Most of the new arrivals at Orangutan Foundation International’s (OFI) Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) are young, orphaned orangutans. The caregivers at the OCCQ take these orangutans in and raise them like they are their own children. In the wild, the bond between mother and baby orangutan is incredibly strong. This bond must be emulated at the OCCQ because it is this bond that will provide the love and support needed during an orangutan’s first few years. During this time, it is also very important that the young orangutans socialize with each other. Many orangutans have friends that they play with, but it is rare that they are inseparable. Jessica and Weyerhauser are two such rarities.

Jessica (facing the camera) and Weyer hauser on one of their many strolls down the OCCQ boardwalk

When I watch Jessica and Weyerhauser together, their fondness for one another is obvious. Like children, the two are sometimes reluctant to share or are unruly with each other, but at the end of the day they are steadfast friends. The two arrived at the OCCQ within six months of each other. Weyerhauser was less than a year old when he was brought in with his mother. His mother was critically ill and despite the efforts of OFI’s veterinary staff, she passed away within a day of arrival. Jessica was also under a year old when she was brought to the OCCQ by the Forestry Department. She had been confiscated from a house where she was being kept as a pet. Both orangutans quickly formed strong relationships with their OCCQ caregivers and some of the other orangutans. After a few months, Jessica and Weyerhauser happened to be moved into the same sleeping enclosure. This was the beginning of their lasting friendship.

At first, the two sought comfort from one another and would hug if they heard thunder in the early evenings of Borneo’s wet season. Then as they went out to the forest each day to play, they started spending more time together. Weyerhauser is slightly older. With that age came a more adventurous streak. Jessica would follow him on his explorations of the nearby forest, watching what young leaves he would eat and following suit.

Jessica practicing her climbing

It was soon after this that the two refused to leave each other’s side. In the wild, young orangutans cling to their mothers as they maneuver through the trees. At the OCCQ, it is little different. The young orangutans hold onto their caregivers for their trip into the forest each day. Jessica and Weyerhauser have gone against this norm. Rather than hold onto their caregiver, the two sit cuddled in their caregiver’s arms holding on to one another. I’ve watched both Jessica and Weyerhauser swing an arm over their caregiver’s shoulder to help distribute their weight, but generally they will sit back and take in the scenery as their caregiver serves as chauffeur.

Weyerhauser enjoying a piece of potato, one of his favorite snacks

Once in the forest, the two never stray far from each other. They will try to walk side by side and often look as if they are practicing for a three-legged race. As they walk, Jessica and Weyerhauser will take turns holding onto each other’s backs. Like the movement of any young child, Jessica’s and Weyerhauser’s movements are quite jerky. The walkways are fairly narrow, and the two frequently stumble over one another as they amble down the boardwalk. If one stops to forage for leaves and berries, the other will stop nearby and do the same. They are beginning to test their independence, but they always try to stay within sight of each other. If the two happen to get separated, Weyerhauser will let out a high-pitched squeal, almost like a small bird, to let Jessica know where he is.

When it comes to climbing, Jessica and Weyerhauser are still reluctant to leave the ground. Weyerhauser continues to be the more outgoing of the two and he seems to encourage Jessica to test her limits. Weyerhauser will climb a small tree next to the boardwalk and then patiently wait for Jessica to join him. They only stay in the tree for a short time, but they work together to develop their forestry skills.

Both Jessica and Weyerhauser continue to have a close relationship with their surrogate mom, Ibu Ombeng. During the day, the two will seek her out for a cuddle. This nurturing relationship will remain important to their development for the next few years. Watching Jessica and Weyerhauser together reminds me of the purity of true friendship. Their relationship seems to consist of a combination of trust, support, love, and fun. Despite both losing their mothers at a young age, the OCCQ has provided these two friends with the encouragement and love needed to restore some of their childhood innocence and confidence.

