuild Leiston Abbey at a new location 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi) further inland. The remains of the abbey church, fish pond and other buildings can still be detected below ground, but the only visible structure is the ruined chapel of St Mary, built within the nave of the former church. The lower section of the chapel was built soon after the demolition of the abbey in 1363, and the brick upper parts are thought to have been added by former abbot John Green, who lived there as a hermit when he retired from his post in 1527. The site was abandoned in 1537 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the only further construction being a pillbox that was built inside the chapel during World War II. The ruins are a scheduled monument of national importance.

Peat cutting took place at Minsmere from at least the 12th century, and a 1237 description of the coastline describes Minsmere as a port. In a survey of 1587, an early Tudor period artillery battery, constructed sometime after 1539 at Minsmere, was in ruins; the survey recommended that it be rebuilt. A coastguard station operated at Minsmere in the 1840s in an attempt to control smuggling along this stretch of the coast.

In about 1780 a sandbank closed the mouth of the Minsmere River, creating a large freshwater wetland on its inland side. The reeds that grew there were cut for thatching, and access was improved by using sand from the higher alluvial areas to build tracks across the marshes. These marshes were enclosed and drained for agricultural use in 1812 and 1813, following the passing of the relevant Act in 1810, with the main sluice being built to control drainage to the sea. The New Cut, a canal south of the river, was built as part of the drainage works, joining the river again at the sea sluice. The canal was used to transport the thatch crop inland by barge, its bridges being built particularly high to enable the bulky cargo to pass beneath. The drainage was improved after 1846 using steam-powered pumps. These were made by Richard Garrett & Sons of the Leiston Iron Works.

There were four windmill sites on the levels. The Eastbridge Windpump was a smock mill built in the mid-19th century, probably by the millwright Robert Martin of Beccles. It stood north of the New Cut. The mill worked a three throw pump with square pistons. The windpump was working until 1939 and collapsed in February 1977. The remains were rescued by the Suffolk Mills Group in July 1977 and the mill was rebuilt at the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket in the early 1980s. The Sea Wall Mill stood north of the New Cut but closer to the coast than the Eastbridge Windpump. It was a smock mill built in the early 19th century. The mill worked by wind until it was tailwinded in January 1935, breaking the windshaft and rendering the mill sail-less. The scoopwheel was subsequently worked by a Hupmobile petrol engine, and later by a diesel engine. The mill collapsed in the summer of 1976. A third smock mill stood south of the New Cut and seaward of the ruins of the chapel. Built by the millwright Collins of Melton, it was blown down in the 1920s and a Titt windpump was erected on the site to drive the scoopwheel. This windpump had sails 4.9 metres (16 ft) diameter. Another Titt windpump, with sails 7.6 metres (25 ft) diameter stood 1.6 km (a mile) south of this. Both Titt windpumps were standing in 1938.

The levels were re-flooded during World War II to defend against invasion along the East Anglian coast. Military defences were built at Minsmere and neighbouring Dunwich, including pillboxes, anti-aircraft defences, anti-tank blocks and barbed wire defence lines. The Army also used much of the heathland for military manoeuvres, including preparations for the invasion of continental Europe.

Before the war, the Ogilvie family had owned and managed the area as farmland and as a shooting estate, planting many deciduous trees as part of their hunting management plan. After the war, they decided to leave the marshes undrained, realising their ornithological value.

### RSPB era

The RSPB had been considering the Minsmere site, at that time about 600 hectares (1,500 acres) in extent, as a potential reserve from the late 1930s, and a management agreement was signed in 1947. The appointment of Bert Axell as warden in 1959 led to major changes in reserve management, which were in due course also adopted elsewhere. He realised that ecological succession would eventually lead to the loss of important habitats, such as bare ground on the heaths or open water in the reed beds, unless natural plant colonisation was actively prevented. He created the "scrape", an area with shallow water, islands and bare mud, by lowering land levels and managing the water level with new sluices. A circular path led around the scrape, giving access to hides on each of the four sides. In 1977, two years after Axell's retirement, the RSPB purchased the reserve outright.

The Great Storm of 1987 destroyed 3,000 trees in one night. Many areas were reforested, but it was noticed that other badly affected woodlands nearby were colonised by woodlarks, so some recently acquired arable land was acidified and converted to heathland to encourage open-ground species.

Minsmere is one of a small number of UK sites at which bitterns breed. In 1979, nine booming males were counted but the population at Minsmere has varied over time, reaching a low of only one booming male in 1991. During the 1990s the existing reed beds were managed specifically for bitterns; when grazing marshes known as the North and South Levels were purchased, the North Levels were converted to reed bed and the South Levels to wet grassland.

The Minsmere reserve covers about 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of reed bed, open water, lowland heath, grassland, scrub, woodland, dune and shingle vegetation. The nature reserve, its habitats and wildlife, are protected under UK law as part of Minsmere–Walberswick Heaths and Marshes, which is a Special Protection Area, a Ramsar Site, a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The site is also included in the areas covered by the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the Suffolk Heritage Coast.

## Access and facilities

The reserve is accessible by car from the A12 via the village of Westleton. It is also connected to Route 1 of the Sustrans National Cycle Network by the Suffolk Coast Cycle route. The nearest bus access is in the town of Leiston 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) away and rail access is in Darsham 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) distant. Coastlink, a demand responsive bus service, is available from these places to travel to the reserve but requires booking a day in advance. RSPB Minsmere is accessible on foot from Dunwich Heath, Sizewell Beach and Eastbridge, and there are 19 kilometres (12 mi) of public rights of way around the reserve. Two long-distance walks, the Suffolk Coast Path and the Sandlings Walk, also connect to Minsmere.

The reserve was originally conceived as a protected site for rare breeding birds, and before 1980 permits were needed to visit. Only since 2005 has Minsmere opened every day of the week. The visitor centre was built in 1996 and expanded in 2012 using National Lottery and European Union funding. Visitor access to the various habitats has also been improved. Entry to the reserve is free for RSPB members, although a fee is charged for non-members. The site is open daily from dawn to dusk, year-round. The visitor centre and facilities are open from 9 am to 5 pm with some seasonal variations. The visitor centre provides a café, picnic area, shop, toilets and baby-changing facilities; guided walks, binocular hire and children's 'explorer packs' are also available. Only assistance dogs are allowed within the reserve; all other dogs must be kept within the car park or visitor centre, or on the public rights of way that surround the site.

The reserve was featured in the BBC Birdwatch live TV broadcasts in 1980, 1981 and 1989, and on Springwatch from 2014 to 2016.

## Management

The main management objectives at Minsmere are to maintain and improve the wetland, heath and grassland habitats. Water levels are managed using a system of sluices, surplus water eventually flowing into the sea at the main sluice on the New Cut. The sluices also keep seawater out of the reed beds, allowing control of salinity in the scrape. Vegetation is removed from the lagoons annually, and sections of the scrape are dried out and re-flooded on a five-year rotation. The scrape is protected from predators by an electric fence, improved in 2014 and 2015 when it was realised that badgers were attacking ground-nesting birds. The reed beds are grazed by Konik horses and Highland cattle while they are drained; this helps maintain the boundary between reed beds and open water areas. This control of reed density provides open water feeding pools for bitterns within the reed beds. The grazing regime was instituted following investigations into similar schemes in Sweden and Denmark.

The heathland and acidic grassland areas of Minsmere are managed by grazing, heather and scrub control and removal of trees and unwanted western gorse. The areas of gorse and scrub remaining are cut in rotation to keep the gorse short and dense, providing a scrub structure optimal for nightingales. In 1989, 158 hectares (390 acres) of arable land were purchased in a project to recreate lowland heath and acidic grassland habitat by acidification of the soil, the aim being to join fragmented patches of heathland together and to provide increased habitat for the stone-curlew, woodlark and nightjar, three threatened bird species. Methods used to acidify the land, which had been arable farmland for 150 years, included grazing by sheep or the addition of sulphur, either with bracken and heather waste, or on its own, followed by reseeding.

## Fauna and flora

Minsmere's large size and variety of different habitats, some of which are scarce elsewhere in the UK, make it attractive to many species of animals and plants; around 5800 species have been recorded on the reserve.

### Birds

As of 2017, 342 bird species have been sighted at Minsmere, of which 230 are annual and more than 100 have bred. In the 1990s the bittern was in serious decline with only one booming male on the reserve. Creation of ditches and pools and better water-level management led to 9–12 males being present annually, and application of these techniques elsewhere has revived the fortunes of this species in the UK as a whole. The stone curlew has also benefited from the creation of suitable bare-ground nesting habitat, and the reserve's population is now nearly 10 pairs each year, against a single pair in Suffolk in the mid-1990s. The avocet first started its recolonisation of Britain in 1947, four pairs breeding a month after the reserve was acquired by the RSPB. Numbers at Minsmere now vary between 40 and about 140 pairs per year.

In 1971, the only nesting pair of marsh harriers in the UK were at Minsmere. The population of this polygynous species reached 17 nesting females in 2007, up from the more typical 8 to 10. Other important species are bearded tits, woodlarks, nightjars in open habitats, nightingales in the woodlands, and Dartford warblers, which returned to Minsmere's heaths in the mid-1990s, having been lost to the area six decades earlier.

Many wildfowl winter on the reserve, including wigeon, gadwall and teal, and easterly winds can bring in passage migrants, sometimes in large numbers. These may include uncommon species such as bluethroats, wrynecks and dotterels.

Minsmere's east-coast location and range of habitats make it a major site for rare species. Notable recent occurrences include Great Britain's first western swamphen in 2016, a black-browed albatross in 2015, pallid harrier and collared pratincole in 2014, and Audouin's gull and red-flanked bluetail in 2011.

