RIBANG
Ribang arrived at SOC when he was around 1 year old. He is now about 2 ½ years old. When he first arrived, he was observed working on something like a nest, folding branches and holding them in the right position with his feet. However, he hasn’t done done that since. We hope we can soon stimulate him to build more nests. Jessy (the keeper), for example, tries to motivate Ribang, by climbing high up in the trees and showing him how to make a nest.
Ribang has now gained a lot of confidence from his ‘Boys’ Club’. He likes to gang up with Oscar, Oli and Gagas in the enclosure to occupy the best position to get the morning bottles of milk first. They are the greedy bunch and support each other.
When he is with his good friend, Gagas, in forest school, Ribang spends more time on the ground compared to when he is with the other orangutans. It seems Gagas and Ribang have formed the ‘Lazy Boys’ Club’! It is important for the staff to analyse the behaviour of the babies and ensure they are put in suitable combinations whilst at forest school. With different combinations of partners, we hope to get him more motivated to play higher up in the trees for longer periods of time.
Ribang is experiencing many new types of food. The range and quantity of foods have helped him gain weight and that has probably also helped him to gain more confidence, as can be seen from his little cheek pads that always indicate a naughty and outgoing character in juvenile and baby orang-utans.
Thank you for all your support. The SOC Team
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