Every day is a journey of discovery for the baby orangutans at Camp Danielle. They are allowed the freedom to choose how they spend their forest school trips and Crystal takes full advantage of this.

Crystal journeys back and forth between the two Camp Danielle playgrounds. She is filled with a youthful curiosity so she cannot help investigating anything of interest!  For someone who often plays by herself Crystal has plenty of friends that she often encounters! Occasionally she enjoys wrestling, tugging and rolling around the playground with Vida or her other friends Pedro and Usup. On the tyre bridge that connects the two playgrounds Crystal encounters her friends Jez and Roderick. They navigate and clamber over one another, above, between, and below the bridge. These days Crystal is housed with her friend Vida. She also likes to approach the younger orangutans such as Koling and play with them. She is the big sister who shows them the ropes (literally and figuratively).

Crystal can be found wandering around the grounds picking up whatever she finds. She likes to dig through the mud to see what treasures she can unearth, wave a stick around like a magic wand, and pull up blades of grass. Crystal loves enrichment like rolled mats filled with treats that she must figure out how to open. These rolled up mats can contain nuts, pineapple leaves, sugar cane, and banana. Crystal sometimes opens up hers so quickly that the contents go flying, and she must scramble to get them. Crystal enjoys sampling fruit leaves such as pineapple tops, sticking them into her mouth and chewing them over. She ventures into the forest but is never too far from the playground or her caregivers. In the forest Crystal seems to get sensory overload and isn’t sure which way to turn. She compromises by lazily hanging from a branch.

Crystal is always keen to explore and discover, be it on land, sea or air. Speaking of sea… during the rainy season pools of water accumulate around the playgrounds, and these pools are irresistible to Crystal. She loves to dive in, rubbing water all over her hands and head. There’s nothing like a refreshing dip in a plunge pool. There is plenty of time for Crystal to continue discovering and pushing herself to the next level. The next six months will be no less interesting; we can be sure of that.

Click here to download Crystal’s February 2023 Foster Update