### Other animals and plants

Mammals found at Minsmere include a herd of about 300 red deer, otters, badgers and water voles, the last being protected by active control of introduced American mink which have led to major declines elsewhere. Other vertebrates include adders, small numbers of natterjack toads and 13 species of fish, of which common rudd is an important food source for bitterns.

Over 1000 species of moths and butterflies have been found at Minsmere, including a large breeding population of the silver-studded blue. Rare species include the scarce tortoiseshell butterfly and Britain's only record of the moth species Catocala coniuncta, now given the English name of "Minsmere crimson underwing". Threatened moths include the flame wainscot, Fenn's wainscot and white-mantled wainscot. The reserve has been colonised by two insect species that are currently expanding their ranges, the European beewolf and the antlion, and it also hosts the hairy-legged mining bee and the minotaur beetle; the latter large insect is a food item for stone-curlews.

Dead and decaying trees in the woodlands support a wide range of invertebrates and over 1500 species of fungus, including rare species such as moor club, deceiving bolete and lion's mane mushroom. The shingle ridges on the beaches hold a variety of uncommon plants including yellow horned-poppy, red-tipped cudweed and round-leaved wintergreen.

## Threats

The Suffolk coast has been subject to incursions from the sea for centuries, particularly notable events being the loss to the sea of most of the once-important town of Dunwich, next to Minsmere, in a series of storms in 1286, 1328 and 1347, and the 1953 storm which caused flooding and destruction in much of eastern England.

Minsmere faces threats from rising sea levels, caused by climate change, which adversely affect the drainage of the reserve and can lead to river flooding. Coastal erosion also threatens the integrity of the reserve. An Environment Agency assessment in 2011 estimated that Dunwich Heath, the beach at Minsmere and the artificial clay bank behind the beach could suffer severe damage within 20 years, although work by the Environment Agency at the north end of the reserve should hold the sea at bay there for 50 years.

The construction of two new reactors at the neighbouring Sizewell nuclear power site may also have a potential impact on the reserve. The RSPB and others have argued that the water table in the marshes could be adversely affected by the adjacent construction, both through contamination and by a change in water levels. There could also be changes to the coastline caused directly or indirectly by the actual construction.

An article written on behalf of the RSPB suggested that any damage to the wetlands at Minsmere is likely to have a major effect on UK bittern numbers since the reserve holds a significant proportion of the national breeding population. In 2018, expansion plans for Sizewell were called into question by National Infrastructure Commission proposals to scale back the nuclear power programme on safety and environmental grounds.

Nature reserve in the United Kingdom

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserves in England


Orangutan

Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus Pongo, orangutans were originally considered to be one species. From 1996, they were divided into two species: the Bornean orangutan (P. pygmaeus, with three subspecies) and the Sumatran orangutan (P. abelii). A third species, the Tapanuli orangutan (P. tapanuliensis), was identified definitively in 2017. The orangutans are the only surviving species of the subfamily Ponginae, which diverged genetically from the other hominids (gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans) between 19.3 and 15.7 million years ago.

The most arboreal of the great apes, orangutans spend most of their time in trees. They have proportionally long arms and short legs, and have reddish-brown hair covering their bodies. Adult males weigh about 75 kg (165 lb), while females reach about 37 kg (82 lb). Dominant adult males develop distinctive cheek pads or flanges and make long calls that attract females and intimidate rivals; younger subordinate males do not and more resemble adult females. Orangutans are the most solitary of the great apes: social bonds occur primarily between mothers and their dependent offspring. Fruit is the most important component of an orangutan's diet; but they will also eat vegetation, bark, honey, insects and bird eggs. They can live over 30 years, both in the wild and in captivity.

Orangutans are among the most intelligent primates. They use a variety of sophisticated tools and construct elaborate sleeping nests each night from branches and foliage. The apes' learning abilities have been studied extensively. There may be distinctive cultures within populations. Orangutans have been featured in literature and art since at least the 18th century, particularly in works that comment on human society. Field studies of the apes were pioneered by primatologist Birutė Galdikas and they have been kept in captive facilities around the world since at least the early 19th century.

All three orangutan species are considered critically endangered. Human activities have caused severe declines in populations and ranges. Threats to wild orangutan populations include poaching (for bushmeat and retaliation for consuming crops), habitat destruction and deforestation (for palm oil cultivation and logging), and the illegal pet trade. Several conservation and rehabilitation organisations are dedicated to the survival of orangutans in the wild.

## Etymology

The name "orangutan" (also written orang-utan, orang utan, orangutang, and ourang-outang) is derived from the Malay words orang, meaning "person", and hutan, meaning "forest". The locals originally used the name to refer to actual forest-dwelling human beings, but the word underwent a semantic extension to include apes of the Pongo genus at an early stage in the history of Malay.

The word orangutan appears in its older form urangutan, in a variety of premodern sources in the Old Javanese language. The earliest of these is the Kakawin Ramayana, a ninth-century or early tenth-century Javanese adaption of the Sanskrit Ramayana. In these Old Javanese sources, the word urangutan refers only to apes and not to forest-dwelling human beings. The word was not originally Javanese, but was borrowed from an early Malayic language at least a thousand years ago. Hence the ultimate origin of the term "orangutan" as denoting the Pongo ape was most likely Old Malay.

In Western sources, the first printed attestation of the word for the apes is in Dutch physician Jacobus Bontius' 1631 Historiae naturalis et medicae Indiae orientalis. He reported that Malays had informed him the ape could talk, but preferred not to "lest he be compelled to labour". The word appeared in several German-language descriptions of Indonesian zoology in the 17th century. It has been argued that the word comes specifically from the Banjarese variety of Malay, but the age of the Old Javanese sources mentioned above make Old Malay a more likely origin for the term. Cribb and colleagues (2014) suggest that Bontius' account referred not to apes (as this description was from Java where the apes were not known from) but to humans suffering some serious medical condition (most likely cretinism) and that his use of the word was misunderstood by Nicolaes Tulp, who was the first to use the term in a publication a decade later.

The word was first attested in English in 1693 by physician John Bulwer in the form Orang-Outang, and variants ending with -ng are found in many languages. This spelling (and pronunciation) has remained in use in English up to the present but has come to be regarded as incorrect. The loss of "h" in utan and the shift from -ng to -n has been taken to suggest the term entered English through Portuguese. In Malay, the term was first attested in 1840, not as an indigenous name but referring to how the English called the animal. The word 'orangutan' in Malay and Indonesian today was borrowed from English or Dutch in the 20th century—explaining why the initial 'h' of 'hutan' is also missing.

The name of the genus, Pongo, comes from a 16th-century account by Andrew Battel, an English sailor held prisoner by the Portuguese in Angola, which describes two anthropoid "monsters" named Pongo and Engeco. He is now believed to have been describing gorillas, but in the 18th century, the terms orangutan and pongo were used for all great apes. French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède used the term Pongo for the genus in 1799. Battel's "Pongo", in turn, is from the Kongo word mpongi or other cognates from the region: Lumbu pungu, Vili mpungu, or Yombi yimpungu.

## Taxonomy and phylogeny

The orangutan was first described scientifically in 1758 in the Systema Naturae of Carl Linnaeus as Homo troglodytes. It was renamed Simia pygmaeus in 1760 by his student Christian Emmanuel Hopp and given the name Pongo by Lacépède in 1799. The populations on the two islands were suggested to be separate species when P. abelii was described by French naturalist René Lesson in 1827. In 2001, P. abelii was confirmed as a full species based on molecular evidence published in 1996, and three distinct populations on Borneo were elevated to subspecies (P. p. pygmaeus, P. p. morio and P. p. wurmbii). The description in 2017 of a third species, P. tapanuliensis, from Sumatra south of Lake Toba, came with a surprising twist: it is more closely related to the Bornean species, P. pygmaeus than to its fellow Sumatran species, P. abelii.

The Sumatran orangutan genome was sequenced in January 2011. Following humans and chimpanzees, the Sumatran orangutan became the third species of great ape to have its genome sequenced. Subsequently, the Bornean species had its genome sequenced. Bornean orangutans (P. pygmaeus) have less genetic diversity than in Sumatran ones (P. abelii), despite populations being six to seven times higher in Borneo. The researchers hope these data may help conservationists preserve the endangered ape, as well as learn more about human genetic diseases. Similarly to gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans have 48 diploid chromosomes, in contrast to humans, which have 46.

According to molecular evidence, within apes (superfamily Hominoidea), the gibbons diverged during the early Miocene between 24.1 and 19.7 million years ago (mya), and the orangutans diverged from the African great ape lineage between 19.3 and 15.7 mya. Israfil and colleagues (2011) estimated based on mitochondrial, Y-linked, and X-linked loci that the Sumatran and Bornean species diverged 4.9 to 2.9 mya. By contrast, the 2011 genome study suggested that these two species diverged as recently as circa 400,000 years ago. The study also found that orangutans evolved at a slower pace than both chimpanzees and humans. A 2017 genome study found that the Bornean and Tapanuli orangutans diverged from Sumatran orangutans about 3.4 mya, and from each other around 2.4 mya. Millions of years ago, orangutans travelled from mainland Asia to Sumatra and then Borneo as the islands were connected by land bridges during the recent glacial periods when sea levels were much lower. The present range of Tapanuli orangutans is thought to be close to where ancestral orangutans first entered what is now Indonesia from mainland Asia.

