Awfully gaunt or an endangered great ape (9)

I believe the answer is:

orangutan

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'endangered great ape' is the definition.
'orangutan' can be an answer for 'ape' (orangutan is a kind of ape). I also know that 'endangered' relates to this answer.

'awfully gaunt or an' is the wordplay.
'awfully' indicates an anagram.
'gaunt'+'or'='gauntor'
'gauntor' is an anagram of 'orangut'.
'orangut'+'an'='ORANGUTAN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for orangutan that I've seen before include "a big sub-human creature" , "ape" , "Primate" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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