Amelia is still her endearingly irascible self. She continues to demonstrate that she doesn’t do things by half, as she fixes all those around her with an intense stare. There have been big changes in the Camp Danielle playground area over the last year. Along with the addition of a new playground, a bridge complete with ropes and tyres sways proudly between the two playgrounds. OFI attempts to keep things as natural as possible. This bridge helps keep the infants above ground, reflecting their arboreal lifestyle. It is also good at keeping them from getting dirty when it’s rainy, wet and muddy!

Amelia normally sticks to the same spots in the Learning Forest, but she has really taken to this new bridge. When she isn’t striding back and forth across it, she sits out there contemplating the world.  It’s as if she is acting like a gatekeeper allowing those to pass whom she deems fit. She observes and pursues. When it’s too hot, the tyres are uncomfortable to sit on and she dashes across them like a cat on a hot tin roof. She finds sanctuary under the cool roof of one of the playgrounds.

While she still sticks closely to the playground, Amelia does enjoy the surrounding trees. Her inexperience in the trees shows as she still takes her time brachiating and clambering through the branches. With practice the skills will come. Otherwise she busies herself with daily tasks. She likes to keep a clean house and regularly checks the tyre hammocks hanging from the playground. Sometimes after the rain the tyre hammocks are overflowing with water. Amelia gulps down some of the water, washes her face with some of it, and then pours the rest out all over the ground.

Amelia remains a bit of a lone wolf even when she is back in her sleeping enclosure in the evening alongside her fellow orangutans. She can be seen sitting up high on the sleeping platform usually with a stash of fruit, rambutan if it’s in season, in front of her. This self-sufficient attitude bodes well for her future. We will continue to love and encourage her during her rehabilitation journey.

Click here to download Amelia’s August 2020 Foster Update