### Fossil record

The three orangutan species are the only extant members of the subfamily Ponginae. This subfamily also includes extinct apes such as Lufengpithecus, which occurred 8–2 mya in southern China and Thailand. Indopithecus, which lived in India from 9.2 to 8.6 mya; and Sivapithecus, which lived in India and Pakistan from 12.5 mya until 8.5 mya. These animals likely lived in drier and cooler environments than orangutans do today. Khoratpithecus piriyai, which lived 5–7 mya in Thailand, is believed to be the closest known relative of the living orangutans and inhabited similar environments. The largest known primate, Gigantopithecus, was also a member of Ponginae and lived in China, from 2 mya to 300,000 years ago.

The oldest known record of Pongo is from the Early Pleistocene of Chongzuo, consisting of teeth ascribed to extinct species P. weidenreichi. Pongo is found as part of the faunal complex in the Pleistocene cave assemblage in Vietnam, alongside Giganopithecus, though it is known only from teeth. Some fossils described under the name P. hooijeri have been found in Vietnam, and multiple fossil subspecies have been described from several parts of southeastern Asia. It is unclear if these belong to P. pygmaeus or P. abelii or, in fact, represent distinct species. During the Pleistocene, Pongo had a far more extensive range than at present, extending throughout Sundaland and mainland Southeast Asia and South China. Teeth of orangutans are known from Peninsular Malaysia that date to 60,000 years ago. The youngest remains from South China, which are teeth assigned to P. weidenreichi, date to between 66 and 57,000 years ago. The range of orangutans had contracted significantly by the end of the Pleistocene, most likely because of the reduction of forest habitat during the Last Glacial Maximum.Though they may have survived into the Holocene in Cambodia and Vietnam.

## Characteristics

Orangutans display significant sexual dimorphism; females typically stand 115 cm (3 ft 9 in) tall and weigh around 37 kg (82 lb), while adult males stand 137 cm (4 ft 6 in) tall and weigh 75 kg (165 lb). Compared to humans, they have proportionally long arms, a male orangutan having an arm span of about 2 m (6.6 ft), and short legs. They are covered in long reddish hair that starts out bright orange and darkens to maroon or chocolate with age, while the skin is grey-black. Though largely hairless, males' faces can develop some hair, giving them a beard.

Orangutans have small ears and noses; the ears are unlobed. The mean endocranial volume is 397 cm3. The cranium is elevated relative to the face, which is incurved and prognathous. Compared to chimpanzees and gorillas, the brow ridge of an orangutan is underdeveloped. Females and juveniles have relatively circular skulls and thin faces while mature males have a prominent sagittal crest, large cheek pads or flanges, extensive throat pouches and long canines. The cheek pads are made mostly of fatty tissue and are supported by the musculature of the face. The throat pouches act as resonance chambers for making long calls.

Orangutan hands have four long fingers but a dramatically shorter opposable thumb for a strong grip on branches as they travel high in the trees. The resting configuration of the fingers is curved, creating a suspensory hook grip. With the thumb out of the way, the fingers (and hands) can grip securely around objects with a small diameter by resting the tops of the fingers against the inside of the palm, thus creating a double-locked grip. Their feet have four long toes and an opposable big toe, giving them hand-like dexterity. The hip joints also allow for their legs to rotate similarly to their arms and shoulders.

Orangutans move through the trees by both vertical climbing and suspension. Compared to other great apes, they infrequently descend to the ground where they are more cumbersome. Unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans are not true knuckle-walkers, instead bending their digits and walking on the sides of their hands and feet.

Compared to their relatives in Borneo, Sumatran orangutans are more slender with paler and longer hair and a longer face. Tapanuli orangutans resemble Sumatran orangutans more than Bornean orangutans in body build and hair colour. They have shaggier hair, smaller skulls, and flatter faces than the other two species.

## Ecology and behaviour

Orangutans are mainly arboreal and inhabit tropical rainforest, particularly lowland dipterocarp and old secondary forest. Populations are more concentrated near riverside habitats, such as freshwater and peat swamp forest, while drier forests away from the flooded areas have less apes. Population density also decreases at higher elevations. Orangutans occasionally enter grasslands, cultivated fields, gardens, young secondary forest, and shallow lakes.

Most of the day is spent feeding, resting, and travelling. They start the day feeding for two to three hours in the morning. They rest during midday, then travel in the late afternoon. When evening arrives, they prepare their nests for the night. Potential predators of orangutans include tigers, clouded leopards and wild dogs. The most common orangutan parasites are nematodes of the genus Strongyloides and the ciliate Balantidium coli. Among Strongyloides, the species S. fuelleborni and S. stercoralis are reported in young individuals. Orangutans also use the plant species Dracaena cantleyi as an anti-inflammatory balm. Captive animals may suffer an upper respiratory tract disease.

### Diet and feeding

Orangutans are primarily fruit-eaters, which can take up 57–80% of their foraging time. Even during times of scarcity, fruit is 16% of their feeding time. Fruits with soft pulp, arils or seed-walls are consumed the most, particularly figs but also drupes and berries. Orangutans are thought to be the sole fruit disperser for some plant species including the vine species Strychnos ignatii which contains the toxic alkaloid strychnine.

Orangutans also include leaves in their diet, which take up 25% of their average foraging time. Leaves are eaten more when fruit is less available, but even during times of fruit abundance, orangutans will eat leaves 11–20% of the time. They appear to depend on the leaf and stem material of Borassodendron borneensis during times of low fruit abundance. Other food items consumed by the apes include bark, honey, bird eggs, insects and small vertebrates including slow lorises.

In some areas, orangutans may practise geophagy, which involves consuming soil and other earth substances. They will uproot soil from the ground as well as eat shelter tubes from tree trunks. Orangutans also visit the sides of cliffs or earth depressions for their mineral licks. Orangutans may eat soils for their anti-toxic kaolin minerals, since their diet contains toxic tannins and phenolic acids.

### Social life

The social structure of the orangutan can be best described as solitary but social; they live a more solitary lifestyle than the other great apes. Bornean orangutans are generally more solitary than Sumatran orangutans. Most social bonds occur between adult females and their dependent and weaned offspring. Resident females live with their offspring in defined home ranges that overlap with those of other adult females, which may be their immediate relatives. One to several resident female home ranges are encompassed within the home range of a resident male, who is their main mating partner. Interactions between adult females range from friendly to avoidance to antagonistic. Flanged males are hostile to both other flanged males and unflanged males, while unflanged males are more peaceful towards each other.

Orangutans disperse and establish their home ranges by age 11. Females tend to live near their birth range, while males disperse farther but may still visit their birth range within their larger home range. They enter a transient phase, which lasts until a male can challenge and displace a dominant, resident male from his home range. Both resident and transient orangutans aggregate on large fruiting trees to feed. The fruits tend to be abundant, so competition is low and individuals may engage in social interactions. Orangutans will also form travelling groups with members moving between different food sources. They are often consortships between an adult male and a female. Social grooming is uncommon among orangutans.

### Communication

Orangutans communicate with various vocals and sounds. Males will make long calls, both to attract females and to advertise themselves to other males. These calls have three components; they begin with grumbles, peak with pulses and end with bubbles. Both sexes will try to intimidate conspecifics with a series of low frequency noises known collectively as the "rolling call". When uncomfortable, an orangutan will produce a "kiss squeak", which involves sucking in air through pursed lips. Mothers produce throatscrapes to keep in contact with their offspring. Infants make soft hoots when distressed. When building a nest, orangutans will produce smacks or blow raspberries. Orangutan calls display consonant- and vowel-like components and they maintain their meaning over great distances.

Mother orangutans and offspring also use several different gestures and expressions such as beckoning, stomping, lower lip pushing, object shaking and "presenting" a body part. These communicate goals such as "acquire object", "climb on me", "climb on you", "climb over", "move away", "play change: decrease intensity", "resume play" and "stop that".

### Reproduction and development

Males become sexually mature at around age 15. They may exhibit arrested development by not developing the distinctive cheek pads, pronounced throat pouches, long fur, or long calls until a resident dominant male is absent. The transformation from unflanged to flanged can occur quickly. Flanged males attract females in oestrous with their characteristic long calls, which may also suppress development in younger males.

Unflanged males wander widely in search of oestrous females and upon finding one, will force copulation on her, the occurrence of which is unusually high among mammals. Females prefer to mate with the fitter flanged males, forming pairs with them and benefiting from their protection. Non-ovulating females do not usually resist copulation with unflanged males, as the chance of conception is low. Homosexual behaviour has been recorded in the context of both affiliative and aggressive interactions.

Unlike females of other non-human great ape species, orangutans do not exhibit sexual swellings to signal fertility. A female first gives birth around 15 years of age and they have a six to nine year interbirth interval, the longest among the great apes. Gestation is around nine months long and infants are born at a weight of 1.5–2 kg (3.3–4.4 lb). Usually only a single infant is born; twins are a rare occurrence. Unlike many other primates, male orangutans do not seem to practise infanticide. This may be because they cannot ensure they will sire a female's next offspring, because she does not immediately begin ovulating again after her infant dies. There is evidence that females with offspring under six years old generally avoid adult males.

Females do most of the caring of the young. The mother will carry the infant while travelling, suckle it and sleep with it. During its first four months, the infant is almost never without physical contact and clings to its mother's belly. In the following months, the amount of physical contact the infant has with its mother declines. When an orangutan reaches the age of one-and-a-half years, its climbing skills improve and it will travel through the canopy holding hands with other orangutans, a behaviour known as "buddy travel". After two years of age, juvenile orangutans will begin to move away from their mothers temporarily. They reach adolescence at six or seven years of age and are able to live alone but retain some connections with their mothers. Females may nurse their offspring for up to eight years, which is more than any mammal. Typically, orangutans live over 30 years both in the wild and in captivity.

