Updates on the Great Orangutan Project based at our rehab and releases centres in Borneo. Thanks to all the volunteers that help us save orangutans in Borneo. Visit www.thegreatprojects.com

Volunteer Visit GOP

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Update on Chiam & Gante




Chiam and Ghanti
Born on Feb 3rd 09, Chiam and Ghanti’s boys are now 3 and a half months old. It is truly fascinating to watch the differences in the approach to motherhood between the two apes. Ghanti is a first time mother, and is evidently cautious, wary and highly attentive to her baby. Whenever he makes the faintest of squeaks, she gives him her full attention, checks over every angle of him, runs her lips over his body as comfort as well as investigation, and keeps the baby close to her. She remains more reserved, and though has been revisiting the outside world, will mostly remain on high in nest or hammock, away from the distractions of staff and tourists and devoting attention to her baby.




Chiam is a different story. She is a second time mother, and perfectly aware that parenting is nothing to stress over. When watching her behaviour, you would not know she had a baby clinging to her unless you caught sight of him. When Chiam’s baby squeaks or begins to cry, she moves it further out of ear shot, generally onto her back. As a result, Chiam’s baby is showing more independence than Ghanti’s. Our May volunteers saw Chiam’s boy climbing to the top of the night dens, solo – with Chiam forming a carefully placed safety net below his every move. She is certainly also a devoted mother, as all female orang-utan are, and volunteers also saw her create something of a mobile with branches and leaves in her enclosure and hang it above her baby’s head, moving it to and fro with her baby thoroughly entertained below.


Separated for the first couple of months to allow the females to settle stress-free into motherhood, Chiam and Ghanti have recently been reintroduced to each other. They have shown great interest in each other’s babies, and there has definitely been a sense of showing off each son to the other mum. They each seem extremely pleased and proud, with both themselves and each other. Recently, Chiam was seen encouraging her baby to climb - she was placing his hands on a rope above her head and supporting his weight, lifting him up and assisting his holds. A few minutes later, Ghanti, who had obviously been watching this lesson closely, followed suit. She took up Chiam’s position and was placing her baby’s hands on the rope. Her baby was much more reluctant to explore the area away from his mother’s body, but this example of learning and imitation through observation was truly fascinating.

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Nora's baby










In August last year, a macaque was born at Matang and has been a firm favourite with volunteers since. Since March 09, this little male has become strong enough to demolish chicken wire, yet still remains small enough to fit through the stronger steel bars of his cage. He has enjoyed great enrichment exploring the neighbouring cages, and stealing any items that are light enough for him to pick up. Here are some photos of him mid-exploration for your viewing pleasure.

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Sunday, May 17, 2009

Slow Loris Release




After being found on the road side, a slow loris was surrendered to Matang in May 09. These incredibly cute small mammals are primates, with opposable thumbs utilised for clinging tightly onto branches. As their name suggests, they are slow and steady locomotors. They dwell in the tree tops, and like the orangutan employ a three-to-one climbing technique - three limbs cling to branches at all times while one will locate the next step to be made. This makes for extremely safe and secure locomotion through the 40m+ canopy of Borneo.



These pictures show the animal emerging from its carry case - it lived up to its name and appeared in no rush to return to the trees. It then ambled through the undergrowth before vanishing from sight into Kubah National Park.



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Pangolins Released




Over the months of April and May, Matang took in two pangolins from surrounding communities, residents of which had found them around their homes and recognised that these animals would be better suited to the rainforest rather than human habitations and surrendered them to Matang. Pangolins are scaly anteaters - the scales of these animals are formed with keratin, the same substance that makes up our hair and fingernails. When threatened, pangolins curl up into a ball, and the edges of the scales are razor-like, providing extra protection. Pangolins are nocturnal, and well adapted to their diet of insects with a keen sense of smell and strong claws on their feet to allow them to break into rotten wood and termite mounds. They are also excellent climbers, looking far more at ease in the trees than on the ground where their long claws make walking slightly cumbersome. The two pangolins that found their way to Matang have now taken up residence in Kubah National Park.

Click here for a short video of one of the pangolins bidding a hasty retreat upwards

Porcupine Birth



On 3rd May 2009 keepers at Matang discovered two new born porcupine at the enclosure. In April 2008, we welcomed a new porcupine into the existing population and he's clearly been doing a good job, with one infant born last year and now two more! There are two adult females currently at Matang and each of them gave birth to one young - it seems the porcupine followed the example of Chiam and Ghanti and sychronised their births!



Porcupine are born without their quills (luckily for their mums), but they soon develop these robust spines as a defense against potential predators. These photos were taken on the day they were born inside the nights dens of the enclosure, so you can see the quills are yet to form.

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