Popi is now seven years of age and has continued to develop her forest skills at Jungle School at our BORA rehabilitation centre in East Borneo.
Adorable Popi at Jungle School
Popi weighs 16kg and is in excellent health. Her favourite foods include bananas and forest fruits, and she doesn’t like green beans. Popi's favourite enrichment items are leaves with a peanut butter smear and whole coconuts.
Recently, the orangutan keepers have stopped taking any food in a basket out with them to Jungle School in the mornings. Some orangutans, including Popi were getting distracted by this and Popi would often come down to the ground to try and get some food. Since the basket is no longer there, Popi is now far more interested in climbing and exploring the forest area. Recently, many types of trees were bearing fruit in Jungle School forest area, so it wasn’t difficult for Popi to find food. Apart from eating forest fruits, Popi was observed peeling and eating the inside of leaf stalks. This video shows Popi feasting in a wild banana tree.
As well as exploring the forest for food, Popi became more active in playing with other orangutans including Aman and Jainul. One day, Popi and Aman came across a pool of water that was left by the heavy rain the night before. Popi and Aman were very interested in this and played around the pool for a long time. Popi repeatedly dipped her feet into the water and walked around. She was also seen drinking water from the puddle several times and spitting water out of her mouth.
Popi loves to swing on vines. Recently when she wasn’t interested in joining Aman and Jainul for a boisterous wrestle, she climbed up above them and swung on a liana vine for fun for over five minutes. The keepers said it reminded them of the iconic scene from the Tarzan movie.
Just like all youngsters, sometimes Popi still needs reassurance and a cuddle. Her favourite person is veterinarian Theresia, and you can see their beautiful bond in the photos. We are so happy that Popi continues to grow in independence and confidence at Jungle School on her journey to future freedom. Thank you to all of Popi’s wonderful adopters!
