Hockey, as most people know, is a special orangutan with special needs. We have been taking care of her for a number of years. Hockey blossoms with attention, and luckily, she gets a lot of it. Since Hockey experiences the world primarily through her mouth, tongue, and sense of taste, she has developed a fixation for licking anything in her vicinity! Many caregivers have been on the receiving end of her special “Hockey facials” (that would give even the best spas a run for their money). As a substitute, the caregivers use baby teethers topped with peanut butter, jams and honey to sate this need. Hockey enjoys experiencing these different tastes and textures, and they keep her senses stimulated and active.
As Hockey has grown, her trips to the forest in the wheelbarrow had been getting more precarious and dangerous due to her larger size. To remedy this situation, a custom made cart (or “gerobak” in Indonesian) was specially designed for Hockey to safely transport her to and from the forest in comfort and style. Hockey loves her new” wheels”, and has been known to enjoy a bit of joyriding from time to time. One insider even reported seeing a happy Hockey speed-dating by visiting all the eligible “bachelors” at the Care Centre in her custom ride! She particularly likes one young sub-adult male with a luscious, red coat who never grabs at her, like some other males do, but looks at her intently. She longingly looks at him from her cart and he looks back at her with an unwavering, calm gaze.
Hockey continues to enjoy her forest adventures, and uses these sojourns out of her cage to move, stretch, and even stand on occasion. Of course, never one to miss an opportunity to “taste” her environment, Hockey enjoys leaves, grass, and, it has to be said, the dirt from her surroundings. Bless her!
Hockey, on occasion, enjoys a sing-a-long with her caregivers. Listening to improvised songs sung to her (and about her), she spontaneously opens and closes her mouth in time to the music. Her love of music is infectious, and these sing-a-longs, or “kare-hockey”(see “karaoke”) as they’ve become known can produce hysterical renditions of favourite pop songs.
Hockey does not let her disabilities get her down. She is one of the sweetest, happiest orangutans at the Centre. She loves nothing better than to be loved, and there’s a lot to love about our Hockey girl!