### Nesting

Orangutans build nests specialised for either day or night use. These are carefully constructed; young orangutans learn from observing their mother's nest-building behaviour. In fact, nest-building allows young orangutans to become less dependent on their mother. From six months of age onwards, orangutans practise nest-building and gain proficiency by the time they are three years old.

Construction of a night nest is done by following a sequence of steps. Initially, a suitable tree is located. Orangutans are choosy about sites, though nests can be found in many tree species. To establish a foundation, the ape grabs the large branches under it and bends them so they join together. The orangutan then does the same to smaller, leafier branches to create a "mattress". After this, the ape stands and braids the tips of branches into the mattress. Doing this increases the stability of the nest. Orangutans make their nests more comfortable by creating "pillows", "blankets", "roofs" and "bunk-beds".

## Intelligence

Orangutans are among the most intelligent non-human primates. Experiments suggest they can track the displacement of objects both visible and hidden. Zoo Atlanta has a touch-screen computer on which their two Sumatran orangutans play games. A 2008 study of two orangutans at the Leipzig Zoo showed orangutans may practise "calculated reciprocity", which involves an individual aiding another with the expectation of being paid back. Orangutans are the first nonhuman species documented to do so.

In a 1997 study, two captive adult orangutans were tested with the cooperative pulling paradigm. Without any training, the orangutans succeeded in pulling off an object to get food in the first session. Over the course of 30 sessions, the apes succeeded more quickly, having learned to coordinate. An adult orangutan has been documented to pass the mirror test, indicating self-awareness. Mirror tests with a 2-year-old orangutan failed to reveal self-recognition.

Studies in the wild indicate that flanged male orangutans plan their movements in advance and signal them to other individuals. Experiments have also suggested that orangutans can communicate about things that are not present: mother orangutans remain silent in the presence of a perceived threat but when it passes, the mother produces an alarm call to their offspring to teach them about the danger. Orangutans and other great apes show laughter-like vocalisations in response to physical contact such as wrestling, play chasing or tickling. This suggests that laughter derived from a common origin among primate species and therefore evolved before the origin of humans. Orangutans can learn to mimic new sounds by purposely controlling the vibrations of their vocal folds, a trait that led to speech in humans. Bonnie, an orangutan at the US National Zoo, was recorded spontaneously whistling after hearing a caretaker. She appears to whistle without expecting a food reward.

### Tool use and culture

Tool use in orangutans was observed by primatologist Birutė Galdikas in ex-captive populations. Orangutans in Suaq Balimbing were recorded to develop a tool kit for use in foraging which consisted of both insect-extraction sticks for use in the hollows of trees and seed-extraction sticks for harvesting seeds from hard-husked fruit. The orangutans adjusted their tools according to the task at hand, and preference was given to oral tool use. This preference was also found in an experimental study of captive orangutans. Orangutans have been observed to use sticks to poke at catfish, causing them to leap out of the water so the orangutan can grab them. Orangutan have also been documented to keep tools for later. When building a nest, orangutans appear to be able to determine which branches would better support their body weight.

Primatologist Carel P. van Schaik and biological anthropologist Cheryl D. Knott further investigated tool use in different wild orangutan populations. They compared geographic variations in tool use related to the processing of Neesia fruit. The orangutans of Suaq Balimbing were found to be avid users of insect and seed-extraction tools when compared to other wild orangutans. The scientists suggested these differences are cultural as they do not correlate with habitat. The orangutans at Suaq Balimbing are closely spaced and relatively tolerant of each other; this creates favourable conditions for the spreading of new behaviours. Further evidence that highly social orangutans are more likely to exhibit cultural behaviours came from a study of leaf-carrying behaviours of formerly captive orangutans that were being rehabilitated on the island of Kaja in Borneo.

Wild orangutans in Tuanan, Borneo, were reported to use tools in acoustic communication. They use leaves to amplify the kiss squeak sounds they produce. The apes may employ this method of amplification to deceive the listener into believing they are larger animals. In 2003, researchers from six different orangutan field sites who used the same behavioural coding scheme compared the behaviours of the animals from each site. They found each orangutan population used different tools. The evidence suggested the differences were cultural: first, the extent of the differences increased with distance, suggesting cultural diffusion was occurring, and second, the size of the orangutans' cultural repertoire increased according to the amount of social contact present within the group. Social contact facilitates cultural transmission.

### Personhood

In June 2008, Spain would become the first country to recognise the rights of some non-human great apes, based on the guidelines of the Great Ape Project, which are that chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas not to be used for animal experiments. In December 2014, a court in Argentina ruled that an orangutan named Sandra at the Buenos Aires Zoo must be moved to a sanctuary in Brazil to provide her "partial or controlled freedom". Sandra has since been relocated to The Center for Great Apes in the United States, as it is the only accredited orangutan sanctuary in the American Continent. Animal rights groups like Great Ape Project Argentina argued the ruling should apply to all species in captivity, and legal specialists from the Argentina's Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassatio considered the ruling applicable only to non-human hominids.

## Orangutans and humans

Orangutans were known to the native people of Sumatra and Borneo for millennia. The apes are known as maias in Sarawak and mawas in other parts of Borneo and in Sumatra. While some communities hunted them for food and decoration, others placed taboos on such practices. In central Borneo, some traditional folk beliefs consider it bad luck to look an orangutan in the face. Some folk tales involve orangutans mating with and kidnapping humans. There are even stories of hunters being captured by female orangutans.

Europeans became aware of the existence of the orangutan in the 17th century. Explorers in Borneo hunted them extensively during the 19th century. In 1779, Dutch anatomist Petrus Camper, who observed the animals and dissected some specimens, gave the first scientific description of the orangutan. Camper mistakenly thought that flanged and unflanged male orangutans were different species, a misconception corrected after his death.

Little was known about orangutan behaviour until the field studies of Birutė Galdikas, who became a leading authority on the apes. When she arrived in Borneo in 1971, Galdikas settled into a primitive bark-and-thatch hut at a site she dubbed Camp Leakey, in Tanjung Puting. She studied orangutans for the next four years and developed her PhD thesis for UCLA. Galdikas became an outspoken advocate for orangutans and the preservation of their rainforest habitat, which is rapidly being devastated by loggers, palm oil plantations, gold miners, and unnatural forest fires. Along with Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, Galdikas is considered to be one of Leakey's Angels, named after anthropologist Louis Leakey.

### In fiction

Orangutans first appeared in Western fiction in the 18th century and have been used to comment on human society. Written by the pseudonymous A. Ardra, Tintinnabulum naturae (The Bell of Nature, 1772) is told from the point of view of a human-orangutan hybrid who calls himself the "metaphysician of the woods". Around 50 years later, the anonymously written work The Orang Outang is narrated by a pure orangutan in captivity in the US, writing a letter critiquing Boston society to her friend in Java.

Thomas Love Peacock's 1817 novel Melincourt features Sir Oran Haut Ton, an orangutan who lives among English people and becomes a candidate for Member of Parliament. The novel satirises the class and political system of Britain. Oran's purity and status as a "natural man" stand in contrast to the immorality and corruption of the "civilised" humans. In Frank Challice Constable's The Curse of Intellect (1895), the protagonist Reuben Power travels to Borneo and captures an orangutan to train it to speak so he can "know what a beast like that might think of us". Orangutans are featured prominently in the 1963 science fiction novel Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle and the media franchise derived from it. They are typically portrayed as bureaucrats like Dr. Zaius, the science minister.

Orangutans are sometimes portrayed as antagonists, notably in the 1832 Walter Scott novel Count Robert of Paris and the 1841 Edgar Allan Poe short story The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Disney's 1967 animated musical adaptation of The Jungle Book added a jazzy orangutan named King Louie, who tries to get Mowgli to teach him how to make fire. The 1986 horror film Link features an intelligent orangutan which serves a university professor but has sinister motives; he plots against humanity and stalks a female student assistant. Other stories have portrayed orangutans helping humans, such as The Librarian in Terry Pratchett's fantasy novels Discworld and in Dale Smith's 2004 novel What the Orangutan Told Alice. More comical portrayals of the orangutan include the 1996 film Dunston Checks In.

### In captivity

By the early 19th century, orangutans were being kept in captivity. In 1817, an orangutan joined several other animals in London's Exeter Exchange. The ape was recorded to have rejected the company of other animals, aside from a dog, and preferred to be with humans. He was occasionally taken on coach rides clothed in a smock-frock and hat and even given drinks at an inn where he behaved politely for the hosts. The London Zoo housed a female orangutan named Jenny who was dressed in human clothing and learned to drink tea. She is remembered for her meeting with Charles Darwin who compared her reactions to those of a human child.

Zoos and circuses in the Western world would continue to use orangutans and other simians as sources for entertainment, training them to behave like humans at tea parties and to perform tricks. Notable orangutan "character actors" include Jacob and Rosa of the Tierpark Hagenbeck in the early 20th century, Joe Martin of Universal City Zoo in the 1910s and 1920s, and Jiggs of the San Diego Zoo in the 1930s and 1940s. Animal rights groups have urged a stop to such acts, considering them abusive. Starting in the 1960s, zoos became more concerned with education and orangutans exhibits were designed to mimic their natural environment and displayed their natural behaviours.

Ken Allen, an orangutan of the San Diego Zoo, became world famous in the 1980s for multiple escapes from his enclosures. He was nicknamed "the hairy Houdini" and was the subject of a fan club, T-shirts, bumper stickers and a song titled The Ballad of Ken Allen.

