Monti is now spending all of her time on the islands and is doing very well. She is a large, confident orangutan and is popular with the other orangutans.
Monti has been at the IAR rescue centre since 2009, and perhaps because of her longevity, has a prestige that all of the other orangutans respect. She is still good friends with Oscarina, although Oscarina is socializing more with other orangutans now, and she and Monti do not spend as much time together as they did previously.
Staff have always felt that Monti at heart is very solitary, and she does spend a lot of time alone. Like all orangutans of her age, she is foraging more and more, exploiting different fruits and leaves, and has also been taking advantage of the termite season. Foraging more has meant that she is also spending more time in the trees, as that is where the fruit is found, but she does still spend some time on the ground. This is something that the baby sitters always try to discourage, but it is difficult with Monti as she is strong-willed and will often attempt to defy the keepers, who she often doesn’t like. We don’t think a preference for some ground travel will be too much of a problem once she is released, as orangutans do spend a fair bit of time on the ground in Borneo.
Monti has become much better at making nests, and she seems to make new nests more than any other orangutan. Her keepers cannot remember a time when she has not made a nest after a big feed, and she likes to take long day naps.
