Island life
Once the orangutans can build their own nests and find food in the forest they are ready to be placed into the wild rainforest. But before that, they are released into a special protected area so that they can be monitored and the staff can ensure that they are really ready to be released into the wild.
Close by the center in Nyaru Menteng there are several uninhabited islands in the middle of a river. Here the orangutans can live a life that is very close to life in the wild. The islands are often inundated which means that the orangutans have to stay up in the tree tops.
The three islands are called Kaya (120 hectares), Palas, (22 hectares) and Bang Amat (35 hectares) and almost all the vegetation that the orangutans are used to can be found in abundance. It is here that Animal Planet’s Orangutan Island takes place.
Slowly but surely the orangutans become habituated to looking for their own food, but the staff distributes fruit in the same areas every day to ensure that all the orangutans are getting the necessary nutrition. “Unexciting” fruit is the norm– in order to encourage the orangutans to look for more savory treats on their own.
Most of the orangutans feel quite insecure when they arrive on the islands and try to get back to the main land by jumping onto the boats. But pretty soon they have learned to appreciated their new life with the other apes. After a while it is hard to even tempt them to come from the trees when the staff come for the occasional visits.
