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So off to outdoor nursery. What a difference to clinic but it was absolutely fantastic as well! Having looked after the babies for so long, it was brilliant to see orangutans at the next stage doing so well on their own.
We started off by bringing the orangs to David's platform, a small platform where they are fed in the morning. This is about a 5minute walk from outdoor nursery and the orangs follow you on ropes so they learn to associate food with the jungle rather than the centre.
We then clean the feeding platform where the visitors come to see the orangutans. We then bring the orangutans who are around outdoor nursery to the platform. Each time we call them we have to say 'mari mari' which means 'come come', mari sini 'come here' and make a noise which the orangutans know to follow 'oooooh-woooop!. The orangs are then fed on the platform, and we hang around on the boardwalk incase any decide they want to investigate the visitors! It is great to see so many visitors come and view the orangutans and it means people are interested in them and care for their well-being. It is also fun to talk to the public and spread the awareness. It is great talking to people about a topic I am so passionate about and to get positive reactions from them.
After we have taken them to the feeding platform we go back to the outdoor nursery and take the remaining orangutans (mainly the younger ones) to Platform 4, which is deep in the jungle. We encourage the orangs to walk on their own and direct them in the right direction. It is always an entertaining journey because you're bound to get one orangutan who decides to be lazy and clambers up your back. After a long struggle of getting them to walk on their own again, the 700m walk can take a very long time! It is all fun though, When we do this walk in the afternoon, having left the orangutans there previously, we called them 'mari mari' 'oooooh-woooop'! and all these orangutans appear from out of the trees and follow us to be fed.
Its great seeing them stay in the jungle and fend for themselves. It shows how much they have learnt, seeing they used to be in clinic where they were always fed and cared for by humans.
At Platform 4 we sit on the platform surrounded by orangutans. I tried my first bit of sugar cane up there, while the orangutans sat around me eating theres. What an experience! One of the best bits about sitting there is that sometimes Mimi and Ronny come down for food. Mimi is a rehabilitated orangutan from Sepilok and Ronny is her 4year old baby which she gave birth to and reared successfully in the wild. It is brilliant watchin them and seeing how developed Ronny is at such a young age. He is able to climb very well and build nests! All these things would have been taught to him by Mimi and she would have learnt it at Sepilok. The rehabilitation programme is working brilliantly!
The walk to platform 4 is also very leech infested. You get covered in them especially when its been raining. But fear not, the orangutans are the besr leech partrol around! They pick them off you, put them in their mouths and spit them out! It's brilliant. Siti was particularly good at this, which was funny coz she is such a gentle and kind natured orangutan, except to leeches it seems! I dont blame here, they're horrible things.
One rule about the platform is that you cant use the ladder if there is an orangutan on it. Some of the orangutans have picked up this rule as well and use it to their advantage. Joey would wait until we had one foot on the ladder, then jump on it and come toward you in a flash! Infact, he would attack (in a playful way) pretty much constantly. Stuff gym membership, an hour with Joey everyda would leave you proper trim! One day, he pounced on me on the platform, we had a playfight for a good 15minutes. Then when I got on the ladder he was there until we got him off. Then as I waslked past the platform he jumped onto me and started fighting again! He is relentles, but so loveable! Great entertainment!
Not so entertaining on our last day, photo day. I was on my own as Caroline (the other girl in my group) was ill that morning. So I was trying to take photos of the orangs but Joey kept coming towards me! He jumped on my back, got my hair in all of his hands, feet and mouth and had me down on the floor. If only I had a video of that! The photo of him above was taken just before his first pounce....trouble trouble trouble! :)
One of the best experiences at outdoor nursery was seeing the dominant male CID. It was incredible. He rarely comes back to Sepilok, maybe once a month if we're lucky. But he was there as we were walking to the feeding platform. He is HUGE, 38years old and has the cheek pads that dominant males grow! It was so fantastic seeing him and I will never forget it. The dominant male currently at Sepilok is called Mishkam, and I thought he was big. But at only 16years old, he is nothing in size compared to CID. Absolutely incredible experience! Very lucky to have seen him!
Another highlight of working at outdoor was meeting Naru, my adopted orang. It took him a long time to be released but he was finally out last year. He is a very gentle natured orangutan, and very independent. Doing extremely well in outdoor. He has a tendency to be lazy and would rather be carried than walk. But if you make him walk he will do, although its more of a combination of walking and rolling than just walking. Great to watch. He tends to get scared when larger orangutans come close, but is a great climber which means he can keep himself out of danger when he is on his own :) Great to work with him and so good to see how much he has achieved!
I absolutely loved outdoor, and it was great to work closely with the rangers as well. It is in this placement where you spend the most time with the Sepilok staff and its great to get to know them, learn about the orangutans and the malay culture. They are also excellent with the orangutans, gentle but firm and they know all the orangutans so well and can easily spot if one is under the weather.
As the orangs at outdoor are older they really have developed personalities and they are all so loveable. They are all so different, even more so than the younger ones and each plays their own role. It is fantastic to see, and the cutest bit is that some of them have partners. Siti and Joey are a couple and they walk arond with their arms around each other. When they get scared they also comfort one another. One of the cutest things I saw was when Ankong was holding Rosa like a baby (on his stomach) as she is so small. They are best friends and look after each other. It is so nice to see.
Again another amazing experience! This trip keeps getting better and better xxx
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