You can see a video of them here

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The orangutans all have their own personal favorites. Some adore cinnamon, some prefer lavender. We scatter herbs, spices, and oils amongst their browse, sprinkle them in their parcels and Kong toys, smear them on the enclosures, or tuck them into their hammocks and swings. With experimentation, we have found to our surprise that the majority of orangutans love lemon scents. I have never yet seen an orangutan turn down lemon myrtle, another native plant. And all the orangutans seem to enjoy fresh lemongrass – eating the soft white flesh at the base, and playing with the grassy tops. This releases the essential oils within, which support the nervous, digestive, and immune systems as well as potentially improving mood and even keeping mosquitoes away!

Berman loves the smell and taste of lemon myrtle

Recently, a new orangutan was brought to the OCCQ from a palm oil plantation, malnourished and unwell. She seemed very despondent and would not respond to any enrichment or make eye contact. I cracked a stalk of lemongrass to release the essential oils and left it by her. When I came back ten minutes later, she was lying with her face next to the stalk, sniffing it and seemingly smiling. I had a similar result with another orangutan a few months ago using lemon myrtle. It always feels so good when an orangutan makes a “play face” at me for the first time after smelling something they like.

Although the OCCQ primarily cares for orangutans, we also take care of other animals native to Borneo. The sun bears and binturongs are two species that, like the orangutans, enjoy being given scent enrichment. The binturongs are quite attracted to star anise; and Hildegard, one of the Malay sun bears at the OCCQ, loves nutmeg so much she almost appears to go into a trance when given fruit and browse with nutmeg sprinkled on it!

The sun bears also react to each other’s scents very strongly, so browse from the male’s enclosure will sometimes be given to the females and vice versa.

When the binturongs are given highly scented browse, they will rub themselves in it ecstatically for hours. Binturongs also mark their territory in the wild with their own scent. This is an important natural behavior for binturongs, and therefore something we like to encourage. After their enclosure is cleaned, the male binturong will come down from his high perch and sniff around, sometimes even running his paw along the floor and sniffing it, as if he’s examining whether it’s been done to his satisfaction! He then carefully scent marks his territory again.
Scent enrichment adds an extra dimension to the sensory stimulation provided for animals at the OCCQ and is an important aspect of behavioral enrichment. With the spices and citrus smells wafting around the preparation area, I sometimes think we get as much enjoyment out of it as the animals do!

Hildegard enjoying apples rolled in nutmeg

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Most of the orphans that come to our Care Center are three years old or younger, prime milk-drinking age. Often malnourished by the time they arrive, these babies never seem to get enough, guzzling bottle after bottle of fortified milk from their surrogate mothers’ hands and transforming their tiny sunken stomachs into plump, watermelon-bellies. To give their fragile immune systems the best fighting chance, we boost their diets with multi-vitamins, baby porridge, and other supplements. Today, we have sixty-three milk-drinking baby orangutans in our nursery, pushing our annual milk bill to more than $10,000 USD. Never mind the milk that we still give out at our forest feeding stations to released ex-captive orangutans! Please remember that in the wild, orangutan juveniles sometimes suckle their mothers until they are 7 or 8 years old!

While milk is essential to a good start in life, orangutans are best known for being voracious eaters of ripe fruit; scientific field records indicate they consume over 250 species of wild fruit in primary forest. As our babies mature here at the Care Center, fruit and vegetables are introduced into their diets, and they join the Center’s other fruit-munchers. OFI feeds 340 orphan orangutans at the Care Center as well as over 200 released orangutans who sometimes return to the feeding stations at our release sites. This is where the real challenge begins. The search for and purchase, transport, and distribution of more than 200,000 pounds of food per year is truly a monumental team effort.

First, cultivated and wild fruit needs to be located somewhere in the area. While OFI maintains agreements with manyseveral local village growers, including a women’s co-operative who provide bananas and other regular crops, the availability of most fruit is determined by the seasonality of the tropics. Our “fruit scouts” are always on the lookout for fresh pineapples, rambutans, or durian. In a year’s time, orangutans in our care will consume more than 40 25 varieties of fruits and vegetabless, including the occasional wild fruit sourced from the forest.

