Tag: OCCQ

Orangutan Care Series: The Juveniles

Without a doubt, the most lively and boisterous age group of orphaned orangutans at the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) are the juveniles. Between five and nine years of age, these juvenile orangutans are full of energy and curiosity. From their initial arrival at the OCCQ, orphaned orangutans are lovingly… Continue reading Orangutan Care Series: The Juveniles

Meet the Faces of the OCCQ

Orphaned orangutans are given a second chance at a life in the wild at Orangutan Foundation International’s Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ) in Indonesia. After being tragically separated from their mothers who are killed in the process of deforestation, these vulnerable orphaned orangutans are loved and cared for by OFI’s dedicated caregivers. These men… Continue reading Meet the Faces of the OCCQ

What Does it Take to Feed 330 Orangutans?

It is early in the morning at OFI’s OCCQ. The staff is huddled around the kitchen fire, sipping coffee and discussing the plan for the day’s “soft releases” when orangutans are released into the forest for the day before being brought back to their sleeping cages in the late afternoon. The jarring sound of an… Continue reading What Does it Take to Feed 330 Orangutans?

Radiant Ray

To look at Ray is to look at a vision of tranquility. He radiates serenity in the midst of the seemingly frenzied orangutan infant playground at OFI’s Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine in Pasir Panjang, Kalimantan. Ray is only an infant, and yet he seems wise beyond his years. Often when I am sitting and… Continue reading Radiant Ray

Observe the World with Yosuke

Each and every orangutan at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) in Kalimantan has an individual personality that distinguishes them from their peers. Choosing just one orangutan to feature as each month’s “Orangutan of the Month” can often be a taxing endeavor as the OCCQ oranugtans all stand apart and are all unique. But… Continue reading Observe the World with Yosuke

News from the Field: Bringing the Forest Back

After fighting the devastating fires of 2015, Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) is as dedicated as ever to the protection of rainforest and orangutan habitat in Borneo. Unfortunately, large areas of OFI’s Orangutan Legacy Forest (OLF) that had been purchased and placed under protection burned in the 2015 fires, despite the relentless firefighting efforts of OFI… Continue reading News from the Field: Bringing the Forest Back

Orangutan of the Month for Jan 2017: Unique Monroe

“Monroe” is unlike any other orangutan that I have met at the Orangutan Foundation International’s (OFI) Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ) in Pasir Panjang, Central Indonesian Borneo. Although still a juvenile, Monroe has already developed a sparkling personality and a quirkiness that is unique among her peers. Monroe marches to the beat of her own… Continue reading Orangutan of the Month for Jan 2017: Unique Monroe

Orangutan of The Month for Dec 2016: Charming Valentino

Infant orangutan Valentino arrived at OFI’s Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) on the day that gave him his name: February 14th, Valentine’s Day. Like most of the orangutans arriving at the Care Center, his backstory is a blur. But we do know that a man found the timid and helpless orphaned Valentino in a… Continue reading Orangutan of The Month for Dec 2016: Charming Valentino

Employee Spotlight: Ibu Jitun

There is a shining presence at the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ) in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia when the beautiful and serene Ibu Jitun is around. She lights up the room wither her presence and always has a smile on her face. A kind and nurturing soul, Ibu Jitun is an exceptional person. She genuinely… Continue reading Employee Spotlight: Ibu Jitun

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I am standing in the Orangutan Foundation International nursery forest trying to photograph Larry for ‘Orangutan of the Month’.

