ARE ORANGUTANS EMPATHETIC?
It was a usual day at the Nyaru Menteng forest school, where young orangutans were learning from one another while their human surrogate mothers looked on from below.
Kimi is a wild, female orangutan who lives on the pre-release island of Juq Kehje Swen, a forested island covering an area of 82 hectares located not far from Muara Wahau, in the East Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan. The island is rich in biodiversity, thus it is not surprising to see wild orangutans living there and in the surrounding forest areas. With the presence of wild orangutans around Juq Kehje Swen, our team is able to compare the development of the orangutans undergoing rehabilitation directly to their wild counterparts.
At the end of March, our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team at Juq Kehje Swen set out to observe Desi, who is currently the only rehabilitated orangutan living on the island. However, upon arriving at the island, the team was surprised to see two orangutans brachiating towards the riverbank! The team identified the two as Desi and Kimi. Meeting Kimi again was rather fortunate, as she had not been spotted for quite some time.
The additional food delivered to the feeding platform – intended for Desi – seemed to gain Kimi’s interest. She moved closer and snatched some bananas from Desi’s hand, but shortly after this the two were seen happily eating together. Without wasting any precious time, the team immediately began observing and taking notes on the two.
During a 3-hour period of observation, the team noted that Kimi brachiated from tree to tree, socialized and shared food with Desi, and ate a significant amount of leaves and fruits straight from the trees. Kimi stayed close to Desi the whole time.
It is indeed interesting to watch Desi interacting directly with wild orangutans. We hope she will continue to spend time with Kimi and learn from her, so she can further develop her survival skills just like a wild orangutan.
Keep on exploring and enjoying your lives, Kimi and Desi!
Read also: Learning Never Stops for Desi
It was a usual day at the Nyaru Menteng forest school, where young orangutans were learning from one another while their human surrogate mothers looked on from below.
Our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team at Camp Himba Pambelum in Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park (TNBBBR), Central Kalimantan, encountered Suci, a young female orangutan, three times back in 2023.
Kopral has been receiving treatment at the clinic since April 2023 due to wounds on the sole of his right foot and fungus between his toes.