To move thousands of pounds of fresh food from farms, gardens, and remote villages to the Care Center, a full-time crew of drivers and two very well-worn trucks is constantly on the move, loading up mounds of papayas, melons, mangoes, etc.and unloading sacks of sweet corn, cucumbers, yams, etc.. At the Care Center our orangutan caregivers distribute the harvest to their charges three times a day, some of whom (like the 8 year old male Lawrence ), can eat up to 20 pounds of mangoes in a single daysitting! Even in Borneo, mangoes aren’t cheap! Keeping hundreds of hungry fruit consumers like Lawrence and his orange friends nourished costs approximately $250,000 per year which goes directly into the local economy.

Like many full-grown human children, some of our rehabilitated orangutans released into the forest over the past three decades still depend on us for an occasional helping hand. About half of the 400+ orangutans we’ve released over the years continue to return to their original release sites where they know they can find supplementary nutrition when needed. OFI maintains forest-based feeding platforms in seven active and former sites for this purpose. Keeping these far-flung stations supplied with weekly fruit, as well as staffed and maintained, is a challenging but important endeavour since human development pressure surrounding our forest release sites limits orangutans’ range and puts added pressure on the remaining forest habitat that naturally supports their diet.

Good food and plenty of it is clearly key to keeping the orangutans under our care healthy and happy; our round-the-clock ‘kitchen’ would not be possible without your kind support. Many thanks!

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Enrichment is practiced by wildlife and aquatic care centers and organizations around the world. New ideas are constantly emerging and being shared between these groups. “The Shape of Enrichment” is an American-based organization that facilitates this sharing of ideas by hosting an annual enrichment conference and series of workshops. In February, Judith Roycroft, a returning long-term enrichment volunteer, represented OFI at the 3rd Annual Southeast Asian Animal Enrichment and Training Workshop.

Judith and friends at the enrichment workshop that was held at Ocean Adventures

The five-day workshop was held at Ocean Adventures in the Philippines and covered various animal and aquatic species. Twenty people from organizations around Southeast Asia were in attendance. Although orangutans were not a focus of the workshop, some of the ideas were applicable to the OCCQ. During the workshop, there was a presentation on cooperative feeding. Judith explained that with many species, when there are multiple animals in an enclosure, a dominant personality can emerge. At times this does not create any issues, but sometimes it happens that the other animals in the enclosure eat less food. Cooperative feeding is a feeding method that ensures each animal in the enclosure receives the nutrition he or she needs. In the sleeping enclosures at the OCCQ, dominant personalities frequently arise. The OCCQ caregivers and veterinary staff keep a close eye on the orangutans to make sure each one gets the nutrition he or she needs. However, learning how to get the orangutans in an enclosure to cooperatively eat can only further ensure that the orangutans at the OCCQ are healthy and happy. Participating in these conferences and workshops not only allows OFI to expand our enrichment programs, but also allows us to share the innovative enrichment methods being used at the OCCQ.

Fresh green beans, cabbage, peanuts and papaya for the leaf parcels

On a daily basis, there are two types of behavioral enrichment given to the orangutans at the OCCQ – food and material. The enrichment team primarily use natural ingredients as their enrichment items. Orangutans’ favorite food items include leaf parcels, which help encourage foraging. The enrichment team will go out into the forest and collect branches and leaves. They wrap these around a variety of foods – such as bananas, rambutan, and cucumber – and then use vines to secure the parcel. When the orangutans return to their sleeping enclosures after a day in the forest, they are given their parcels. You can see their faces light up as they open them. Some will sit and delicately work to undo the vines, carefully opening their parcel and looking through its contents. Others, like a young child opening a gift, will tear the package open, discarding the wrapping, and shoving as many food items as they can into their mouth as quickly as they can!

