Natalee continued to develop her jungle skills over the past six months.
Beautiful Natalee in dappled sunlight
She spent most of her time traveling and exploring the Jungle School area with her friends. Natalee spent 20-30% of her time feeding on various forest foods including liana, balam, and unknown species fruits.
Natalee was also observed building good quality nests 10 metres above the ground. Sometimes, Natalee would come down to play on the ground, so the orangutan trainers needed to encourage her to climb back into the canopy.
Due to Natalee’s excellent forest skills, she was released in late September with her three friends, Ung Aing, Ying, and Mama Zila. So far, Natalee has shown good survival skills in the forest including building and sleeping in a night nest every evening. She is traveling with five other orangutans named Dupa, Shielda, Sai, Ung Aing, and Mama Zila.
Natalee will be closely monitored for many months as she becomes more familiar with jungle living. We are thrilled that Natalee has regained the freedom that was stolen from her.
(Program run by Ministry of Environment and Forest and Frankfrut Zoological Society)
