16 February 2011

Little Paolo enjoys his playground freedom

Our volunteer Carolynn sends us the latest news from our orangutan rescue centre in Ketapang.

Paolo the baby orangutanDuring the last couple of weeks baby Paolo has been impressing us all in Ketapang by showing off his independence and climbing skills. He is still only about 10 months old, but he can entertain himself for hours climbing the trees at baby school. He used to spend all his time in the nursery with his buddy Pedro, but now Paolo spends at least a few hours every day socializing in the playground. Pedro comes down to baby school to play as well, but he is still quite attached to his babysitters, and isn’t ready yet to play for long lengths of time by himself.

The other baby school orangutans had already met Paolo during shorter visits, so it hasn’t been too shocking to have him around more often. Orangutan Ledi recently entered baby school as well, and has enjoyed having a new rookie to play with.

I think Paolo really enjoys the freedom that comes with baby school, including not having to wear a diaper. He immediately starts dancing and thrashing his legs with glee as soon as it has been removed. Be careful where you stand though, since an orangutan without a diaper could be climbing above you!

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