Preparing the parcels

The primary form of material enrichment the orangutans receive, and my favorite item to watch them use, are branches. Each evening, freshly cut branches are delivered to the OCCQ and are distributed to every sleeping enclosure. The orangutans then spend hours manipulating and patting down the branches until they have made a suitable nest. In the wild, orangutans make nests to sleep in every night, so this is a very important behavior for them to maintain. “Boy,” the OCCQ’s large cheekpadded male, will long-call with delight each day when the branches are brought to the center. This sound is made by adult male orangutans and is amplified through their large throat pouch. Generally, long calls are made to assert dominance, impress female orangutans, or communicate location. However, everyone at the OCCQ knows that Boy’s late-afternoon long-call is to let the other orangutans know it’s time for branches!

The completed leaf parcels

The daily use of enrichment items plays a fundamental role in the lives of the orangutans at the OCCQ. Not only does enrichment help provide the mental and physical stimuli these highly intelligent animals need, but it also allows them to practice the skills that are an innate part of their nature. All of the young orangutans at the OCCQ are orphans and no longer have a mother to teach them the skills that are crucial for their success in the wild. The enrichment items teach them some of the skills they would have learned from their mothers such as building nests, finding food, and knowing what foods to eat. Enrichment is important for any animal, but with the orangutans at the OCCQ it is critical, ultimately helping them learn skills that they will need in their final home in the wild.

Berman enjoying her treat

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Victor shows off his smile

Victor arrived at the OCCQ when he was less than a year old. He was being kept as a pet and was confiscated by officers of the Indonesian Forestry Department and brought to the OCCQ for rehabilitation. In the years following his arrival, Victor has received constant love and encouragement from the staff. This has seen Victor grow into a mild-mannered and friendly “young man.”

It is impossible to say much about Victor without first mentioning his best friend, Sam. The two are practically inseparable. Occasionally, they will each go off to explore the forest on their own; however, they will check-in on each other constantly. Even when the two are going out for their daily climb in the forest, they insist on going together! Each morning, the OCCQ caregivers take the orangutans from their sleeping enclosures into the forest. Many of the orangutans will walk holding their caregiver’s hand or will climb onto their back for a piggyback ride. When Victor and Sam go to the forest, one will ride on the caregiver’s back, and the other on the caregiver’s front.

Victor and Sam amble down the OCCQ boardwalk

Once in the forest, Victor can be too timid to leave the boardwalk and explore. With a bit of gentle encouragement from his caregiver and Sam, Victor finds his confidence and will meticulously begin to climb trees. Many other orangutans Victor’s age will haphazardly navigate through the forest. They will wrestle, tumble, and crash through the trees. Victor, on the other hand, moves deliberately, and will quietly maneuver past other more rambunctious orangutans.

Once in the forest, one of Victor’s favorite activities is to forage for termite nests. Victor and Sam’s caregivers have been teaching the two to look for, and dig up, this source of protein. While Sam will go off and look for termite nests on his own, Victor is more of a manager. Victor prefers to oversee his caregivers retrieving the nests rather than get his hands dirty. Using a stick, his caregivers will tap on the ground waiting to hear a “thunk, thunk” sound. Once they hear that sound, Victor’s caregivers will start digging up the nest. Victor will sit nearby observing. If the retrieval process seems to be taking too long, Victor will go and peer over his caregivers’ shoulder as a reminder that he is still waiting for his snack. If his caregivers do not find a nest, Victor will go and find Sam. Although orangutans are not typically generous with their food, Sam always shares his termite nests with Victor.

Once Victor has a termite nest to eat, he will search for a private place to enjoy it. When orangutans eat termite nests, they often get little bites on their hands from the termites defending the nest. After Victor has a few nips on his hands, he will throw his nest on the ground in frustration. Rather than abandon his treat, Victor will then position himself over the nest so that he can eat using only his lips.

