Energetic, charismatic Charlie is the leader of his “Orangutan Pack.” Whether he is on daily release in the baby playground or in his sleeping enclosure he’s always on the move and always the centre of attention. Rather than wandering off into the ‘scary’ forest to climb trees, Charlie prefers to “rule the roost” at the playground where all the action is happening. Typically Charlie enjoys aerial acrobatics at the very top of the playground, punctuated by leaps into the rope netting below. This often gets the attention of his friends who have to quickly move out of the way as Charlie tumbles down. Although Charlie has many friends, his best buddy on the playground is Ben. Ben puts up with Charlie’s antics and sometimes even joins in as Charlie races around at the top of the playground. But in his sleeping enclosure, Charlie spends most of his time with little Bayat and Kino.
Like any leader or king, Charlie does his best to keep his buddies in line with quick nips and frequent wrestling matches. Charlie isn’t bound by the colloquial saying “pick on someone your own size,” as he will happily play wrestle any orangutan that comes his way, including those older and larger than him. On occasion, Charlie is also not afraid to display his “dominance” to some of his caregivers. However, Charlie is careful not to overstep boundaries, and often his extreme curiosity distracts him from his play for power. Whenever a caregiver brings new food or enrichment items on release, or even a bucket, basket, or daypack, Charlie is ready to grab it and figure out what is in it! On the playground, he manipulates and shapes sticks to use as exploration tools. When Charlie finds something interesting he becomes very adamant about investigating and playing with it. This curiosity and object manipulation serves Charlie well. He is learning new skills like food processing and nest building.
Eventually one day we hope Charlie will be the king of his own forest patch, once he is released back into the wild.