“It’s remarkable how similar they are to human babies. In the middle of the night, they cry out of hunger and we have to get up and feed them milk until they fall back asleep.”
Adut, Forester
I’ve worked here for nearly 14 years, and for the past two, my focus has been on orangutans.
We sometimes rescue orangutans from villages, where people may not even realize that orangutans are a protected species. Once rescued, we take them to our clinic to care for them before releasing them back into the wild. If they’re young, between one and three years old, we have to raise them until they can survive on their own, especially if they’ve lost their mother. It’s remarkable how similar they are to human babies. In the middle of the night, they cry out of hunger and we have to get up and feed them milk until they fall back asleep.
Working with these animals is amazing because while you care for them, you create a deep connection.
They remember you, even after you have released them into the wild.
I had an experience a couple of years after releasing an orangutan named Jordan. I was in the forest, taking some guests for a trek, and called out to him. Suddenly we saw an orangutan approaching and, while he didn’t come too close because they become wild once released, it was Jordan. He still recognized me. It was a powerful moment, and even the guests were amazed.
In many villages, wild orangutans are still seen as pests because they sometimes raid farms and eat crops. People just want to protect their livelihoods - they don’t always understand that orangutans are vital to the ecosystem. As a result, wild orangutans are generally more afraid of humans, more so than semi-wild orangutans, who are more familiar with us.
There’s always been a question around whether orangutans regard us humans as similar to them. While we may never fully know, their physical similarities to us, their arms, fingers, and shared DNA, do suggest a close connection.
They may not speak like we do, but in many ways, their behaviors, like how they imitate humans, show that they have cognitive abilities similar to ours.
Communicating with orangutans is a unique experience. While I haven’t had an orangutan directly communicate with me, their gestures and behaviors speak volumes. They might not use words to communicate, but just like human children, they’ll cry or use their hands to show they need something, like food. Over time, we teach them how to survive in the wild, how to make nests, find food, and drink water. We’re both learning from each other.
Walking through the forest with the local community, we’ve learned that observing what orangutans eat can actually teach us how to survive in the wilderness, too. If they can eat certain fruits or leaves, it’s often safe for us too. I’ve personally experienced this when trekking in the forest without food. I’ve relied on mimicking the orangutans’ diet, eating fruits, leaves, and even grasses that they consumed.
There are stories about the older orangutans that take on a mystical, ghost-like presence in the forest, what locals call "kandar."
A friend of mine encountered one while trekking. It was so old it could barely walk, but he could sense its presence because of the strong, foul odor that filled the air. Locals believe this smell indicates danger, possibly even death, as it signals that the orangutan feels threatened and has no other food options.
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