Tommy has made tremendous progress over the last 6 months. Although not the biggest orangutan among his peers, he is strong and has a good appetite. He especially loves mangoes and has a knack for finding tasty leaves, fruits, and insects in the forest. He displays comprehensive climbing skills and has begun to make competent ground nests. He is a calm orangutan with a friendly personality who enjoys spending time with his best buddy, Turner.

During forest school, Tommy makes his way up into the trees very quickly. He moves effortlessly from tree to tree using flexible branches and vines. Turner is often at his side and together they swing through the canopy learning the intricacies of the forest. The support and friendship between these two young orphan orangutans is simply amazing and quite beautiful to see.

Tommy likes to spend his time on the forest floor playing with his peers. He is very social among other orangutans and has many friends in addition to best buddy Turner. However, Tommy remains shy towards humans. This is positive behaviour. It will be helpful when Tommy returns to the forest permanently, as humans are the main danger orangutans face in the wild.

Tommy recently started building nests on the forest floor. After spending some time in the trees with his buddy, Tommy climbs down and begins gathering branches and leaves. He then chooses a quiet and secluded spot where he folds them into a nest frame. Turner can often be found following his friend and observing this activity carefully. Tommy has not as yet completed a tree nest, which will be the next  challenge for him in the coming months and another positive step in his rehabilitation!

Click here to download Tommy’s August 2017 Foster Update