Charlie rarely vocalizes, but he can be heard protesting when his surrogate mother, Ibu Sanek, leaves for the day to return home. Charlie does not like strangers, which makes his bond with his caregiver very special.

At this point in his development, Charlie doesn’t always hurry to the trees, often preferring to play in the water and mud. He often smears the mud all over himself as a way to keep cool. Charlie gets so involved with playing in the mud that it takes a lot of milk and other treats to bring him back to his sleeping enclosure at the Care Centre at the end of the day. Charlie lives with his pal, Howard. They regularly share food with one another and tumble through their sleeping enclosure, play fighting.

Charlie has a skill that some orangutans still lack … nest making. After checking his surroundings, Charlie gathers branches from nearby bushes and begins constructing his soft and comfortable nest. Still learning, he often makes the nests on the ground rather than in the trees.  Nevertheless, his curiosity and great nest making skills will give him an advantage in the wild.

While some orangutans are more timid around ant nests, Charlie loves to dive in and sample these insect treats.  He relishes sucking the white eggs from the ant nests that he locates. He also tries to catch ants that roam around his sleeping enclosure. Charlie’s alertness has helped him catch quite a few extra treats this way on a hot summer’s day.

We look forward to Charlie learning just how much fun it is to climb trees and discover the forest canopy. At this point in time, he still prefers to spend most of his time on the forest floor.  But with the care and attention of the OFI staff, he is slowly but steadily gaining forest skills.

His patient yet playful demeanour will serve him well as he explores and grows!

Click here to download Charlie’s August 2018 Foster Kit