Orangutans are arboreal mammals who are known not only as forest gardeners, but as forest architects, with magnificent nest building abilities. These primates spend their days climbing, foraging for food, and brachiating through the forest canopy. Afterwards, they build a new nest every single night to sleep in.
Throughout our soft-release programme, the rescued, orphaned orangutans acquire many important skills as they learn to grasp the workings of life in the forest. These young orangutans must learn the essential skills of how to forage for food, climb trees, and build nests, as well as become familiar with their forest habitat and all that it encompasses.
Every orangutan has a distinct personality and unique physical characteristics that differentiate one to another. Their body size, facial features, and special characteristics are a few of the ways that the field staff use to identify orangutans in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve - Timtom is known for her beautiful hair.
Unusual news came from Camp JL in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Infant Logos received an injury to his left forefinger due to an animal bite. Camp staff are currently unsure which orangutan bit him and how it occurred. As usual, Logos was actively playing in the camp yard and appeared to be in good health until February 1st when he returned to his enclosure.
In January of this year, our vets were called to Camp Buluh in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve to treat Queen after she had suffered a crocodile attack. She and her son Quentin were noticeably missing around camp after the new year but were eventually sighted and the team discovered that Queen had a large wound on her lower back.
Orangutans have been recorded eating over 400 different types of food, which means for mothers, the job of introducing their offspring to all the different food groups is a rather large task. Until they start to forage entirely for themselves, infant orangutans depend on their mother’s milk to sustain them.
When our team discover that a female orangutan in the wild is pregnant, there’s a certain energy that’s suddenly felt around camp. Every newborn is vital for the future of this critically endangered species so there’s excitement at the thought of another addition to the population, but also a sense of trepidation, hoping that the birth will go well.
Female orangutan Mores shelters from the rain
This is how our team at Camp Gemini felt back in 2019 when we learnt that reintroduced orangutan Mores was pregnant for the third time. Every time we would see her moving around in the trees within the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, we’d crane our necks to see if there was a little newborn hiding under her long orangey hair. It wasn’t until June that our team were finally rewarded. Emerging from the vegetation came Mores clutching her new tiny infant for the first time!
Mores shows off her newborn
Our monitoring team have to be particularly vigilant for the days following an orangutan birth. It’s the most vulnerable time for any animal in the wild, so to keep a close eye on mother and offspring without disrupting their first moments together is very important.
It was satisfying to see that Mores and her newborn were progressing nicely over the first few days. With her young by her side, she would travel gracefully through the trees and eat plenty of food to keep up their strength. After a while we were finally able to determine that the infant was female, and to follow her mother’s ‘M’ lineage, she was given the name Marsha.
Since then, our staff have enjoyed watching Marsha grow in size and personality in the forest. Witnessing the way her mother climbs, builds nests, and searches for food; the young orangutan is slowly being painted a picture of what an independent life in the rainforest looks like. She still has a few more years to go until she’ll be ready to go it alone, but thanks to her mother’s teachings, Marsha is starting to show the first signs of maturity.
Marsha is Mores’s third offspring, having previously given birth to Marcell and Martin in the wild. For Mores to have grown her family tree so well is truly a fantastic achievement, especially when we consider that she began her life in captivity before her release into the reserve in 2003. A testament to how successful reintroduction can be when orangutans have a safe forest to roam.
Mores and Marsha are thriving in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve
It’s fair to say that Mores has played her part for the future of these critically endangered great apes, unfortunately though, not all orangutans have the opportunity to do so in a habitat that is protected. Orphans taken into the illegal pet trade have an uncertain future, but at the Orangutan Foundation our staff can offer a route back to the wild through our soft-release programme. Please click below to find out how you can adopt an orangutan today and ensure orphans as young as Marsha also have the chance to be independent.
Orangutan Foundation, 7 Kent Terrace, London, NW1 4RP +44 (0)20 7724 2912 info@orangutan.org.uk
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