Peering out from behind a “pelawan” tree (a common tree in Indonesia’s native tropical heath forests), Jeffrey Junior’s face emerges. Flaky bark crumbles in his hands. His face brims with confidence and his head is filled with ideas and plans. He wraps his whole body, all four limbs, around the tree and pouts.

Orangutans are the heaviest tree dwelling animals in the world and Jeffrey Jr’s physique/belly definitely helps back up this assertion. His OFI caregivers look after him well and ensure he is well fed. He enjoys all the fruit offered to him. He is also very smart himself at finding food in the forest, from ripe fruit to ant nests.

Today Jeffrey Jr is having a restful day. It pays for an orangutan to be energy efficient. Orangutan metabolism is very slow. This is all stuff that Jeffrey Jr can worry about further down the line as he gets older. Right now, he can play to his heart’s content, rolling seeds around in his mouth and bringing forest detritus close to his face for inspection.

He loves journeying far into the heart of the forest and striking out on his own. As Jeffrey Jr climbs higher into the canopy he looks back with an assertive glance. As he climbs, he breaks off branches and creates plenty of gaps for light to get through. This allows light to reach the forest floor and help regenerate it for future use. Any seeds on the forest floor now have a chance to germinate. Through this act of play, Jeffrey Jr is providing a vital service to the rainforest. Hours pass by quickly here as he occupies himself. Nothing can distract him when he is in the zone.

A good day’s work behind him, Jeffrey Jr is now ready to call it quits. It’s been a long day at the “office”. It won’t be long ‘til he’s ready to do it all over again tomorrow! Over the last six months Jeffrey Jr has continued to grow apace. We can notice the difference even from a few updates ago. The last couple of years have been difficult for everyone but because of generous donations from his foster parents, OFI has been able to continue looking after Jeffrey Jr and all his playmates. On behalf of Jeffrey Jr, we thank you very much for everything. We know that we can’t do it without you.

Click here to download Jeffrey Junior’s February 2022 Foster Update