updates on our infant adopted orangutans

Name: Carmen
Sex: female
Arrival date: 10th February 2004
Age on arrival: 1.5 years
Previous history: Brought in by her owners
Care centre: Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project
Update: April 2010

Carmen is now a complete teenager! She is 7 years old and has is one of the largest females in her group since her last update! The last few months all the orangutans which are destined for new island life, are being placed in there final stage of pre-island release.Carmen has temporarily moved from the forest into a transit socialisation complex, in preparation for moving to a new island. She will be closely montiored and will have her health checks, prior to her new island life. Carmen is now an independant and highly skilled orangutan and shares the socialisation cage with 16 other females with the same skills and same island destination.Carmen is one of the naughtiest females in her transit cage. She will often harass the male technicians by throwing mud at them after it rains. When they go into the complex with the orangutans, Carmen will make a special effort to try and grab the technician by his hair, making it extremely difficult at times for new staff to clean the complex!Being one of the most active females, she has also gained the attention of her male friends in a similar complex next door to her cage. She will often play tug-a-war with them, using a plastic sack to try and pull them. She always wins, which always gets the males a little upset and it ends up in a game of mud throwing between each other.Carmen is very good at building nests and is often teaching some of the other female friends in her group. Many different items like plastic sheets, large sacks, leaf material, cardboard boxes and large rubber tubs are often used in CarmenÕs nest. When it rains she makes her nest very cosy and comfortable, but does not let anyone else share it with her.Carmen also likes playing in the sand. Each month during wet season, the transit cages will be re-sanded to soak up the water. Carmen will take buckets and her sacks and will play in the fresh sand all day long. All these skills which she is developing will be beneficial for her pending island home. She will make a perfect teacher to her other sister friends in her group.Carmen will soon be released onto this island and it will be very difficult to continue to provide regular updates. We kindly ask you to consider adopting a new baby orangutan that needs just as much support as you have given Carmen. We acknowledge that Carmen will always be very special and will send you a photo of her being released into her new island home, as soon as the island is ready to accept the orangutans.