AN AMAZING ENCOUNTER WITH SVENJA
Our PRM team in the Hiran watershed of TNBBBR conducts phenology surveys and unexpectedly encountered Svenja.
Termite nests are a natural food source for the orangutan. Therefore, once a week, the technicians at Samboja Lestari enthusiastically “hunt” for termite nests – even going outside the grounds of the BOS Foundation – in order to familiarize the orangutans with this food source.
Termites are classified as eusosial (true social) insects as they have quite advanced social orders. Their colonies include queen, king, worker termites and soldier termites who gather in one “house” or strong and comfortable nest which is actually built using very sophisticated techniques. Inside the nest they develop very ordered cooperation between individuals in order to fulfill their needs, including making a place for the larva, that is the termite embryos or, in other words, their future children.
It is these termites and larva which become a favorite food of orangutans. They have quite high protein content. As for the technicians, looking for termites nests is a fun activity.
When they come home from looking for termite nests, they distribute the termite nests to the orangutans like a parent bringing home their children’s favorite food. The technicians do it happily and proudly. And the orangutans are of course very happy to get their termite nests ‘souvenirs’!
Our PRM team in the Hiran watershed of TNBBBR conducts phenology surveys and unexpectedly encountered Svenja.
Orangutan Day is celebrated every year on August 19th!
Every kid gets bored at school now and then, dreaming of escape but rarely daring to try. However, there's always that one brave soul who takes the plunge. Such was the case at the Nyaru Menteng Forest School one sunny morning.