When Victor is eating his termite nests, he constantly scans the trees around him to ensure there aren’t any orangutans coming to steal his treat. If another orangutan appears, he will stealthily try to move to another place. If the other orangutan spots him, Victor will give his nest away. Rather than dwell on his lost snack, Victor will go and find his caregiver or Sam so that they can start searching for a new termite nest. Victor is truly a gentle, mild orangutan who does not engage much in rough and tumble play or conflict.

The relationships Victor has formed with Sam and the caregivers at the OCCQ have helped him become a more confident orangutan. Although Victor seems to live by the motto “work smart, not hard,” his forestry skills are constantly strengthening. Eventually Victor will put these forestry skills to good use when someday he returns to the wild.

Watch Victor carefully eat termite nests HERE

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The film looks at the conservation efforts of Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas in Borneo and Dame Daphne Sheldrick in Kenya. Dr. Galdikas is founder of Orangutan Foundation International and Dame Sheldrick is founder of The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Drew chose these two projects because he believes they “are among the most vital conservation efforts in the world.” He explains that the IMAX team “[...] felt an enormous pressure to do justice to them and all the people involved.” Dr. Galdikas and Dame Sheldrick are two of the people that Drew most admires in the world.

The idea for the film first arose in 1994. Drew was backpacking around Indonesia and visited Camp Leakey, Dr. Galdikas’ original research and conservation station. When Drew arrived at the camp, he was greeted by a young orangutan. It was this interaction that would be the catalyst for his future film. “The close connection between our species’ was so obvious and powerful, and I knew instantly that this was an experience that would move people.”

Siswi watches the Born to be Wild screening at Camp Leakey

Drew and the IMAX team spent six weeks filming in Borneo. They had to endure extreme heat, humidity, and torrential downpours all while negotiating heavy IMAX cameras and cranes through jungles, swamps, and rivers. The IMAX team was surprised to find that the easiest part of the shoot was working with the orangutans. “[The orangutans] somehow instinctively knew what were trying to do and never let us down,” Drew explained.

Orangutans can be very clever and cheeky, and one orangutan made sure Drew knew that. A few months before filming began, Drew came to Borneo to familiarize himself with the area. He and a team were taken to Camp Leakey by two speedboats. He explains that, “After a couple of hours, [the group] returned to the jetty but the boats were both gone. Looking up river, we noticed one of the boats about 100 yards away. It had been stolen by an orangutan! Pan, the son of Princess, a famous boat stealer herself, had untied both boats. One floated downriver and he paddled the other one away himself!”

In late February, Drew returned to the OCCQ and Camp Leakey to screen the film for the local staff. It was very important for him to screen the film for them because, “[the] film would have been completely impossible to make without the OFI staff. Not harder to make, but impossible.” He explains that “nearly every shot in the film was made possible by [the employees’] instincts, knowledge and advice. [...] It was a great honor to be able to come back and show the film to them so they can see their work on the big screen and appreciate the impact they are having all over the world.”

When I first saw Born to be Wild in an IMAX theatre in Australia, it was a moving and memorable experience. However, watching the film with the OFI staff and their families at the OCCQ was something I will never forget. None of the local staff had seen the film before, and getting to see the looks of amusement, joy, and pride on the faces of the staff and their families was incredible.

Drew also took some time to screen the film for some of the OCCQ orangutans. When the younger orangutans were out for the day playing in the forest, Drew brought his laptop out to them. Cuddled on their caregivers laps, the orangutans watched Born to be Wild. The young orangutans are full of energy and rarely sit still, but they were fascinated watching their friends, orangutan and human, on the screen.

Drew at the OCCQ

Drew also screened the film for the OFI rangers at Camp Leakey. Orangutan Siswi joined the viewing, sitting in the doorway of the dining hall at camp. However, when a herd of elephants came onto the screen, Siswi quickly departed and made a nest in the trees closeby.

Drew explains that for him, “while making the film and even watching it, I thought a lot about how these animals are all individuals with rich emotions and life experiences that rival our own. And that the line we draw between humans and other animals dehumanizes us, not them.”

