October 2010 – Orangutan Foundation International

Orangutan of the Month: Goran

In the hectic hubbub of the Playpen facility, there is one orangutan who seems to have captured a true “Zen” attitude. Goran is a peaceful and sweet little boy who keeps to himself and maintains his calm and quiet character even during the busiest of days. Goran is named for Goran Visnjic, the Croatian actor… Continue reading Orangutan of the Month: Goran

A day at OFI’s Playpen Facility at the Orangutan Care Center

The orangutans at OFI’s Playpen Facility are about to finish their banana breakfast when I arrive around 8:30 in the morning. Today, I’m spending my day at this facility within OFI’s Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine to meet the orangutans and their caregivers, and to experience what it’s like to work here. For the caregivers,… Continue reading A day at OFI’s Playpen Facility at the Orangutan Care Center

Employee of the Month: Ibu Ipuk

After repeatedly telling her that I have it on good authority that she can speak English well, Ibu Ipuk simply replies in English: “I don’t speak English! Who told you that?” With everyone at the forest facility laughing about her reply, Ipuk herself is probably laughing the hardest. It is a perfect example of the… Continue reading Employee of the Month: Ibu Ipuk

Happy Birthday Thor!

Happy Birthday Thor! Today, October 15th, is Thor’s first birthday! Thor was born in Camp Leakey. The very first photographs we have of him and his fragile twin brother who died shortly after birth were taken in the trees near and on the ironwood causeway leading to Camp. Now that he is fully a year… Continue reading Happy Birthday Thor!

The continuing story of Hockey…

The work of enriching and improving Hockey’s home continued long after the actual construction was finished (see “A New Home for Hockey”). Indeed, a lot has changed since Hockey first moved to the new sleeping enclosure built especially for her. In the beginning, Hockey and her friends were given temporary enrichment items, such as rattan… Continue reading The continuing story of Hockey…

WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 4046 [post_author] => 10301 [post_date] => 2010-10-13 17:00:24 [post_date_gmt] => 2010-10-14 00:00:24 [post_content] => The work of enriching and improving Hockey’s home continued long after the actual construction was finished (see “A New Home for Hockey”). Indeed, a lot has changed since Hockey first moved to the new sleeping enclosure built especially for her. In the beginning, Hockey and her friends were given temporary enrichment items, such as rattan balls, to keep them occupied. Now, however, there is a large bucket hammock and rope from which four tires are suspended, along with many tubs, water bottles, and balls. These stimulating sets of objects were designed and installed by Ibu Mariyanti, the OCCQ’s Enrichment Coordinator, and Kylise, our current long-term Enrichment Volunteer. [caption id="attachment_4048" align="aligncenter" width="350"]

Hockey in the newly installed hammock[/caption] After the hammock had been installed, Hockey immediately took to this ideal sleeping place. As Hockey loved to literally hang out and lay around, she could often be found resting in the blue barrel hammock. Unfortunately, getting in and out of the hammock turned out to be difficult for her and Hockey repeatedly got her underdeveloped left arm caught up in the iron chains holding up the hammock. This left Ibu Maryanti no other choice but to increase the height of the hammock, making it impossible for Hockey to reach the chains. Sadly, the hammock is now out of reach for Hockey, but fortunately she quickly decided that resting in an old fruit basket was just as comfortable. We are working on an arrangement for the chains and hammock that will be safe and comfortable for Hockey. Does anyone have any ideas? [caption id="attachment_4049" align="aligncenter" width="350"]

Hocky resting in an old fruit basket[/caption] After some weeks in her new home, Hockey is getting used to having roommates. At first, there was a lot of playful biting. Due to Hockey’s large size relative to her roommates, this was initiallyworrisome. Now, however, everybody has adjusted to living together peacefully. Hocky is the queen of the enclosure, and the other orangutans leave her alone if she doesn’t want to play. However, when she is tired and lays flat on her belly to rest or nap, her smaller friends often seek comfort by lying against or on top of her. She seems to enjoy this. [caption id="attachment_4050" align="aligncenter" width="332"]

Hocky in the forest chewing on a branch[/caption] Recently during her daily outings to the forest, Hockey has seemed more tired than usual. Perhaps this is because of the hot weather or perhaps Hockey is now getting so much exercise while in her night enclosure that she doesn’t need as much exercise while outside. Either way, in the forest, Hockey loves to lie on her stomach and relax for long periods of time. Sometimes she explores the forest slowly and reaches out for branches or leaves, sometimes she eats a bit of mud, but most of the time she likes to rest. It seems like resting is important for this friendly orangutan because too much exercise or excitement sometimes results in her having what appear to be seizures. These attacks can last for several minutes and Hockey’s eyes roll back in her head and her body shakes violently. It is a scary sight and all that her caregivers can do is gently hold her and make sure that she doesn’t hurt herself. These are stressful moments for everyone and cannot be over quickly enough, but at least Hockey is in the comfort of loving hands when it happens. [caption id="attachment_4051" align="aligncenter" width="332"]

Hocky resting and closely watching her exploring friend[/caption] In the future, Hockey will develop increased physical abilities and fitness, thus lessening the frequency of her seizures. Right now, all we can do is carefully take her in to the forest and closely monitor her. Hockey’s new enclosure is a good beginning to our ongoing effort to stimulate and enrich her life. [post_title] => The continuing story of Hockey... [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => the-continuing-story-of-hockey [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-09-28 22:04:46 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-09-29 05:04:46 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://www.orangutan.org/?p=4046 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 4 [filter] => raw )