Sweet natured Tommy is continuing to grow and explore! These days inquisitive Tommy prefers to explore the forest on his own. But he is still a sociable young orangutan by nature and will come to play with his friends on occasion. However, right now Tommy has one thing on his mind: nest building. Already able to make a nest in the trees, Tommy is passionate about this activity. Whenever Tommy is in the forest, he takes off to explore old nests and to make his own. Often the staff will point out a small shape moving amidst packed down leaves in the forest canopy and that is how you locate Tommy. Tommy is perfectly content to climb up high into the top of a tree, pat down leaves to form a nest, and then sit back and relax. Due to his new found passion for nest making Tommy prefers to play in the nursery forest instead of the playground. Watching Tommy move through the trees as he forages for leaves and locally growing fruits, his movements are gentle and graceful. When he does join in with his friends, it is Steppenwolf, Weyerhauser, and Turner with whom he plays.
As the rains have arrived in Kalimantan, Tommy enjoys playing in the many puddles of water that have formed on the forest floor. Tommy will splash and stamp in the water, getting mud all over himself. In the late afternoon when it is time to return to his sleeping enclosure Tommy will easily come down from the trees to his caregivers on the ground, unlike other orangutans who have to be coaxed down from the forest canopy.
However, Tommy is beginning to become a bit naughty when it is meal time. Whenever the caregivers are handing out fruit, Tommy now tries to get as many pieces of fruit as possible for himself, sometimes even stealing fruit from the hands of his friends! Obviously, this growing boy is hungry so we bring out more fruit if it is available.
Tommy is growing into a good natured and sociable orangutan and is relishing his time in the forest to explore, forage, and make nests just like he should!