Galdikas reported that her cook was sexually assaulted by a captive male orangutan. The ape may have suffered from a skewed species identity and forced copulation is a standard mating strategy for low-ranking male orangutans. American animal trafficker Frank Buck claimed to have seen human mothers acting as wet nurses to orphaned orangutan babies in hopes of keeping them alive long enough to sell to a trader, which would be an instance of human–animal breastfeeding.

## Conservation

### Status and threats

All three species are critically endangered according to the IUCN Red List of mammals. They are legally protected from capture, harm or killing in both Malaysia and Indonesia, and are listed under Appendix I by CITES, which prohibits their unlicensed trade under international law. The Bornean orangutan range has become more fragmented, with few or no apes documented in the southeast. The largest remaining population is found in the forest around the Sabangau River, but this environment is at risk. The Sumatran orangutan is found only in the northern part of Sumatra, most of the population inhabiting the Leuser Ecosystem. The Tapanuli orangutan is found only in the Batang Toru forest of Sumatra.

Birutė Galdikas wrote that orangutans were already threatened by poaching and deforestation when she began studying them in 1971. By the 2000s, orangutan habitats decreased rapidly because of logging, mining and fragmentation by roads. A major factor has been the conversion of vast areas of tropical forest to palm oil plantations in response to international demand. Hunting is also a major problem, as is the illegal pet trade.

Orangutans may be killed for the bushmeat trade and bones are secretly sold in souvenir shops in several cities in Indonesian Borneo. Conflicts between locals and orangutans also pose a threat. Orangutans that have lost their homes often raid agricultural areas and end up being killed by villagers. Locals may also be motivated to kill orangutans for food or because of their perceived danger. Mother orangutans are killed so their infants can be sold as pets. Between 2012 and 2017, the Indonesian authorities, with the aid of the Orangutan Information Center, seized 114 orangutans, 39 of which were pets.

Estimates in the 2000s found that around 6,500 Sumatran orangutans and around 54,000 Bornean orangutans remain in the wild. A 2016 study estimates a population of 14,613 Sumatran orangutans in the wild, twice that of previous population estimates, while 2016 estimates suggest 104,700 Bornean orangutans exist in the wild. A 2018 study found that Bornean orangutans declined by 148,500 individuals from 1999 to 2015. Fewer than 800 Tapanuli orangutans are estimated to still exist, which puts the species among the most endangered of the great apes.

### Conservation centres and organisations

Several organisations are working for the rescue, rehabilitation and reintroduction of orangutans. The largest of these is the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation, founded by conservationist Willie Smits and which operates projects such as the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Program founded by conservationist Lone Drøscher Nielsen.

A female orangutan was rescued from a village brothel in Kareng Pangi village, Central Kalimantan, in 2003. The orangutan was shaved and chained for sexual purposes. Since being freed, the orangutan, named Pony, has been living with the BOS. She has been re-socialised to live with other orangutans. In May 2017, the BOS rescued an albino orangutan from captivity in a remote village in Kapuas Hulu, on the island of Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo. According to volunteers at BOS, albino orangutans are extremely rare (one in ten thousand). This is the first albino orangutan the organisation has seen in 25 years of activity.

Other major conservation centres in Indonesia include those at Tanjung Puting National Park, Sebangau National Park, Gunung Palung National Park and Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park in Borneo and the Gunung Leuser National Park and Bukit Lawang in Sumatra. In Malaysia, conservation areas include Semenggoh Wildlife Centre and Matang Wildlife Centre also in Sarawak, and the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary in Sabah. Major conservation centres headquartered outside the orangutans' home countries include Frankfurt Zoological Society, Orangutan Foundation International, which was founded by Galdikas, and the Australian Orangutan Project. Conservation organisations such as the Orangutan Land Trust work with the palm oil industry to improve sustainability and encourages the industry to establish conservation areas for orangutans.

## See also

- International Primate Day
- List of individual apes
- Monkey Day
- Orang Pendek
- Orangutan Island
- Skullduggery (1970 film)

Genus of Asian apes

Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède


Hurricane Odile

Hurricane Odile is tied for the most intense landfalling tropical cyclone in the Baja California Peninsula during the satellite era. Sweeping across the peninsula in September 2014, Odile inflicted widespread damage, particularly in the state of Baja California Sur, in addition to causing lesser impacts on the Mexican mainland and Southwestern United States. The precursor to Odile developed into a tropical depression south of Mexico on September 10 and quickly reached tropical storm strength. After meandering for several days, Odile began to track northwestward, intensifying to hurricane status before rapidly reaching its Category 4 hurricane peak intensity on September 14. The cyclone slightly weakened before making landfall near Cabo San Lucas with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h). Odile gradually weakened as it tracked across the length of the Baja California Peninsula, briefly crossing into the Gulf of California before degenerating into a remnant system on September 17. These remnants tracked northeastward across the Southwestern United States before they were no longer identifiable on September 19.

Initially, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast that Odile would track westward and avoid land as it would curve out to sea. Accordingly, the local governments of southwestern Mexico initially posted minor weather alerts. Precautionary measures on the Baja California Peninsula began in earnest after Odile unexpectedly took a direct course towards the peninsula. Several municipalities declared a state of emergency, opening 164 shelters with a total capacity of 30,000 people. Due to the unanticipated threat of Odile, approximately 26,000 foreign tourists were stranded on the peninsula at the time of landfall.

In Odile's developmental stage, its heavy rainfall and storm surge inflicted minor coastal damage across southwestern Mexico and three deaths in Oaxaca and Jalisco. The most significant storm impacts occurred on the Baja California Peninsula, where damages amounted to MXN\$16.6 billion (US\$1.25 billion). Power outages spurred by Odile's intense winds and rain cut electricity to 92% of the population of Baja California Sur. Severe flooding also occurred, causing rivers to swell and the mass evacuation of people out of hazardous low-lying areas. The remnants of Odile brought rains and unseasonably powerful thunderstorms to the southwestern United States. In total, Odile led to the deaths of 18 people throughout its nine-day existence.

## Meteorological history

Hurricane Odile originated from a tropical wave that exited the African Coast on August 28. Shower activity along the wave axis remained poorly organized until it crossed Central America on September 3. On the next day, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) indicated the possibility for this wave to develop into a low-pressure area south of Mexico and later a tropical cyclone. By September 7, a large area of thunderstorms developed in association with the wave; the broad system slowly progressed westward and gradually organized over the next few days. At 00:00 UTC on September 9, a surface low developed roughly 265 mi (425 km) south-southeast of Acapulco. This low became better defined over the next 24 hours as it tracked northwestward; the NHC determined that the disturbance had become sufficiently organized to be classified as a tropical depression at 00:00 UTC on September 10. A continued increase in thunderstorms and organization prompted the NHC to upgrade the system to tropical storm status six hours after formation, designating the system with the name Odile.

Further intensification was slowed because of strong wind shear, which caused the storm's center of circulation to be displaced from the bulk of convection. Due to the lack of atmospheric steering currents at the time, Odile assumed a slow, meandering course towards the west. Continued wind shear caused the tropical storm to become disorganized on September 11 before abating on September 12, allowing for thunderstorms to rebuild over Odile's circulation center. The relaxed wind shear enabled the growth of intense rainbands encircling the tropical cyclone as well as improved outflow aloft. The following day, Odile quickly attained a large central dense overcast; in accordance with Dvorak-derived satellite intensity estimates, the NHC upgraded the storm to hurricane intensity.

Upon being classified as a hurricane on September 13, Odile began to accelerate towards the north-northwest in the direction of the Baja California Peninsula under the influence of both a strengthening mid-level ridge over the Gulf of Mexico and an upper-level low to the northwest. Following the formation of an eye, Odile began a phase of rapid intensification. Odile attained Category 2 intensity on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale at 00:00 UTC on September 14. Six hours later, the cyclone had reached Category 4 intensity with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 918 mbar (hPa; 27.11 inHg), a pressure typical for a Category 5 hurricane. At the time, this pressure reading was tied for the sixth-lowest on record for an east Pacific hurricane. Even though additional deepening was forecast, strengthening leveled off thereafter as an eyewall replacement cycle, common in intense hurricanes, began to run its course. Despite the leveling off in intensity, a United States Air Force aircraft reconnaissance flight observed a barometric pressure of 922 mbar (hPa; 27.23 inHg); this measurement was the lowest pressure reading officially measured throughout Odile's existence. Nonetheless, the eroding of the hurricane's inner core due to the eyewall replacement cycle resulted in gradual weakening after peak intensity. Still maintaining its north-northwesterly course with little deviation, Odile made landfall near Cabo San Lucas at 04:45 UTC on September 15 with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h) and a central pressure of 941 mbar (hPa; 27.79 inHg). The wind estimates tie Odile with Hurricane Olivia in 1967 as the strongest tropical cyclone to move ashore Baja California Sur in the satellite era.

Despite the presence of land, only gradual weakening occurred initially after Odile made landfall. However, a combination of increasingly southwesterly wind shear and the Baja California Peninsula's mountainous terrain began to take its toll on the hurricane, weakening it to a tropical storm by September 16. Although the storm's convection was thinning out, Odile retained a well-organized satellite appearance and occasional bursts of thunderstorm activity. On September 17, a nearby mid-level ridge steered the system slowly northeastward, moving Odile into the Gulf of California as a moderate tropical storm. Despite the very warm waters, the emergence of wind shear and land interaction offset otherwise favorable conditions. Odile continued to weaken as its convection sped northeastwards into Mexico and the southwestern United States. After turning northward and then northeastward in response to a mid-latitude trough, Odile moved inland over the northern part of the Mexican state of Sonora about near Alvaro Obregón as a marginal tropical storm. By doing so, Odile became the first tropical storm to make landfall north of 30°N in Mexico since Hurricane Nora of 1997. At 21:00 UTC on September 17, the NHC determined that the tropical storm had degenerated into a remnant area of low-pressure inland over northwestern mainland Mexico. The remnant circulation of Odile continued to track northeastward, entering extreme southeastern Arizona by 09:00 UTC on September 18. This circulation dissipated by September 19, just east of the border between Arizona and New Mexico, leaving behind a marked mass of thunderstorms which persisted across the region for the next several days.

