Orang Utan Heaven

OK
I'll describe an average day 1st & where anything differs, I'll say so.

We start work at 8, & normally meet Denice & Maz near the staff entrance. We walked up together the first day, but I've been going it alone some days, as I walk slower before the painkillers kick in, & don't like to be late.

Once at the Ape Centre & we have our daily temperature check - to make sure we aren't going to give any bugs to the Orangs.

On Fri 8th we were then taken round & introduced - wearing masks & wellies, but as some are so similar, it took me a few days to sort them out.

Days always start with leaf sweeping in the Orang outdoor enclosure & hiding treats for them to find. This last bit is known as an Enrichment Activity: ie enriching their lives by encouraging them to forage rather than just having food handed to them on a plate (or in the case of the Ape Centre, a bucket).

The Orangs allowed out that day are then released, while we do the sweeping etc in the chimps' outdoor enclosure.

Outdoor work is followed by cleaning out the night dens. This involves quite a lot of Orang poo, partially chewed food, & leftovers from feeding time.
We have to sweep/scrape the detritus into a bin bag, swill the floor, disinfect/wash/scrub with a brush & bucket, & then rinse & squeegee.
There are normally 3 or 4 dens to do each morning.

Then we wash our hands, & set to chopping papaya, guava, carrots & lettuce, which are chucked into buckets along with copious quantities of bananas & other stuff, like long green beans.

The Orangs not out that day are then fed by hand.
We poke food between the bars for them to grab, or often, just putting it straight into their mouths.
To encourage us to do this, the Orangs will stick the lower lip through the bars & make a little 'spoon' shape - it's amazing what they can do with their mouths/lips :-)

After that it's time to do 'observation'. On Fri & Sat we watched the chimps try & find the food we'd hidden for them. We don't get the chance to watch the Orangs search, as we're doing the chimp's enclosure.

Sometimes we then do some more cages.

By then it's time for lunch - which we have in the staff canteen. Because the Ape Centre is furthest away, we get 2hrs for lunch.

Afternoons are shorter, but similar, with observations - dominance, grooming rituals, play etc., making something for Enrichment, or going around the zoo getting banana trees for them to eat/play with.

On Friday we fed the nursing mother, Rokia with milk - pouring it straight into her 'spoon' ;-)). We also made 'food pockets' out of jute sacking - filling them with sunflower seeds, currants & sultanas.
On Saturday we went to cut down some banana trees to hang in the day dens, & in the evening made popsicles for them to suck.
On Sunday we spent an extended lunch time at the 'little house at the zoo', scraping coconut out of shells in order to make another Enrichment Activity. There was a lot of coconut eaten while this was going on. The Apes are not allowed it, as it's too fattening, but we took what we didn't want to keep in the fridge to the porqupines, who love it.

On Monday, after sweeping the leaves, we coated the inside of the shells with peanut butter & stuck currants & sunflower seeds to it. The shells were then paired, fixed by jute string through holes in the shell, & hidden around the enclosures.

Some of the Orangs are real characters.
One, Katie will fill her mouth with water & give you a shower when you walk past. She's also very bright & usually one of the 1st to find the hidden treats.
However, because she's at the bottom of the line, the older females often chase her off.
She'll also throw things over the moat at the public!

Awan, one of the dominant males, loves green beans. The 1st time I fed him he took all other food offered, but just dropped it - presumably to eat later, but reached for & ate the green beans straight away.
One evening we made popsicles & froze bananas & the following day doled out the bananas.
When I got to his cage, Awan was flat out - literally, so I fired a frozen banana through the bars & it landed by his L shoulder. He just reached for it with his R hand & ate it whole - frozen or not! The 2nd one I fired landed near his groin, so he got that in his L & ate that. This was all with eyes closed!

My favourite is a young male called Chokey. He never goes outdoors, as either Awan & his Ladies (incl Katie), or Sulong & his Harem are out there.
Chokey spends his time in a large cage at the back of the Ape Centre, or in his night den. At least this is bigger than most, but I feel so sad he never gets to feel the sun on his back, as it were.
Whenever I get a min, I go & talk to him & play little games - like 'grab my finger', & if I get a choice, I'll do his cage or make his Enrichment toy.
He's very cute. He's hasn't got the big jowls yet & he looks like someone gave him a basin cut!
Sweet.

Another cutie is Tsunami, who was born when it struck Malaysia in 2001.
She is weaned, but, like Chokey, can't go out with the others, so uses Chokey's big cage sometimes.
We had our photos taken with her & I've held her hand through the bars nearly every day. She is very adorable, & yesterday was taken 'out front' by the head keeper & shown her father across the moat ! ? ! ?.
The keeper allowed some children to stroke her, which I thought was a little weird, given we have to wear masks whenever we're up close?????

Anyway, so much more to go on about, I'll try & up load some photos so you can E or comment if you've any questions.

Just to say I'm having fun & have 'held an Orang's hand' which was the big wish for this part of the trip.

Signing off now & will blog again in a bit with some photos, hopefully.

OAO