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.

Scent enrichment gives animals opportunities for play and exploration. An acute sense of smell is often associated in people’s minds with animals such as big cats but the sense of smell is important to other animals, primates included, as well. With humans, familiar smells can vividly evoke emotions or memories, while new scents expand our experience. Orangutans are no different in this respect. All of the animals at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) [...]

Feeding a large family is never easy. But when that family includes hundreds of hungry orangutans with big appetites, ‘meal time’ becomes a daily epic adventure to provide a steady supply of the nutrients, calories and variety that are essential to raising healthy great apes. 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 [...]