## Preparations

Shortly after designation, a "yellow" alert was issued for western Michoacán, while a "green" alert was issued for the rest of the state, Colima, and Jalisco. Meanwhile, a "blue" alert was in effect for Nayarit, Oaxaca, and Guerrero. On September 11, the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional issued a tropical storm watch from Lazaro Cardenas to Manzanillo. The watch was gradually extended northward as Odile paralleled the coast, and was briefly upgraded into a tropical storm warning on September 14.

At 09:00 UTC September 13, a tropical storm watch was declared from La Paz, Baja California Sur to Santa Fe. At this time, all dynamical models kept this system far offshore, so Odile was only expected to pose a slight threat to the area. However, at 21:00 UTC, as the guidance rapidly shifted left, a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch was declared for the southern portion of the peninsula. At 03:00 UTC September 14, a little under 26 hours prior to its first landfall, a hurricane warning was declared. Meanwhile, the Baja California Peninsula was placed under "red" (maximum) alert. The aforementioned warnings and watches were gradually extended north as the storm progressed inland, before finally being cancelled after moving inland mainland Mexico on September 17.

Following the sudden shift in the projected track, a state of emergency was declared on September 14 in La Paz, Los Cabos, Comondú, Loreto and Mulegé. In Cabo San Lucas, 2,100 marine workers were set up to start evacuations. In La Paz, classes were suspended. Throughout the peninsula, 164 shelters were opened capable of harboring 30,000 people, but only 3,500 persons used these shelters. At the time of landfall, hotels in the state were at 46% of capacity, equal to 30,000 tourists, 26,000 of whom were foreigners. The ports of La Paz, Los Cabos, San José del Cabo, and Loreto were closed. Around 800 marine officers were placed on standby. Police with megaphones walked through vulnerable areas in Cabo San Lucas urging people to evacuate.

Much of southern Sonora was placed under a "yellow" alert, while a "green" alert was in effect for the central part of the state. On September 15, the "yellow" alert was upgraded to a "red" alert while classes were canceled in 34 municipalities. After Odile tracked into the Gulf of California, a "red" alert was declared for Hermosillo. A total of 214 people were evacuated to shelters in Sinaloa. A tropical storm warning was issued from Huatabampito to Puerto Libertad at 09:00 UTC on September 16, before being dropped 21 hours later.

## Impact

### Western Mexico

Heavy rains brought flooding to Oaxaca that killed two people; a nine-year old was swept away in a river and a company worker was struck by lightning. Due to a combination of high waves and storm surge, 69 buildings in Acapulco sustained damage, including 18 restaurants and a portion of a scenic walkway. Along the beaches of Nayarit and Colima, minor damage was reported. On the beach in Puerto Vallarta, two people were killed due to high waves.

### Baja California Peninsula

After making landfall as a major hurricane, Odile deluged much of the Baja California peninsula with at least 4 to 6 in (100 to 150 mm) of rain. A maximum rainfall total of 8.67 in (220 mm) occurred in Santiago in Baja California Sur. Due to the major hurricane's large size, hurricane-force winds occurred over much of the state of Baja California Sur, while tropical storm force winds covered virtually all of the peninsula. The weather station at Cabo San Lucas recorded maximum winds of 90 mph (140 km/h) and gusts of 117 mph (188 km/h), along with a minimum pressure of 958.9 mbar (pHa, 28.32 inHg). Elsewhere, Bahía de Loreto reported wind gusts of 125 mph (201 km/h), which was the highest reported wind gust during the passage of Odile. A storm chaser located a little east of Cabo San Lucas reported a minimum pressure of 943.1 mbar (pHa, 27.78 inHg); this was the lowest pressure recorded during the passage of the hurricane. Due to the rains and wind, Odile brought widespread damage to the Baja California Peninsula.

All flights in and out of the Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Los Cabos, and Loreto airports were cancelled on September 15. A terminal roof at the Los Cabos was detached and the ceiling was partially destroyed. As a result, approximately 3,000-4,000 people aboard 44 flights were stranded. Although the interior walls of the airport in La Paz sustained damage, the airport resumed normal operations within a week following Odile. Throughout the peninsula, 30,000 vacationers were stranded, including 26,000 from other nations, mainly from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Many of the stranded were evacuated to shelters, though one of the shelters collapsed due to overcrowding. By September 16, many tourists were airlifted to surrounding airports, including Tijuana, Mazatlán, Guadalajara, and Mexico City, although one person perished on a flight back via a heart attack due to stress the storm created.

The city of San José del Cabo sustained severe damage from the hurricane, where communication service was lost and one bridge was severely damaged. There, numerous hotels temporarily closed, including one that was forced to close for the remainder of the year. The Wild Canyon, an amusement park located between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, was 80% destroyed, including a 1,082 ft (330 m) long suspension bridge. In Cabo San Lucas, just east of where the storm made landfall, many trees and poles were downed. Offshore Cabo San Lucas, eight fishermen were rescued.

Along the La Paz harbor, 22 boats were damaged. The Instituto Sucaliforniano del Deporte, a sports stadium in La Paz, suffered extensive damage from the hurricane. In Vizcaino, 3,500 farm workers were evacuated. The town of San Ignacio was isolated due to road closures. Repairs to bridges near Todos Santos and Puerto Chale totaled MXN\$500 million (US\$37.8 million). On the eastern side of the peninsula, in the Bahía de los Ángeles area, 90 families were homeless due to floodwaters 1 m (3.3 ft) deep. That town was isolated when the hurricane destroyed the only road in.

`Peninsula-wide, a total of 534 transmission towers and 700,963 telephone poles were downed; both these totals exceeded the totals of Hurricane Manuel and Hurricane Wilma. Consequently, at least 239,000 people were left without electricity throughout Baja California Sur alone, equal to around 92% of the state's population. All access to drinking water across Baja California Sur was cut off. About 30% of all crops on the peninsula were destroyed. Odile inflicted damage on 10,000 homes, including 1,800 of which were destroyed. The majority of hotels along the southern portion of the state sustained minor damage. At least 479 schools in the southern portion of the peninsula were damaged.`

Five people were killed due to the hurricane on the peninsula, including a 62-year-old man who died in Santa Rosalia, who perished when trying to cross a river, a man who died of a heart attack in La Paz, and a South Korean mining executive whose car was swept away due to flooding. Overall, more than 11,000 people were evacuated from their homes due to flooding. At least 135 people were injured. Total damage from Odile amounted to MXN\$16.6 billion (US\$1.25 billion), with most of the damage coming from the infrastructural and agricultural sectors of the economy.

### Northwestern Mexico

After making its final landfall, the storm brought heavy rains to the northeastern part of the country. Odile brought rainfall totals of 4 to 8 in (100 to 200 mm) in Sonora and the eastern portion of Chihuahua in Mexico. The observed maximum rainfall total was about 9.17 in (233 mm) in Preca Cuauhtemoc, Sonora. Across Sonora, damage was minor and limited to fallen trees, roofs, and signs. In Monterrey, four people perished. Three of the casualties occurred in a car that was attempting to cross a creek, where two children were also rendered missing.

### United States

Even though Odile was still over the Gulf of California on September 16, low-level moisture ahead of Odile brought heavy rains to much of Southern California, including 0.8 in (20 mm) of rain within an hour at Montgomery Field Airport. The strongest thunderstorms occurred in the southern Inland Empire. Although rainfall totals were generally light, they were enough to cause isolated street flooding. The accompanying winds downed several power lines and numerous large trees in El Cajon, Mission Valley and Wildomar. Across central and eastern San Diego County, Odile generated several unusually powerful thunderstorms in the region. Gusty winds uprooted trees, felled branches, cut power lines, crushed several cars, and flipped at least one airplane at Montgomery Field Airport. The City of San Diego reported 30 buildings damaged, in addition to at least 12 storm-related power outages, resulting in more than 60,000 customers without power. Throughout Riverside County, damage totaled at \$905,000.

In Arizona, Odile brought moderate rain to the most of the state, peaking at 3.3 in (84 mm) in Douglas. Additionally, Picacho recorded a peak wind gust of 75 mph (121 km/h). Heavy rains led to minor street flooding to Navajo County. In Eloy, four warehouses were destroyed, and another two were damaged. In the southern portion of the state, the San Pedro River overtoppled Arizona State Route 92 along the Palominas and the Hereford Bridge, causing both bridges to be closed, while \$30,000 in damage occurred when the river overflows its bank near Mammoth. In nearby Bisbee, minor flooding occurred, resulting in \$500,000 in property damage. North of the state, in Utah, a 34-year-old hiker perished due to flooding in Zion National Park.

In New Mexico, a peak precipitation total of 4.13 in (105 mm) was recorded in Mogollon. Moisture from the storm brought significant drought relief to southern New Mexico; much of southeast New Mexico was drought-free by month's end. However, the rainfall, while beneficial, was not enough to eliminate more than three years of drought in other parts of New Mexico. Across northern New Mexico, Odile brought very little precipitation; rainfall totals there were below average for September 2014. One passenger drowned in Eddy County and an oil field worker died in flood waters just south of Carlsbad.

