Ray and Larry love hanging out on their daily releases to the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine baby playground. Larry is more timid than Ray and sometimes needs Ray’s encouragement to start exploring the playground. Often Larry will sit in his caregiver’s lap while Ray climbs around the jungle gym. After Ray has had enough play time, he goes to Larry for some cuddle time.

As two young adolescent males, Darren and Lanang like to play rough with each other. Lanang is the smaller of the two and is easily overpowered by Darren. Sometimes the play wrestling evolves into real wrestling and Lanang runs away to hide. But then, when Darren is least expecting it, Lanang will come up and tackle him from behind and the play starts all over again!

Egle and Meli are like 2 peas in a pod! They play together, eat together, and sleep in each other’s arms. On release, Meli is the more adventurous of the two. When she ventures off into the forest to explore the trees on her own, Egle will start crying for her friend!

Weyerhauser and Turner are inseparable whether they’re in their enclosures or out on release. After playing together in the forest, they will sometimes emerge from the brush hooked together with one arm over the other’s shoulder. They will continue to walk like that as though they were stuck together!

Krista and Tiido are a funny pair. They share a sleeping enclosure and are very affectionate with each other. You can always spot them gently grooming each other, playing together or cuddling up for a nap. They sometimes even share food (a big deal for an orangutan!). But when they are in the forest, it’s like they don’t even know each other! They both prefer to explore the forest on their own. Even best friends need their “alone time”!

Wendy and Kino are new friends! Wendy is several years older than Kino and usually hangs out with orangutans closer to her size. But Kino is an exception! He is Mr.Popular with orangutans of all ages. Many babies his age wouldn’t dare to venture into the forest on their own. Kino is very adventurous and will follow Wendy into the forest with the bigger orangutans. Wendy is gentle with him, almost motherly. The two love to climb trees and swing on branches together.

It is hard to think of a closer friendship at the Care Center than Dwayne and Saddam. Both suffer from similar medical conditions which has left them nearly hairless and very small for their age. However, they found the greatest companionship with each other. Saddam and Dwayne are practically joined at the hip. When they are in the forest together, Saddam follows Dwayne everywhere he goes. Recently, a larger enclosure was built to connect Saddam and Dwayne’s existing sleeping enclosures together. Now they spend all their time together, and they never stop playing!

Judy and Ulexa are the sweetest of friends. They never stray far from each other and are always checking to make sure the other is near for a spontaneous hug. Ulexa cries when Judy wanders off without her. At night time you can find them sleeping peacefully, cuddled in each other’s arms.

Ari and Dewa share the same passion in life- playing! These two are non-stop wrestling machines. It is only when food or other orangutans come by that they will part momentarily to investigate. Otherwise, they are forever locked in an on-going wrestling match. They provide a lot of comfort to each other as well. In rare moments of calm, they sit side by side, resting on their bellies and observing the world around them!