Born to be Wild will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 17, 2012

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It is easy to see how Steppenwolf could capture a person’s heart. With his tufts of glossy hair and expressive face, Steppenwolf is a very cute infant orangutan. However, what really stood out were his eyes. Orangutans have expressive and thoughtful eyes, but when I first looked into Steppenwolf’s eyes, I felt like an old soul was staring back at me.

Relaxing after a long day of playing

Steppenwolf is approximately two-years old. There is no doubt that he has seen a lot in that short period of time. Steppenwolf is one of the newer arrivals to the Care Center. Little is known about his life before he came into OFI’s care; however, we do know that he was brought to us as a result of palm oil. He came from a palm oil plantation close to one of OFI’s orangutan release sites. When Steppenwolf arrived at the OCCQ, he was very skinny, weighing only 3.5kg (8lbs), and had burns on his hands and feet. No information was given on how he had received these burns or where his mother was. Infant orangutans spend the first several years of their lives entirely dependent on their mother, so the chance that Steppenwolf was voluntarily separated from his mother is unlikely. Although we can only speculate, it is most likely that his mother was killed.

In his short time at the OCCQ, Steppenwolf has been healing and growing rapidly. His burn marks are no longer visible and it seems that his emotional scars are also diminishing. Thanks to Steppenwolf’s love of milk and rambutans – a red tropical fruit with soft red spines – he now weighs 5kg (11lbs). Steppenwolf spends most of his time with Miss Tika, his surrogate mother. Like an orangutan mother, she carries, cuddles, and feeds Steppenwolf. Young orangutans learn the forestry skills needed for survival from their mothers. This includes where to find food, what food to eat, how to eat it, and how to build a nest. Miss Tika will spend the next few years caring for Steppenwolf and helping him develop these skills.

When Steppenwolf first arrived, he seemed nervous interacting with other orangutans his age. However, recently Steppenwolf’s timidness has faded and he has become an inquisitive and social little boy. He still relies heavily on Miss Tika, but he has also started to form friendships with the other infant orangutans. Turner, Charlie, Melly, and Steppenwolf have become constant playmates. One of my favourite things to do is sit and watch the four friends chase each other across the forest floor, rolling and somersaulting before landing in a giant heap on the ground.

Melly and Steppenwolf (right) foraging for leaves

Steppenwolf is a bit hesitant to leave the ground. His friend Melly is an avid climber and Steppenwolf will carefully mirror her movements as he follows her up a small tree. Once in the tree, the two will forage for leaves and fruits to eat. When Steppenwolf is back on the ground, he loves to play in the dirt. He loves to roll in it, eat it, and throw it on himself as if he’s having a dirt shower! Steppenwolf’s aim still needs some improvement, so the orangutans or caregivers sitting nearby often end up having a dirt shower as well.

Steppenwolf finding some dirt to play with

When Steppenwolf has exhausted himself playing, he will go and find Miss Tika for a cuddle. While he is unwinding, Steppenwolf will lay on his back staring up into the trees. He seems to be soothed by the sounds of the rustling trees and humming insects. When I watch Steppenwolf, I feel like I am watching him regain some of the childhood innocence that he lost when he was separated from his mother. OFI has given Steppenwolf a second chance at life in the wild. The OCCQ will provide him with the safe haven and love that he needs to learn the forest skills that will one day make him an excellent wild orangutan.

Climbing trees

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Berman and I on our way to the forest

For the past six months my office has been the forest and my colleagues orangutans. My position as Communications Intern has allowed me the honor of sharing the stories of these amazing animals with the world. Although my dream has come true, there are over 330 orangutans that are still waiting for their dream of being wild again. Without OFI, these orangutans would not even have that chance to dream. Their fates would have been sealed the moment their mothers were killed and taken away from them. Thankfully, they have safe places to sleep, fresh fruit to eat, and caregivers to take them to the forest.

