QUE QUE LEARNS IN NYARU MENTENG

Que Que, a male young orangutan, was estimated to be around four years old when he arrived in BOS Foundation at Nyaru Menteng on December 14, 2013. He was handed over by Robby  and his partner who had been keeping Que Que illegally as a pet.

According to Robby, the orangutan was found by his partner who lives in Antang Kalang Regency, East Kotawaringin Regency in a forest next to an oil palm plantation. When found, Que Que was reportedly alone and crying among a debris of trees which has been cut through recent land clearance.  His Mother was nowhere to be seen.  Robby’s partner then caught and brought the young orangutan home to be kept as a pet.

Upon finding out that his friend was keeping an orangutan, Robby suggested that Que Que be handed over to the BOS Foundation.  After two weeks, Robby was finally able to persuade his friend to hand over the young orangutan to our rehabilitation center.

We couldn’t gather enough information from Robby and his friend regarding the origin of the young orangutan. Robby’s friend didn’t even want to reveal his name for the formal paperwork.  He looked nervous and too scared to give any information.

Robby stated than he knew about the law and the penalty for those who illegally kept any protected species. “The orangutan is a protected species, so I suggested that my friend give the orangutan to the BOS Foundation.”

Que Que was accepted into the Quarantine Complex by the Medical Team. He looked active and healthy with a normal appetite.  Young Que Que has short dark brown hair and is easy to recognise, especially by his babysitters; he has portruding belly button, a bump on his forehead, and thin hair on his head.

He will have to undergo the quarantine process to ensure his overall health before being able to join his peers in the Forest School.  There he will learn all the necessary survival skills such as nest building, natural food selection and recognising predators.

In the last four months, Nyaru Menteng has received 10 orphaned orangutans.  Que Que is one of them, a victim of orangutan habitat destruction which has cost him the loss of his Mother.  Learning in Nyaru Menteng, hopefully in the future, Que Que will be able to once again live in safe natural habitat as all orangutans should.