Despite not being the largest of orangutans, Rocky has earned the reputation on Ali island at the International Animal Rescue Orangutan Centre of being quite a tyrant and a wrestler. He loves rough and tumble play with the other male orangutans, especially Pungky and Anjas. Currently, he doesn’t have the best foraging skills and cheeky Rocky has begun stealing the food from the other orangutans including Rickina.
However, even though Rocky spends the majority of his day rough-housing high in the canopy and stealing food from other unsuspecting orangutans, he will still forage for fruits and leaves and scrumptious termites on his own.
As a relatively good nest builder, Rocky usually makes fresh nests every evening. However, lately, he has been seen re-entering old nests and ‘renewing’ them by adding fresh leaves before going to sleep for the night. Overall, Rocky is still doing very well on Ali island and will continue to develop the skills needed to survive in the wild. Well done Rocky.
Rickina is still housed on Ali Island at the International Animal Rescue Orangutan Centre, along with 15 other orangutans. Rickina is quite social and she is usually seen spending time with her two closest companions, Anjas and Rocky. However, she still seems content with hanging out close to —and with —the human keepers on the island. Over the coming months, the staff will continue to encourage Rickina to increase her time spent with other orangutans including Anjas and Rocky and reducing the distance and time she spends close to the orangutan keepers.
Even though Rickina still receives some supplementary food, she has become an amazing forager seeking out natural fruits, young leaves, shoots, insects and also sampling tree bark -a natural fallback food item for wild orangutans. However, Rickina is quite gentle and passive and often succumbs to the other orangutans stealing her foraged goodies. Perhaps this is why she prefers the company of the orangutan keepers.
When the sun goes down and it’s time for bed, Rickina is very skilled at building excellent nests for a comfortable night’s sleep. Overall, Rickina is doing remarkably well and has developed and mastered many skills that are needed to live in the forest after release. Well done Rickina!
(Note: Photos on the top are of Rocky and photos on the bottom are Rickina)