Office in the forest

I have seen the devastation that humans have inflicted upon the forests in Kalimantan. I have driven through hundreds of kilometres of palm oil plantations, visited mining sites, and met the results of illegal logging – infant orangutans suddenly orphaned with panic and heartache in their eyes. Precious forest habitat is disappearing at a nearly unstoppable rate: not only affecting wild orangutan populations, but also affecting the future of rehabilitated orangutans. Where will they go? Time is of the essence with orangutan conservation. We cannot wait – we must act now. But can we right our wrongs? Can we change what we have done? The only answer I have to these questions is that we must.

Orphaned Suntara in the arms of her caregiver

Losing any of our planet’s precious life to the point of extinction is a terrible tragedy. But to lose a great ape, our history, our almost ancestors? This is a tragedy of unthinkable proportions. At least it is for me. When I look into the eyes of an orangutan or compare the size of my hands, I have a hard time believing that we are so different. Perhaps this is the reason I am so drawn to them. Orangutan mothers care for their infants much like my mother cared for me. When I watch juvenile orangutans play, I cannot help but think about children at the playground or in the sandbox.

Holding hands with Frankie

I will never forget the orange halo that radiates from an orangutan as it forages in the canopy on a sunny day or falling asleep at night to the majestic sound of long calls. It is only in my final days here that I truly realize what I have experienced and what I will greatly miss. I thank Orangutan Foundation International for not only giving me this opportunity but also for the amazing work they do. I thank the orangutans for sharing so much of themselves with me. I thank the people of Pasir Panjang and the staff at the OCCQ (including my fellow volunteers) for not only accepting me but befriending me. So instead of saying goodbye, I say sampai jumpa lagi – until we meet again.

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A termite snack

This is my last Orangutan of the Month article and the choice was clear: Eric. Eric first caught my eye when he was introduced to me by a fellow volunteer. She told me there was something different about him. My interest was piqued and I began to spend time with him. Eric quickly became a favorite of mine. Although there are many orangutans in OFI’s care at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ), it’s impossible to not have special connections with a select few. People have personalities and so do orangutans; it’s only natural for some to clash and some to meld. Not only is Eric a special friend of mine, he is also the first orangutan that I was able to recognize without being told who he was. A major milestone in my time in Borneo.

Eric contemplating his next move

Eric squeaks whenever I visit him. As I approach, I call his name. I like to think that he is calling my name too. When we meet face-to-face, the first thing that Eric does is take both of my hands in his. Although his is still young, his hands are very large; much like a puppy who hasn’t yet grown into his paws. He never pulls or squeezes, just holds gently. Although one should never look an orangutan directly in the eyes, Eric craves this intimate contact and is the first to lock gazes. Eric and I have spent hours in these silent conversations, holding hands and attempting to read one another’s thoughts. One of my most memorable moments with Eric is when he brought me close so our noses were almost touching. He placed a gentle hand around the back of my head and looked at me as if he had a secret to tell me. If I am having a hard day, I tell Eric about it. He may not understand my words but I believe that he understands my feelings. He always knows just what say to make me feel better even if his words are unspoken.

A moment of play

Another trait that makes Eric stand out is that he does interesting things with his food. Most orangutans, especially males, will eat as much and as fast as they can. Many will even try to take food from others. This behavior is observed in most animals and is a survival tactic. When I visit with Eric, he is always trying to feed me! If I am lucky, he will carefully peel a banana and attempt to push it into my mouth. If I’m not lucky, I get rambutan husks, leaves and even sticks. On more than one occasion I have chewed his offerings only to spit them out when he isn’t looking. If he catches me declining his offering, he looks confused for a moment and comes back with something else to feed me. On another occasion, instead of feeding me his peeled banana, he drew all over my t-shirt with it! One of OFI’s enrichment volunteers is convinced that Eric’s favourite colour is yellow. She was wearing a yellow t-shirt when he pointed to it and then to a banana. He did this repeatedly! Perhaps Eric is the next Picasso? Perhaps he wanted more bananas.

