A MEETING WITH MAYANG AND UPI

It has been a while since our last meeting with Mayang though during the middle of last month, the post-release monitoring team picked up radio tracking signals from some of our other reintroduced orangutans including Agus, Lesan and Hamzah. Unexpectedly, there was another orangutan in the area - Mayang! We were excited to observe her and pleased to see that she looked very well.

During our observations Mayang played and interacted with Agus and Lesan. But once she saw the Team, Mayang made it clear that our presence was not welcome and she threw tree branches down at us. The Team observed her activities until around 5 pm when she disappeared into the forest. We have committed to continue our observations on Mayang in the future.

A few days later, 500 m along transect Martin, the Team were taking a short break along their pre-planned patrol route when they unexpectedly met up with Upi. Initially they were unable to confirm that the orangutan was in fact Upi, as the transmitter failed to work. After some quick repair work, they found that the fault was due to the cable and after fixing it on the spot, the tracking device worked again confirming that it was definitely Upi.

After almost one month since our last observation, Upi seemed healthy with thicker hair and it also looked like she had gained some weight. During the two hours of observations, Upi spent her time lazing around in the tree, keeping a sharp eye on the Team. When the Team ended their observation tasks for the day and started to pack their equipment, Upi descended from the tree and began to follow the Team. The Team tried hard to discourage her, but it’s not easy to outsmart an orangutan and determined Upi continued to follow the Team until they reached camp Lesik.

We will keep a close eye on Upi to ensure she continues to adapt to life in the Kehje Sewen forest as an independent orangutan.