"Without a doubt, the most lively and boisterous age group of orphaned orangutans at the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine (OCCQ) are the juveniles. Between five and nine years of age, these juvenile orangutans are full of energy and curiosity.

 

From their initial arrival at the OCCQ, orphaned orangutans are lovingly cared for by OFI caregivers who fulfill the role of surrogate mother. As the orangutans grow, they become more independent and self-sufficient. They graduate from the infant playground into the OFI Nursery Forest to spend more time in the trees. These juvenile orangutans receive love and support from the caregivers, but are given more independence when in the forest each day. For the juveniles, this is their opportunity to refine their forest skills - skills that are essential for their eventual return to the wild. Juvenile orangutans are still too young to live by themselves in the wild. Yet they are learning new skills every day and are well on the road to rehabilitation, one step closer to their return to the wild.

 

...At the end of each day, the juvenile orangutans are coaxed down from the trees to return to their sleeping enclosures. This can be a difficult endeavor as many of the juveniles do not want to leave the forest. Some will refuse to come down and others will play chase through the trees. However, caregivers almost always succeed in enticing the juvenile down. A tempting treat of fruit usually does the trick..."

" In July and August 2016, OFI volunteers spent three weeks walking over 100 kilometers apiece through forest trails riddled with roots, rivers, swamps, and huge fallen trees, collectively carrying 350 wooden planks and a whole camp's worth of supplies and equipment (including a generator) and food (including giant sacks of rice), sometimes in the rain. The volunteers withstood crippling blisters, sprained ankles, shoulders rubbed raw by wood, bruises, cuts, infections, and all kinds of illness. This self-sacrifice was all done in support of one of the most challenging and important projects OFI has yet undertaken with its volunteer construction teams.

This year OFI's volunteer construction teams were tasked with rebuilding an old patrol post at the edge of the Camp Leakey study area in Tanjung Puting National Park. The post, named "Pos 17," or Post 17 is seven kilometers (4.4 miles) from Camp Leakey and was built in 2002 primarily as a base for OFI rangers to patrol for illegal loggers. When the illegal logging problem died down and OFI started to focus its resources on more pressing issues, Post 17 was largely abandoned and fell into disrepair. Now some years later, as live bird poaching and other illegal extractive activities arise in the National Park and the Camp Leakey study area, it has become apparent that renewed patrols are ever urgently needed to protect the forests and the biodiversity that supports wild orangutan existence..."