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Home > Foster Updates > Carmen > August 2016 – Carmen

Carmen - page 1 update pic - August 2016 JPEGCarmen is a little orangutan with a big spirit! Carmen loves to explore the OFI Nursery Forest and to investigate new trees and leaves that she can snack on. Even though she is only an infant, Carmen’s sense of adventure leads her to climb as high as she can into the forest canopy. Carmen loves to play in the trees, especially with branches. She does not yet know how to construct a nest, but is on her way to learning how to do so. Once she has climbed into the canopy, Carmen breaks off branches and plays with them, twisting and folding the branches almost as if she were about to make a nest. Carmen manipulating branches in the trees is a great sight to see. We are very hopeful that soon she will actually make a nest. Carmen may love being in the trees, but she doesn’t wander too far from her human caregivers. After all, the forest is a big place for a little orangutan.

While Carmen is a sociable orangutan, she relishes time alone in the infant playground and sometimes just plays by herself. Carmen is not afraid of climbing or heights and will often climb high up into the playground rafters by herself and gaze down at her peers below. This is not to say that Carmen doesn’t like to play at all. In fact, when Carmen climbs down to the ground, she enjoys play fighting with Ben or Larry. Carmen also loves playing with friend Andrena, and the two can often be found playing follow the leader in the infant playground. Carmen can also sometimes be found on the ground digging in the dirt. She loves to see what she can find when she digs and will occasionally fling the dirt all over herself.

Carmen is a sweet natured orangutan who loves to climb and explore the forest. As she gets older, Carmen will learn how to make a nest, will learn other essential forest skills, and will travel further into the forest than she does currently. But for now, Carmen is content to explore the forest a bit at a time and play with her friends.

Click here to download Carmen’s 2016 August Foster Update