Sam and Cupcake (aka Sule) are doing well during the non-fruiting season this year. Sam does tend to eat a lot of whatever is the most available food source in the forest at the time. Therefore, she sometimes experiences mild constipation or diarrhoea due to the lack of variety in her diet. They are both healthy and in good physical condition however Sam is a bit slim. She is still given supplementary food by the orangutan trackers when her wild feeding activity decreases. However, if Sam is full from her wild foraging then she will not take the food from the trackers which is very positive.
Sam avoids other orangutans and prefers to travel alone in the forest with Sule. Sam has a hard time avoiding Violet and Evan since Violet is very sociable and follows other orangutans to interact with them. Meanwhile, Evan, an older male, often tries to mate with Sam and other females and may follow them for several days at a time.
Sule is a very active young orangutan and often now travels ahead of mum Sam. He has become quite skilled at swaying in trees so he can transfer to another tree by himself. He even builds his own nests however the quality of them is still low. Nest building is an art mastered over many years so keep practicing little guy! Being young and inquisitive, he is far more social that Sam and he enjoys playing with other orangutans they encounter in the forest. He will often try and imitate their activities. This is excellent for Sule’s forest skills development.
Sam and Sule have certainly come a long way since they were first released into the jungles of Bukit Tigapuluh. It is fantastic that they continue to develop their forest skills with support given from the staff when needed. Sam provides a beacon of hope to older orangutans that have been rescued from deplorable conditions that they too may learn the ways of the jungle and return to their true home.
