ORANGUTAN PARTY 2

Do you remember the story of Hamzah crashing Lesan and Sayang’s party? It’s been two years since orangutan Sayang and her baby, along with Lesan and her offspring, last celebrated at Camp Lesik. Recently, they returned for another party.

These two pairs of mothers now carry their second offspring, who are around two years old, while their eldest—Ayu and Padma—have grown independent and no longer follow their mums.

Lesan and Sayang’s wild life
The BOS team released Lesan into the Kehje Sewen Forest in 2012. Five years later, they observed her carrying her first baby, whom they named Ayu. When Ayu turned six years old, Lesan gave birth to her second baby in early 2023.

Sayang, on the other hand, returned to the wild in 2013. Similar to Lesan, the team observed the female carrying her first baby, Padma, in 2018 and her second baby in mid-2023. Though not as often as Lesan, Sayang also enjoys being around the camp, quietly observing the team’s activities without causing any trouble. Both Lesan and Sayang are excellent mothers, skilfully teaching their offspring essential survival skills for life in the wild.

Teaching the second offspring
To our team’s surprise, Lesan and Sayang recently returned to Camp Lesik, each carrying their second baby. These young orangutans are currently in the critical phase of learning from their mothers, observing and mimicking their behaviour to understand how to survive in the wild.

The rangers first noticed the presence of the four orangutans when they heard rustling sounds from the bamboo thickets behind the camp. Shortly after, they saw the two mother-and-baby pairs moving and swinging between bamboo trees while munching on some young leaves. Our team quickly observed and captured the moment through photographs.

Afternoon feast at Camp Lesik
Satisfied with the young bamboo leaves, Lesan and Sayang moved to a sweet potato patch near the camp. They dug up the sweet potatoes and enjoyed their feast. Meanwhile, the babies sat quietly, observing their mothers and occasionally grabbing what was in their mother’s hands or mouths.

Once they had finished with the sweet potatoes, the orangutans moved on to some pumpkins they found nearby and enjoyed them as well. They didn’t even spare the kangkong (water spinach) planted in the camp for the team’s food supplies —it also became part of the meal for Sayang, Lesan, and their offspring.

Evening time to play and rest
After finishing their impromptu feast, the group climbed into the trees in front of the camp and swung from branch to branch, heading deeper into the forest. As the day turned to dusk, our team stopped the observation and let the mother-and-baby pairs enjoy their time building nests and resting for the night.

Orangutans spend most of their time eating while they dedicate the rest to exploring, socializing, grooming, playing, building nests, and resting. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Lesan and Sayang’s primary evening activity was eating. The only difference from their previous “party” was the absence of Hamzah, who was notorious for disrupting their feasting sessions in the past.

Find out more about our orangutan conservation work here.