Larry thinks that this is a big game and with one hand holding onto a rope, keeps swinging at me trying to touch my camera with his other hand. If he could, he would be laughing at me. Suddenly he stops and stares intensely over my shoulder at something. His big eyes widen and his gaze fixes to one of childlike wonder. He is completely intrigued. I look behind me and only see trees in the forest. Yet something has captured little Larry’s attention and nothing is going to tear his gaze away. He is captivated by that one thing and he will not be distracted until he has finished looking. Then as suddenly as it began the spell is broken and little Larry launches himself at my camera again. What was he looking at? I don’t know. Sometimes it’s another animal whose camouflage does not reveal himself/herself to the human eye but whose movement catches the eye of an infant orangutan. Dr. Galdikas says it has happened many times before. 2016-01-19_Pondok Danielle_Larry_Vytas_MHP_11_wmAt two years of age Larry is one of the younger orphan orangutans at OFI’s Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ) in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. He is housed in a special infant care unit at the OCCQ where around-the-clock care is given to these small orangutans. Larry arrived at the OCCQ as an orphan at only four months of age. As with so many of the orangutan orphans, the story of how he came to be without his mother is not entirely clear but indicates his mother was killed in an area of forest being cleared for palm oil. Over the past months I have watched Larry grow from a scared infant with fuzzy orange hair, to an orangutan with a shining personality and one who is growing more independent every day. As a baby orangutan, Larry is at that stage of development where he is exploring all the time. He wants to get into everything and to see everything. Larry has a thirst for adventure unlike any other and wants to constantly seek and discover. For little Larry, the world must be a very large place full of the unknown. Yet he still is only an infant and he doesn’t dare roam too far away from the safety of his caregivers. Occasionally, Larry will run back to them to cling onto a leg or to sit next to them on a wooden bench, simply to feel reassured. The caregivers in turn, will comfort him with a back rub or a gentle hug. Then, with his confidence restored, he will take off again to further explore, turning somersaults along the ground with reckless abandon. 2016-01-19_Pondok Danielle_Larry_MHP_02a_wm Each day Larry and friends are taken to the OFI nursery playground where they can climb, play, and learn to forage leaves from nearby trees. When he isn’t climbing, one of Larry’s favorite activities is playing in the dirt. He will sit himself down in the charcoal-grey dirt and start scraping and digging a small hole with his hands. Then, when he has enough loose dirt, he will start flinging it over himself indulging in a fun, jungle dirt-bath. Some days Larry is so covered in grey dirt that it can be hard to recognize him! After an interlude of dirt throwing, he will take off into the trees to forage. Larry is learning to find the all leaves and small locally growing fruits that he can eat. Around the nursery playground the trees don’t grow too high so Larry can easily locate a tasty snack in the lower branches. Sometimes he will get a little bit greedy and take too many fruits and leaves. Not wanting the fruit to go to waste, he will walk around with bulging cheeks and a green grin as fruit falls from his mouth. As Larry is very young, he is still learning about climbing and how to judge suitable branches. On occasion, he will misjudge if a branch can hold his weight. Sometimes when playing in the lower branches of a small tree, Larry comes crashing down after jumping around on a branch and not realizing he broke it. Yet he dusts himself off, not hurt at all, and climbs up again to keep playing. I have learned from Larry that infant orangutans might seem small but, compared to human children, they are remarkably strong, both in their limbs and in their ability to take a tumble and keep playing. 2016-01-19_Pondok Danielle_Larry_MHP_01a_wm_lowresLarry is friends with all of the other infant orangutans around his age. When he is in the forest he especially loves to play with Vytas and Ben. These two friends provide good play-wrestling! Often I see Larry climbing into a tree with Vytas not far behind him. As night falls Larry curls up in one of the barrels in the sleeping enclosure he shares with the other infant orangutans. Here he will sleep soundly, feeling safe, with good friend Ray by his side. Together the two will curl up into a ball with arms around each other, replicating, to some extent, the feeling of security they would have felt curling up in a forest nest with their mothers. 2016-01-19_Pondok Danielle_Larry_MHP_03_wmAt two years of age, Larry is still an infant dependent upon his caregivers. It will be many years before Larry is confident enough and has the skills to be released permanently back into the wild. Yet little Larry is receiving the best of care. It is due to the love and affection of the OFI caregivers that Larry is able to learn and develop forest skills. We are eager to see this inquisitive explorer discover more and more about the forest and one day to see a not-so-little Larry free to discover new things in the wild. 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