Happi is entering his sixth year at our BORA rehabilitation centre and is approximately seven years of age.
Happi has been considered the best Jungle School student for some time. He grew to love Jungle School very quickly after he first began as a baby in 2017. Happi became confident and independent and has always been happy to explore and forage on his own. However, in the last six months, there has been an interesting change in Happi’s behaviour. He doesn’t want to explore on his own but must have another orangutan accompany him. The orangutan keepers often see Happi approaching other orangutans playing on the ground. He will then pull on the orangutan to encourage them to climb a tree and accompanying him to explore. Happi will then continue to move from one tree to another without until he finds food. He will then stop to forage and enjoy the natural forest food. He particularly likes to eat young leaves and ficus fruits.
Happi is very agile and almost silent when he moves through the canopy. This is different from the very young orangutans who make lots of noise and shake small branches around when they move. The orangutan keepers must be on high alert not to lose Happi since it is quite easy for him to sneak away quietly when high up in the canopy.
Happi makes nests to have a nap in during the day however they could still use some improvement. It is a skill that takes a long time to master. Happi has gained two kilograms in the last six months and now weighs 20kg. The orangutan keepers often need Happi to walk to Jungle School since they need to carry the younger and lighter orangutans out to Jungle School and Happi is getting a bit heavy to be included. Of his 24 total teeth, one of his lower canines has just fallen out, while his permanent incisors are growing.
Happi has been happy and healthy over the last six months. His favourite foods when he is in his enclosure are banana and dragon fruit. Like many human youngsters, he doesn’t like spinach. Happi loves all the various enrichment that is given including banana stem with sunflower seeds and leaves drizzled with honey.
Due to Happi’s skills, intelligence, and confidence at Jungle School, it is hoped that he will soon be able to be moved to a pre-release island for the next stage of his rehabilitation. However, the team will need to evaluate this carefully, since he is still very small, and he loves playing in water. Sometimes, the Kelay river floods and submerges parts of the pre-release island. Hopefully, soon, Happi will be considered ready to be considered as a candidate to move to the pre-release island.