Nationwide, the highest storm total was 15.26 in (388 mm) in Gail, Texas. There, heavy rains resulted in road closings, power outages, and flash flood warnings. In El Paso, there were numerous reports of widespread flash flooding, though no injuries were reported. In Houston, heavy rains resulted in minor flooding. In all, two people were killed across the state. A sheriff died after she became trapped by flood waters near the shores of Lake Austin and a 64-year-old woman drowned in flash flooding in northeastern El Paso.

## Aftermath

Officials estimated that it would take 10 days for the Los Cabos airport to fully re-open. In the aftermath, three people were arrested due to looting, and martial law was declared, Hundreds of people robbed food, water, televisions, and other goods in supermarkets and even some dwellings in both Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. In response, the government deployed 1,000 extra federal police to the Baja California Peninsula. A series of "police checkpoints" were set up to prevent looters from migrating to La Paz, the capital and largest city of the state. Furthermore, 15 neighborhoods organized their own security systems and many residents purchased guns for protection.

Within nine days after Odile, power was resorted to 95% of customers across the peninsula and by early October, power was fully restored. Due to efforts of over 20,000 workers, all of the destroyed bridges were repaired within two months. Tax deductions were also given to all citizens in five municipalities. On September 26, Walmart re-opened all stores across San Jose Del Cabo. On October 3, the first cruise ship returned to the state. Seven days later, the San Jose Del Cabo airport resumed international flights. Within seven weeks after Odile, 70% of restaurants and 80% of recreational actives had resumed operations, and 3,000 hotel rooms were open. Towards the end of the year, most of the facilities in the Wild Canyon amusement park returned to normal. By early 2015, several San Jose del Cabo corridor area hotels were already re-built. By early February, 80% of 14,000 hotel rooms in the area were available for use. However, inland areas of the city did not recover as quickly. The resort town of Cabo San Lucas did not suffer as much damage as surrounding areas, and thus recovered quickly. Elsewhere, in Sonora, a state of emergency was declared in 21 municipalities.

Following the disaster, about 500 workers were deployed to provide 2,000 groceries to victims. The Mexican Red Cross collected 163 tonnes (163,000 kg) of aid to victims of Odile in part due to the efforts of 1,080 people. Around 2,000 food parcels were shipped to the multiplicity of Los Cabos in part of the efforts from 500 volunteers. Around 800 personal hygiene kits were donated by the Mexican Red Cross to help 7,200 victims. The government of Chiapas sent an additional 60 t (60,000 kg) of aid to Baja California Sur. The Mexican Association of Malta set up 170 temporary shelters to evacuate the victims. As a result of the damage and destruction caused by the storm in Mexico, the name Odile was later retired by the World Meteorological Organization on April 17, 2015, and will never be used again for an Eastern Pacific hurricane. It was replaced with Odalys, which was first used during the 2020 Pacific hurricane season.

## See also

- List of Baja California Peninsula hurricanes
- List of Arizona hurricanes
- List of California hurricanes
- List of New Mexico hurricanes
- 1941 Cabo San Lucas hurricane
- Hurricane Liza (1976) – Considered the worst natural disaster in the history of Baja California Sur
- Hurricane Nora (1997) – Caused flooding in Baja California, California, and Arizona.
- Hurricane Marty (2003) – Caused flooding and coastal impacts in Baja California Sur
- Hurricane John (2006) – Produced moderate damage on the Baja California Peninsula
- Tropical Storm Lidia (2017) – Took a similar track to Odile in Baja California Sur.
- Hurricane Newton (2016) – Caused flooding and impacts in Baja California Sur
- Hurricane Lorena (2019) - Caused minor to moderate damage in the Baja California Sur

Category 4 Pacific hurricane in 2014


Rhythm Divine

"Rhythm Divine" is a song by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias from his fourth studio album, Enrique (1999). The song was written by Paul Barry and Mark Taylor with Taylor and Brian Rawling handling its production. It is a dance-pop rhythmic romantic ballad that mixes with Latin and Mediterranean music. Lyrically, Iglesias asks the listener if they can hear the rhythm, and one music journalist compared it to USA for Africa's "We Are the World" (1985). A Spanish-language translation of the song titled "Ritmo Total" was also recorded and features additional lyrical contributions by Rafael Pérez-Botija.

Upon its release, "Rhythm Divine" was met with positive reactions from music critics, who found it to be catchy and among the album's best tracks. Commercially, it reached number one in the Czech Republic, Romania, and Spain and peaked within the top 10 in Canada, Finland, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, and Norway, as well as on the Billboard Dance Club Songs in the United States. It was certified gold in New Zealand for sales of 5,000 copies. "Ritmo Total" topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts in the US.

Iglesias performed the song live at several concerts hosted by local radio stations in 1999 and 2000 and was subsequently included on the set lists for the Escape Tour (2002), the 7 Tour (2004), the Insomniac Tour (2007–08), the Greatest Hits Tour (2009), the Euphoria Tour (2011–12), and the Enrique Iglesias & Jennifer Lopez Tour (2012). The music video for "Rhythm Divine" was directed by Francis Lawrence and was filmed in Hawaii; Malibu, California; and Chinatown, Los Angeles. Throughout the video, Iglesias is seen chasing a woman who disappears into the ocean at the end. A video for "Ritmo Total" was also filmed and features the same plot as the original. The Spanish version won Best Clip of the Year in the Latin field at the 2000 Billboard Video Music Awards.

## Background

Since his debut studio album, Enrique Iglesias (1995), Iglesias had established himself as one of the best-selling Latin recording artists of all time, having sold over 13 million copies by 1999. In 1998, he released his third studio album, Cosas del Amor, and embarked on the Cosas del Amor Tour (1999) to further promote the record. During one of his concerts, American actor and rapper Will Smith attended one of Iglesias's shows and was at the time working on the film Wild Wild West (1999) and its soundtrack. Smith later contacted Iglesias and requested the artist to contribute to the film's soundtrack. "He told me that he wanted me to be in the soundtrack. I'm a huge fan of his so I was like (gasp)! He called me over my portable phone and I was like, 'whoa who's this?' I didn't want to believe it the first time", Iglesias recalled. When Smith asked if Iglesias had an English-language song, Iglesias told Smith that he had recorded a song titled "Bailamos" but had not yet released it.

"Bailamos" was subsequently released as the soundtrack's second single, and it became Iglesias's first number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100. The single, along with Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "I Need to Know" by Marc Anthony, contributed to the "Latin Pop Explosion" of 1999. Prior to the release of "Bailamos", Iglesias was approached by multiple record labels, including Bertelsmann Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group, to sign a contract with one of them. According to his manager, Fernán Martinez, Iglesias eventually settled with Universal Music Group's contract deal of \$44 million (the highest amount ever paid to a Latin artist) due to them having previously distributed his previous albums outside of the US, signing with their Interscope Records division. Part of Universal's pitch involved the artist to release an English-language album as early as the winter holiday season.

As part of the deal with the label, Iglesias would release three albums in Spanish and three in English. The first record would be in English and produced in part by Brian Rawling. The album was eventually released on 23 November 1999 as Enrique. "Bailamos" writer Paul Barry and its producers, Taylor and Rawling, worked with Iglesias again to compose and produce the album's opening track, "Rhythm Divine". The song was recorded at the Dreamhouse Studios in London, England. A Spanish-language version of song, "Ritmo Total", was also recorded with additional lyrical contributions from Spanish musician Rafael Pérez-Botija.

## Music and lyrics

"Rhythm Divine" is a "flamenco-flavored" rhythmic romantic dance-pop ballad that mixes Latin and Mediterranean music with "classic pop touches like synthesized beats". It is performed as a mid-tempo track. Lyrically, the The Village Voice editor Grace Bastidas compared it to "We Are the World" by USA for Africa, calling it "the kind of anthem that's supposed to unite nations of the Olympics-'from the coast of Ipanema to the island of Capri'". In the lyrics, Iglesias asks "can you feel the rhythm" and chants "viva la música" ("long live music").

## Release and promotion

"Rhythm Divine" was released as the album's lead single in Latin America on 8 October 1999 by Interscope Records. In the United States, Interscope serviced the track to contemporary hit radio two weeks later, on 26 October. Across Europe, it was issued as two CD singles on 15 November 1999, with both discs containing various remixes of the song. The single was then released in the United Kingdom on 6 December 1999 as two CDs and a cassette single; the first CD and cassette contain the Eric Morillo main vocal remix of "Bailamos". In Japan, a CD single was issued on 8 December 1999 with various remixes of "Rhythm Divine". Another CD that also contains assorted remixes of the track was distributed in Australasia as well. The song was later included on Iglesias's compilation album Greatest Hits (2008), while "Ritmo Total" was featured on Enrique Iglesias: 95/08 Éxitos (2008).

The accompanying music video for "Rhythm Divine" was directed by Francis Lawrence; the budget for the shoot was \$1 million. It was filmed in Hawaii, at one of the beaches in Malibu, California, and in Chinatown, Los Angeles, with over 700 extras involved. Throughout the video, Iglesias is seen chasing a woman starting from a hotel room in Hawaii, to a salon, and finally through a party crowd street in Chinatown. By the end of the video, the woman goes to the ocean in Malibu and disappears into the sea. In the US, the video was first added to the playlists of MTV on the week ending 3 October 1999. The following week, VH1 added the song to their playlists, followed by The Box on the week ending 17 October. A music video for the Spanish version was also filmed and follows the same plot as the original version. The Spanish version won in the category of Best Clip of the Year in the Latin field at the 2000 Billboard Video Music Awards.