Eric (right) shares the termite nest he found with a friend

The sensitive, intuitive Eric disappears in the forest; both figuratively and literally! Eric does not think twice about his human friends in the forest, he is only interested in climbing trees. And what a tree climber he is! Eric is always the last orangutan to be collected at the end of the day. Sometimes even hours after his friends have settled in for the night. He is not only comfortable in the forest, he can perform magic tricks. One minute his is beside you, and the next he is gone. If he does emerge, he is always on the other side of the path or boardwalk. How does he do that? Other orangutans break branches or rustle leaves as they move in the forest. Eric moves silently without causing any disturbances. It’s these disappearing acts that make him so hard to find at the end of the day!

A natural in the forest

The word orangutan comes from the Indonesian language; orang meaning person and hutan meaning forest. I cannot think of a more literal representation of “person of the forest” than Eric. Orangutans are led by instinct, experience, and their mother’s teachings. However, there are moments of emotion and understanding where the line between animal and human becomes blurred. Eric is smart, funny, and caring. He is also a fierce, strong, and independent. He enjoys holding hands and sharing a meal. He also enjoys sleeping in trees and eating termites. Some may only see Eric as an animal while others consider him a person. I just call him friend.

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A papaya tree with growing fruit

With help from Mr. Jamie Reinart, a horticultural student knowledgeable about gardening and OFI volunteer from Canada, OFI staff member Pak Majid started an experiment to determine if sustainable fruit farming is a feasible option for OFI.  The main focus of this experiment is to develop nutrient rich soil from sand, compost and sawdust.  In the past, the compost collected after feeding the orangutans (banana peels, rambutan husks, bean pods, etc.) was taken off site to a private composting facility.  With Pak Majid’s innovation, the compost is now collected and kept on site where it is mixed into small piles to decompose and turn into nitrogen-rich soil.  This collection of compost is already a big step towards a sustainable system in itself.

Compost piles at the OCCQ containing mostly rambutan husks and seeds.

The next step in the process is to mix the compost with natural soil and sawdust.  This combination of materials will hopefully produce a growing medium that will support the growth of fruit trees.  To begin with, Pak Majid has planted 50 trees in the field behind the OCCQ.  The goal of this experiment is for ten of these 50 trees to produce large fruits (approximately five fruits each).  If this goal is reached, the project may be expanded and will allow OFI to supplement the fruit given to the orangutans with locally grown fruit and produce from the Care Center itself.  It is unlikely that OFI will ever be able to fully feed the orangutans from fruit grown on site due to spatial limitations as well as the sheer number of mouths to feed; however, it is a step in the right direction.  The information gained from this experiment may also be helpful to the local community and lead to future economic opportunities.

Pak Majid working on his garden at Camp Rendell.

Pak Majid has started a similar project at Camp Rendell; a 40-minute drive from the OCCQ. Camp Rendell is a new facility built on land recently acquired by OFI.  This site is where two of the three volunteer construction teams stayed and worked this summer The facility was built with the generous donation of a member family of OFI.  The camp consists of a brand new house, sleeping enclosures for 25 orangutans, much forest habitat and a 250 meter bridge leading over the swamp forest down to the river.  Since there are fewer orangutans and more space here than at the OCCQ, the potential for a sustainable fruit farm is much more feasible.  It is difficult to grow anything except for pineapples in the current dry season but Pak Majid is confident that when the wet season begins, so will the fruit.  He has already started the germination process with previously collected durian and other fruit seeds.

Durian seeds in a planter box at camp Rendell.

With sustainable horticulture, OFI can reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the local landfill, reduce harmful emissions from the transport of produce across the Java Sea, provide new farming techniques to the local people, reuse biomass for compost and begin to change attitudes about waste management.  The orangutans at Camp Rendell and the OCCQ will benefit by eating freshly picked fruit still warm from the sun.

Pak Majid in action! He is clearing the field to plant pineapples.

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