Mary has become stronger and healthier over the last six months and has also improved at Jungle School.
Mary and the other female orangutans in her enclosure have become more patient when the keepers come to clean the enclosures in the morning at our BORA rescue centre in East Kalimantan. Once they have finished cleaning, they will give out fruits and vegetables to the orangutans. Mary used to scream impatiently for the keepers to feed them, however now she and the other orangutans wait quietly for the keepers to finish their cleaning. Bonti can sometimes snatch Mary’s food, so the keepers always make sure Mary gets enough to eat.
Mary loves rambutans. No matter how many rambutans are given to Mary, she will eat them! Many of the recent rambutans were sour but Mary still loved them. The team was able to harvest the sour rambutan fruit directly because there were so many, and the orangutans reaped the benefits of the bumper harvest. Now the rambutan season has passed and it is currently quite difficult to get a variety of fruits at the market. Therefore, additional multivitamins and other proteins have been given to Mary and the other orangutans. Mary particularly enjoys termite nests full of eggs. Mary greatly enjoys the various enrichment that is given out. She will often observe other orangutans before trying to complete the enrichment given to her. This video shows her munching on an evening snack after Jungle School whilst attempting to start building a nest with one hand.
Thankfully, Mary’s immune system seems to be getting stronger and she is rarely sick. Previously, Mary would often develop cold symptoms when it was rainy weather. Her weight has increased by 2kg and she now weighs 18kg. Mary has a beautiful coat and face, and the keepers have a soft spot for Mary.
Mary has continued to build on her Jungle School skills. She will immediately climb trees and play with the other orangutans when she is taken out to the forest. Mary has also started exploring more and is moving higher in the canopy and further away. The keepers must pay extra attention to ensure they don’t lose sight of inquisitive Mary. It’s wonderful to see Mary continue to thrive on her rehabilitation journey.
