AN UNEXPECTED, WILD FRIENDSHIP
Recently, the weather in Central Kalimantan, especially around Nyaru Menteng, has been unpredictable: Sometimes, it is very hot and dry, while other times, there is heavy rainfall and cool temperatures. As a result, several of Nyaru Menteng’s Forest School students, including Topan, fell ill.
Their symptoms included coughing and a runny nose. To avoid transmission to other orangutans, our veterinarians routinely conduct regular check-ups of forest school students.
Apparently, during Topan’s absence, someone was always waiting for her at Forest School—a wild female orangutan we named Tuti. According to observations made by our veterinarian, Tuti is around six to seven years old, an age when a wild-raised orangutan would begin to separate from its mother. Since Tuti is female, her home range is pretty close to the area in which she was born and raised.
According to our surrogate mothers, Tuti is always quite interested in Forest School but will only watch from the top of a tree. When she realizes there is no Topan, she will immediately leave the area. Despite our initial apprehension about Topan and Tuti interacting, the two seem to have formed a close friendship.
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- Topan always looks for his best buddy Tuti when in Forest School…
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- …while wild female Tuti come to Forest School every day to find Topan.
When Topan returned to Forest School, it was her turn to look for Tuti. After eating a breakfast of cucumbers and corn provided by our surrogate mothers, Topan immediately climbed up into the canopy where she used to play with Tuti. She waited a long time, but Tuti was nowhere to be seen. After a while, Topan moved on to play and explore the forest with Monita and Paulinus.
The next day, Topan tried again to find her best friend in the same area. A surrogate mother who understood what Topan was up to watched silently and hoped that Tuti would show up to play with Topan as she had previously. Suddenly, she heard the sound of rustling leaves coming from the distance, signalling that an orangutan was approaching. Topan immediately took notice and moved toward the direction of the sound. Sure enough, it was Tuti. Topan wasted no time approaching her, and the two disappeared into a thicket of trees.
Making friends with a wild orangutan has had a positive impact on Topan. She has grown more confident and now explores the forest more than her peers. We hope Topan and Tuti remain friends and learn from one another.
