RAYMOND ENCOUNTERS BUNGAN IN THE KEHJE SEWEN FOREST

Our PRM team from Camp Nles Mamse recently monitored Raymond’s activities over several consecutive days to see how he was adapting to life in the Kehje Sewen Forest following his release on May 28.

Raymond was observed eating a variety of forest fruit species, including jackfruit (Artocarpus sp.), Ficus sp., and a ginger root (Etlingera sp.) He was actively foraging and moving through the trees and lianas, clearly enjoying his new life.

After climbing down to grab some a ginger root, he busied himself building a couch-like mattress made from piles of twigs and leaves. He rested comfortably on his ‘couch’ for a while before returning to the trees to explore.

The next day, the team caught up with Raymond and followed him again, this time interrupted by unfavourable weather and rainfall. Raymond cleverly grabbed several leafy branches to cover his head, just like an umbrella.

After the rain stopped, Raymond returned to foraging and kiss-squeaked every now and then to show his displeasure with human presence.

Suddenly, the team noticed movements in the forest and quickly checked telemetry signals to find out if it was another orangutan approaching. The movements turned out to be from Bungan, a female the BOS Foundation released in December 2015.

Raymond did not appreciate the company and quickly departed. However, Bungan seemed determined to get to know Raymond and chased him for a few hours. The team followed them until Raymond finally made peace with Bungan’s presence, and they both stopped to sit in the same tree. They then hugged and sat together to eat forest fruits.

They were still together the following day, and stayed close to one another. When Raymond started to build his nest for the night, Bungan chose to build hers in a nearby tree.

We are delighted to see this friendship develop between Raymond and Bungan, and hope it will result in another natural birth in the Kehje Sewen Forest.