After a long hiatus, Jungle School recommenced at our Bornean Orangutan Rescue Alliance (BORA) rescue centre in November 2020. The staff were concerned that the young orangutans may have lost their desire and confidence to return to Jungle School but there was nothing to worry about. The youngsters embraced being back at Jungle School, climbing and playing with each other in the canopy. Happi continued to be the best in his class. None of the other male orangutans who share an enclosure with Happi can compete with him in climbing. Happi can spend hours in the treetops, even if he just rests and watches the world from above.
Happi shares an enclosure with three other orangutans and knows how to deal with their different personalities. He will often keep a safe distance from the others to avoid any disagreements over things like food! Happi prefers to observe the other orangutans from up high in his comfortable hammock. Happi has a knack for observing and adapting to new locations. Every time he goes to Jungle School, he is able to explore new areas that he has not visited previously. He is always looking around carefully to see what he can eat or use. Happi has been observed drinking water from a hold in a tree which is an excellent forest skill to have. He will sometimes carry a branch of young leaves around to snack on as he travels around the forest.
The orangutan keepers observe that Happi has a kind and gentle nature. He will be accepting of orangutans that others may be giving a hard time. Happi has included Aman, one of the newer arrivals with deformed fingers, in his activities and Aman has been learning how to hang and swing from tree branches by spending time with Happi. Happi has also been brave and gentle with an older orangutan named Kola who was repatriated from Thailand to our BORA rescue centre in 2020. Kola is quite an aggressive orangutan and much older than Happi however he was observed holding her hand very gently.
It is wonderful that Happi continues to excel at Jungle School. He really does seem to live up to his name of ‘Happi’ as brings much joy to the staff at our BORA rescue centre and his adopters.
