A FRESH START AT LIFE
At the end of last year, the BOS Foundation team successfully released eight orangutans from the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre into the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park. This release was quite challenging, as the team brought orangutans to two separate release locations: one in the Bemban basin and the other in the Hiran basin.
Cinta, Liti, Ojes, and Wanto were taken first to their release points in Bemban. Immediately following their successful release, our team had to return to the centre to take Fajar, Tomang, Lala, and Fathia to their release points, but this time in Hiran. Since then, Fajar and Tomang have completely captivated our post-release monitoring team, who live year-round at the release site.
While in the rehabilitation centre, Tomang always finished every piece of food his caretakers gave him. Even after his release, Tomang’s immense appetite has persisted. When the forest’s bounty was inadequate for him, Tomang once attempted to return to a cage on a boat to search for leftover food. However, this moment quickly passed as he returned to join the other free orangutans enjoying their new environment.
Tomang prefers lounging in trees over going on adventures, making him the homebody in the relationship.
Exploring and socialising
Meanwhile, Fajar, a female orangutan, was very active as the technicians observed her after her release. She focused on exploring her new surroundings, with some breaks to snack on wild figs and interact with other orangutans.
Surprisingly, homebody Tomang and adventurer Fajar appeared to form a close relationship, a very close one indeed. The team stumbled upon the pair engaging in a lengthy bout of copulation, which we hope will soon result in a new arrival in the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park!
