Sudin and his best friend Siti have now been in Jungle School in the Bukit Tigapuluh Ecosystem in Sumatra for seven months.
Gorgeous little Sudin climbing in the canopy
Jungle School is usually conducted every day in two sessions: 8am – 11am and 1pm to 4pm. Sometimes, Sudin and Siti don’t want to come down, so they stay at Jungle School for one long session.
Sudin has shown good climbing skills and is more agile and faster than Siti. However, he has had a few falls. He likes to forage and tries various forest fruits and leaves. For a while their foraging behaviour was quite low due to the limitations of their baby Jungle School area. Sudin mostly ate leaves and supplement food from the orangutan keepers. To improve their ability to forage, the orangutan keepers began moving them to different locations where fruit was available.
As well as foraging and climbing, Sudin and Siti have had the opportunity to play with other released orangutans at this site including Cece, Citrawan, Ucok Mabes and mother and daughter duo, Violet, and Vanilla. It is wonderful that these youngsters can learn from more experienced orangutans. Sudin is more confident than Siti in these social activities and plays extensively with the other orangutans.
Sudin and Siti’s foraging greatly improved when they were taken to new areas of the forest. Sudin also consumed less supplement food from the orangutan keepers. Sometimes Sudin and Siti would get bored and want to play on the ground. Sudin would chase the orangutan keepers and try to get their attention. The orangutan keepers would move them to different locations when they did this to encourage them to climb and explore the canopy. If other orangutans are around then Sudin and Siti are much more willing to stay up in the canopy.
It is wonderful to see the progress that gorgeous little Sudin is making in Jungle School. Well done little guy!
