A favourite of the caregivers, this little man just oozes personality. Still maintaining his fascination for pockets, nothing is safe from his investigating fingers. He has now mastered zips which makes avoiding a thieving and inquisitive Charlie more difficult. If he is caught mid act and he is refused his ‘prize’ he will scream, throwing his arms back and forth in disgust.

In the past, whilst at forest school, Charlie would spend his entire time on the ground. He has improved, albeit slightly, in the last few months and has started climbing trees and vines and eating leaf shoots and fruits to a height of about three metres off the ground. Although this does not seem like much, it is progress from previously remaining solely on the ground. Hopefully Charlie can continue to work on his climbing skills and some forest fruits can convince him that climbing higher is definitely worth it. It is not uncommon to see Charlie rolling around in the dirt wrestling his fellow playmates. If there is another pair wrestling on the ground and Charlie is in the vicinity, he will wander in and pause momentarily before diving in head first and play biting the others on the back.

Despite his moments of high activity he has a lot of quiet moments where he will sit near his caregivers and slowly go about his own business. This may be simply lying on his back rubbing dirt on his belly, or rummaging through leaf litter looking for leftovers from the orangutans’ lunch time snacks. Ten minutes after everyone has left Charlie will still be there, unfazed, turning over leaves and inspecting fruit skins hoping to find bits left behind. His patience is a good skill to possess. Charlie often leaves you wondering … “what exactly is this little guy thinking” … and as much as we think we know his personality, there are times when he will surprise his caregivers and put a smile on their faces or have them burst into the laughter. This is what makes Charlie, Charlie.