Sorry this has taken so long for me to update. The internet at the resthouse where I was staying didn't let me update my blog! Slight problem there!

Anyway...so the next place I worked was back in Sepilok at the Clinic. This is where all the babies are as well as any orangutans who are in quarantine for various reasons. This was probably the most intense placement due to the high number of orangutans and their low level of patience! hehe!

The clinic was fantastic. Our job was to care for all the young orangutans aged between 1 and 5. We would feed them, clean nursery and take them out for enrichment. We took the big babies to the ropes and trees where we would encourage them to climb and observe them up in the trees. The little babies were taken to a manmade enrichment area made of ropes and play balls. It was brilliant to watch such tiny orangutans clmbing so confidently. There were so hilarious times as well. Watching one of the little babies confidently make his way across a rope which hung over very deep bushes. One minute he was there, the nest we heard a thud and he had disappeared into the bushes! We couldn't get to him very easily so watched with patience at the rustling until an orange blob came back into view. He eventually made it back to the rope, but came back covered in red ants, which he was not happy about. He was rolling on the floor trying to stop the itching, poor thing! After de-anting him, he got back onto the ropes and started playing again.

We also give the babies baths in the mornings which usually ends up with us having a bath too! It's brilliant, you put them in a little tub with warm water and use baby shampoo to wash them. It's like bathing a human baby coz you have to cover their eyes when you rinse their head and things like that. Some, especially Ceria actually enjoy having a bath and sit there without any effort from us. Others though spend the entire time trying to get out the bath again...always very funny! Some, specifically Cinta, splash sooooo much. They sit there and kick water all over the place, she loves it! Afterwards we hold a big towel over us to stop us from getting even more drenched, and dry the babies off. They loves this bit coz its so cosy being wrapped in a warm towel!

Other than working with the tiny orangutans, one of the best things about working in clinic was seeing some of the orangs in quarantine being released back into outdoor. One of them had broken her leg, and as it had completely healed, she was taken back to outdoor with another of the volunteers. It was fantastic to see her go back up into the trees. It shows just how excellent the rehabilitation programme and staff at Sepilok are, not only successfully rehabilitating new orangs to the centre, but conitinually caring for ones who have already been released, whereas in other circumstances, this particular orang may not have made it.

A few days into clinic, I began to tell the difference between the see of orange faces which all looked identical at the beginning. It is fascinating how they are all so individual. Each one has a different personality, temperament and relationship with humans. They are all so unique it is hard to believe I ever mistook one for another. They all have completely different faces...and naturally come in different sizes...some showing evidence of appreciating food more than others...not mentioning any names *cough* Rubin *cough*. Despite his 'buddha belly' he would eventually climb during enrichment, evidently it was up a fruit tree where he happily sat at the top munching on fruit. If you think about it though, its great because he is learning to climb and forage for food :)!

At times I had to remind myself that they are orangutans and not little children as they are just so similar to humans! They reach their hands out for yours when you walk past and the babies naturally cling onto you, as in theory, they should still be with their mothers. A baby orangutan stays holding onto its mother for the first 5 years of its life. So technically, all orangutans in clinic should still be with their mum. Therefore, some need the affection their mothers would give them from us.

This placement has been so much fun. It has been brilliant to see some make slight improvements even in 9 days. One orangutan has been ill for a while now, and she got a lot better while we were in clinic. We were allowed to take her out for enrichment one day and she climbed high in the trees and built a nest. It was great to see that she was still able to climb so well and remembered how to build a very decent nest.

By the end of clinic, despite falling in love with all the orangs, I was ready to move onto outdoor nursery and work with the bigger orangs. It's great though, because we get to walk past the big baby cage everyday so can still say hello to my newfound orange friends in clinic :)

xxx