If you were just to observe Ryan in his enclosure you might think of him as a shy, sensitive little boy. You’d be in for a big surprise! Ryan acts very meek in his night enclosure but then completely transforms himself when he is out on daily release. He knows how to play all the angles and get all the attention he wants from his caregivers. He absolutely loves it when the Care Center assistants fawn all over “cute little Ryan.” He just eats it up! But on release to the OFI nursery playground, Ryan proves that he is no baby. What he lacks in size, he makes up in assertiveness.
Ryan is the biggest nibbler of his group. Like the nipping of a rambunctious puppy, Ryan’s biting isn’t malicious but just his way of play. Ryan hasn’t quite realized that his human companions don’t like to play as rough as his orangutan peers. In fact, he goes after the ankles of both caregivers and other orangutans!
Ryan, who is the smallest in his group, always wants to show off how big and tough he is. He will instigate wrestling-matches with anyone who is around, even if they are three times his size, for instance Stanley! Ryan just doesn’t seem to know how small and out-of-place he looks!
Ryan does have a secret sweet side. Towards the end of the day when he has tired of asserting his authority at the baby playground, he will climb on to the lap of a caregiver for an afternoon cuddle. He loves to have his back and belly gently petted, where his new dark auburn hair is slowly growing in.
Once you get past his tough guy exterior, Ryan is a big softie at heart.