## Critical reception

In the review of Enrique, AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that while "Bailamos" was a breakthrough hit for the artist, he stated that the song "pales in comparison with much of the first half of the album", citing "Rhythm Divine" as one of the tracks. Billboard editor Chuck Taylor felt that "Rhythm Divine" is "masterfully produced" and "passionately sung", and the magazine predicted that it would allow Iglesias to increase his commercial potential. The Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith called the track a "bold" anthem, regarded it as one of "the most memorable cuts" of the album. Jim Sullivan of the Boston Globe described it as an "easy, swaying new single". The San Diego Union-Tribune's Ernesto Portillo Jr. found the track to be a "near-copy" of "Bailamos".

Calling it "infectious", Edna Gundersen of USA Today referred to "Rhythm Divine" as one of the album's "several deeply romantic tracks that reveal the Iglesias gene for seductive crooning". Writing for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Kevin C. Johnson responded to Iglesias's "can you hear the rhythm" with a "resounding yes". The Houston Chronicle critic Joey Guerra called it a "sensual first single". Ramiro Burr of the San Antonio Express-News felt that the singer is "at his best on rhythmic romantic ballads, highlighting "Rhythm Divine" as an example. In a mixed review of Enrique, the Knoxville News Sentinel's Chuck Campbell listed "Bailamos" and "Rhythm Divine" as the "singer's best gimmick" in "his sweeping (albeit sterile) dance songs that combine romance with anthemic choruses". J.D. Considine of the Baltimore Sun, who was not impressed with the album, wrote that the song "may roll along to a Latin tropical groove".

## Chart performance

### Europe

In Spain, "Rhythm Divine" debuted atop the AFYVE Singles Chart on 20 November 1999, giving Iglesias his second number-one single in his home country, after "Bailamos". The song spent eight weeks at the top, until 15 January 2000, when it fell to number three. It spent 14 weeks inside the Spanish top 20. At the end of 1999, AFYVE ranked the track at number 10 on their year-end chart. The song also reached number one in the Czech Republic and Romania. In the later country, the song topped the Romanian Top 100 for a single week in early 2000 and remained on the ranking for 18 weeks. At the end of 2000, it appeared at number 43 on the chart's annual airplay report. On Norway's VG-lista chart, the track debuted at number six in late 1999 and peaked at number three the following week, totalling nine weeks in the top 20. The single additionally entered the top 10 in Finland, Hungary, and Italy, peaking at number eight, six, and nine, respectively.

In Switzerland, "Rhythm Divine" stayed on the Swiss Singles Chart for 30 weeks, peaking at number 11 for two weeks in January 2000; it ended the year as Switzerland's 73rd-most-successful hit. The song became a top-20 hit in the Wallonia region of Belgium, where it debuted at number 31 on 25 December 1999 and climbed to its peak of number 17 six weeks later, on 5 February 2000. Logging 12 weeks on Wallonia's Ultratop ranking, it appeared at number 95 on the year-end edition. The song charted within the top 20 of Sweden's Sverigetopplistan chart, reaching number 18, as well as on the Dutch Top 40 in the Netherlands, where it peaked at number 20 in December 1999. The single also charted within the top 40 in Austria, France, Germany, and the Flanders region of Belgium. In the United Kingdom, the track stalled outside the top 40, reaching number 45 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1999. Overall, "Rhythm Divine" was Europe's 92nd-best-performing song of 2000 according to Music & Media magazine, peaking at number 14 on the Eurochart Hot 100.

### North America and Australasia

On the US Billboard Hot 100, "Rhythm Divine" debuted at number 90 on the chart dated 4 December 1999. The song rose up the ranking over the next seven weeks, settling at a peak of number 32 on 22 January 2000 to give Iglesias his second top-40 single on the Hot 100. It remained on the chart for 17 issues. The track became a hit in US dance clubs, reaching number four on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart in February 2000. It also appeared on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 and Rhythmic listings, peaking at number 15 on the former chart and number 40 on the latter. The Spanish version, "Ritmo total", gave Iglesias his 12th number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, topping the ranking for four weeks in 1999 and 2000. It also reached number one on the Latin Pop Airplay chart, where it stayed for two issues; it remained on the ranking for 25 weeks. In addition, "Ritmo Total" number four on the Tropical Airplay chart, and number 22 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart.

In Canada, on 6 December 1999, "Rhythm Divine" appeared at number 29 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, becoming that week's highest debut. The following month, on 31 January, the single peaked at number seven during its seventh week on the chart. It lingered within the top 100 for 37 weeks, making its final appearance on 7 August. It was also successful on Canadian adult contemporary radio, climbing to number 20 on the RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks ranking in February 2000. In Australia, "Rhythm Divine" spent four weeks on the ARIA Singles Chart, reaching number 36 during its third week in the top 50. On New Zealand's RIANZ Singles Chart, the song became a number-two hit in January 2000, logging 14 nonconsecutive weeks in the top 50. The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand certified the song gold for sales exceeding 5,000 copies.

## Live performances

Iglesias performed "Rhythm Divine" at several holiday concerts promoted by local radio stations in Houston, Boston, and New York. He then sung the track at the 27th Annual American Music Awards on 17 January 2000. A month after the performance at the award ceremony, he sang "Rhythm Divine" at the 2000 Viña del Mar International Song Festival and later at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. In March, he played the song at two shows in Europe, namely at the The Dome in Germany and at the Stockholm Globe Arena in Switzerland. "Rhythm Divine" was one of three songs Iglesias performed along with "Bailamos" and "Be with You" after being interviewed by Dan Matheson on CTV's Canada AM on 5 April 2000. A month later, he performed at the "Your Smoke Free" Concert in San Diego and was present at KDWB's Star Party 2000 in Minneapolis.

Radio personality Howard Stern obtained an "off-the-board feed" tape of Iglesias singing "Rhythm Divine" while the artist was lip syncing to the song during a performance in Europe. During the tape, Iglesias could be heard "discordant voice caterwauling" the song. The artist agreed to perform the song on Stern's show and did so as an acoustic take with Tony Rey on the guitar. After hearing him perform, Stern declared, "That proves it. You can sing". Afterwards, Iglesias sang the track at the B96 Summer Bash Saturday in Chicago. Iglesias was the opening act at the Aladdin Theater following the venue's remodeling.

"Rhythm Divine" was subsequently included on the set list for his Escape Tour (2002), the 7 Tour (2004), the Insomniac Tour (2007–08), the Greatest Hits Tour (2009), the Euphoria Tour (2011–12), and the Enrique Iglesias & Jennifer Lopez Tour (2012). During Iglesias's concert at the American Airlines Arena in 2002, Sun-Sentinel writer Sean Piccoli noted that the song "in particular, spurred a rousing, full-house crowd chorus that Iglesias looked ecstatic to be conducting, if not exactly leading with his voice".

## Track listings

European CD1

1. "Rhythm Divine" – 3:29
2. "Rhythm Divine" (Fernando G club mix) – 5:34

European CD2

1. "Rhythm Divine" – 3:29
2. "Rhythm Divine" (Morales radio mix) – 3:13
3. "Rhythm Divine" (stereo dub mix) – 7:20
4. "Rhythm Divine" (Lord G's Divine dub) – 6:46

UK CD1

1. "Rhythm Divine" – 3:29
2. "Bailamos" (Eric Morillo main vocal mix) – 6:30
3. "Rhythm Divine" (CD-ROM video)

UK CD2

1. "Rhythm Divine" (Morales radio mix) – 3:13
2. "Rhythm Divine" (Fernando G club mix) – 5:34
3. "Rhythm Divine" (Mijango's extended mix) – 6:57

UK cassette single

1. "Rhythm Divine" – 3:29
2. "Bailamos" (Eric Morillo main vocal mix) – 6:30

Australasian CD single

1. "Rhythm Divine" (album version)
2. "Rhythm Divine" (Fernando's English radio edit)
3. "Rhythm Divine" (Morales club mix)
4. "Rhythm Divine" (Fernando's English club mix)
5. "Rhythm Divine" (Lord G's Divine dub)
6. "Rhythm Divine" (Mijango's English extended mix)

Japanese CD single

1. "Rhythm Divine"
2. "Rhythm Divine" (Morales radio mix)
3. "Rhythm Divine" (stereo dub mix)
4. "Rhythm Divine" (Lord G's Divine dub)

## Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the Enrique album booklet.

Studios

- Recorded at Dreamhouse Studios (London, England)
- "Ritmo total" additionally recorded at Circle House Studios (London, England)

Personnel

- Paul Barry – writing, background vocals
- Mark Taylor – writing, production, mixing
- Sylvia Mason-James – background vocals
- Adam Phillips – guitars
- Brian Rawling – production

Additional "Ritmo total" personnel

- Rafael Pérez-Botija – adaption and Spanish vocal direction
- Ivy Scoff – production coordination
- Mark Taylor – engineering
- Carlos Paucar – engineering
- Niko Marzouca – assistant engineering

## Charts

### Weekly charts

### Year-end charts

## Certifications

## Release history

## See also

- List of number-one singles of 1999 (Spain)
- List of number-one singles of 2000 (Spain)
- List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s
- List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 1999
- List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 2000
- List of Billboard Latin Pop Airplay number ones of 1999

1999 single by Enrique Iglesias

Music videos directed by Francis Lawrence

Number-one singles in the Czech Republic

Song recordings produced by Brian Rawling

Song recordings produced by Mark Taylor (record producer)

Songs written by Mark Taylor (record producer)

Songs written by Paul Barry (songwriter)