Asto and Asih continue to thrive at our Sumatran Rescue Alliance (SRA) centre in North Sumatra.
Asto and Asih love hanging out together all day
Asto is now six years old and weighs 15.9kg. Her favourite foods are banana, watermelon and milk and she doesn’t like sweet potato and spinach. Little Asih is four years old and weighs 12.9kg. Asih loves banana, papaya, milk, and honey and is not a fan of sweet potato, cabbage, and spinach.
Asto and Asih both love going to Jungle School and continue to develop their skills. Asto is lively and energetic, and she eagerly awaits to be taken out to Jungle School in the morning. She enjoys eating ficus fruit, leaves and termite eggs in the forest. The only reason Asto will go back to the enclosure in the afternoon is so she can receive her favourite fruits and milk. Asto’s carers describe her as curious, patient, and smart. She is very good at making sturdy and comfortable nests to rest in. Sometimes Asto makes multiple nests in the one tree.
Asih is also doing well at Jungle School and mostly eats ficus fruits, leaves and tree bark and stem. She is curious and growing in independence. Asih hasn’t mastered the art of nest building yet however she is still very young. She has been watching Asto build nests and then dismantles them! After unsuccessfully trying to build nests both in the trees and on the ground, little Asih gave up and put the leaves on her head.
Both girls receive enrichment every day when they are in their enclosure. Asto loves food hidden in cardboard boxes the most and Asih’s favourite is sunflower seeds in banana stems. They both love a new keeper at the SRA centre named Nabil. They also love playing and wrestling- check out this cheeky video of little Asih using Asto as her own personal swing!
The SRA area borders Sumatran tiger habitat. A few months ago, whilst out at Jungle School, Asto and Asih both suddenly went quiet and looked in a particular location in the surrounding forest. The keepers took the girls back to the enclosure and then went to check the area that caught Asto and Asih’s attention. Tiger tracks were found. To keep staff and orangutans safe, our sister organisation, The International Tiger Patrol funded patrols around the SRA centre. We will be creating large, forested exhibits at SRA soon to house unreleasable orangutans and to accommodate Jungle School in a safe, fenced area.
It is wonderful to see Asto and Asih thrive on their rehabilitation journey at our SRA rescue centre.
