THE 100th ORANGUTAN! [PART 2]

“She was so beautiful and so clean. She didn’t want to be dirty. She preferred to play inside, on porcelain floor, instead of rolling on the ground outside with her friends. Little Miss Clean.” – Wiwik Astutik, Samboja Lestari Coordinator of Animal Welfare & Forest School 3.

That was a long time ago, back in 2002, but Wiwik remembers it like it was yesterday. Wiwik just started working for the BOS Foundation when this little female orangutan arrived at Samboja Lestari. Her beauty was striking with her dark brown hair framing her face perfectly. But having been kept as a pet for over 3 years since she was only 6 months old (her previous owner bought her in a black market) had clearly affected her behavior. She was tame and shy and unusually clean.

She hated the outdoors and preferred to stay inside the nursery where the floor was always clean. Whenever she got some dirt or dust on her hair, she freaked out flicking the dirt or dust off her hair right away like a supermodel. This behavior had earned her the nickname the “Little Miss Clean” and consequently, she didn’t have many friends as her peers, of course, much preferred to play outside and get all dirty.

Teaching her to be wild again was definitely a huge challenge. The Little Miss Clean must join Forest School where she was encouraged to climb trees, make nests, find and eat forest food, stay outside, and yes, get all dirty. She had to learn to be a true orangutan otherwise she would never have a chance of freedom.

“She never really liked human males,” Syahrul, a Technician at Samboja Lestari and also one of her very first teachers at Forest School, recalls. “So she was closer to Wiwik than to me. But I persisted and patiently encouraged her to learn everything she needed to know about life in the forest. And over time, she thrived and even became one of the best students at our Forest School!”

That was a long time ago. With a lot of love, support and encouragement from Wiwik, Syahrul and the entire Samboja Lestari team, she displayed outstanding development. She loved swinging in the trees with her friends. She enjoyed foraging for wild food and even showed a natural talent for finding and choosing the most delicious ones. She also became very skillful at building nests.

Now at the age of 15 years old, she is more beautiful than ever but she is no longer the little Miss Clean. And freedom… is waiting around the corner.

She will be the 100th ORANGUTAN to return to the forest!

Who is she?
Keep watching this space (and our Facebook pages and Twitters) to find out the answer soon!