Rocky is a very active and boisterous orangutan and he likes to rough house and annoy some of the other orangutans on Ali Island. This is quite common behavior for a male orangutan of this age and the keepers keep a close eye on his antics.
Rocky is a highly independent orangutan. He mostly stays far away from the keepers and he vocalizes his annoyance by kiss-squeaking if they happen to correct his rough play with other orangutans. It is very positive that Rocky does not rely on or want to interact with the keepers.
Rocky spends the majority of his day high in the canopy foraging for fruits and leaves and delicious termites. He has now adapted his active period with ‘normal’ orangutan active periods; waking up at sunrise and settling down in his nest at sunset. Overall, Rocky is developing excellent forest skills and is a strong contender for future release.
Rickina is a very active and smart orangutan and she utilizes the space and trees on Ali island very well. Even though she still receives supplement food, she has become an amazing forager and seeks out natural fruits, young leaves, shoots and insects. She also has been seen sampling tree bark which is a natural fallback food item for wild orangutans when fruits are scarce.
Rickina still likes to spend time close to the human keepers on the island. Over the coming months, the keepers will focus on encouraging Rickina to increase the distance and time that she spends close to them. Overall, Rickina is doing remarkably well and has developed and mastered many skills that are needed to live in the forest after release.
Due to the forest fires in West Kalimantan in August and September, all orangutans at the IAR centre are being monitored extra closely and checked for any signs of distress from smoke.
The top three photos are of Rocky and the bottom three photos are of Rickina.
