Ryan has had a challenging time recently. Being the inquisitive and adventurous boy he is, he simply outgrew the orangutan nursery, as his playful nature became too much for the smaller orangutans in the nursery. His quest for adventure became a handful for the caregivers. This meant graduating from the nursery into a larger enclosure with the next age group of orangutans. The integration was a slow process to give Ryan time to adjust to his new playmates and surroundings.

At first Ryan struggled, as he missed the constant contact with his caregivers, and he was the new kid on the block in an enclosure full of many other boisterous orangutans. But to Ryan’s credit he improved every day and can now be observed wrestling and play fighting with his new mates. New friends has meant new adventures for Ryan when out at forest school. He now ventures to the very top of the baby playground, swinging from beam to beam with his new mates.

When he ventures from the playground to the forest, he always seems to find his way through a mud patch, splashing about and getting dirty like all youngsters do. It’s then that he rolls off into a patch of ferns and up into the trees. When he looks down from the trees at his caregivers as they offer him a hug, he swings off using just one hand as if to say “look at what I can do”.

Ryan has always been quite independent in the forest, but these new friendships means he now has a new group of mates to show off his skills too, and to watch and learn new skills from. Embracing the social aspect of life at the OFI Care Centre will serve Ryan well, as he has friends to comfort him through the challenges of the rehabilitation process, and new skills to help him problem solve in a changing forest. For now he is still a young orangutan at heart, but in time this young boy has the potential to live the life he was meant to … free in the forest.