Mona is back!
It’s always great to catch up with orangutans in the forest whom we haven’t seen for a while. We are delighted to spot them again, as they prove that rehabilitated orangutans can return to the wild and thrive in the forest.
Recently our PRM team from Camp Lesik, in the Kehje Sewen Forest, East Kalimantan, located Mona again, a female orangutan we released in 2013 and last monitored in February 2021.
Mona has adapted well to her wild home!
During our observations, Mona actively moved around to forage for natural foods available in the area. However, once she had caught sight of us, she immediately indicated her displeasure at our presence, and, as always, we responded by retreating and giving her more space.
After she looked at ease again, we carefully continued to follow her. Scraps around the area indicated that Mona had just consumed a large amount of Etlingera (a wild species of ginger) shoots.
We recorded Mona’s activities for a few hours until she climbed up the hillside and left us behind in the twilight. It was wonderful to gain more information to add to our observation data collection.
We hope Mona remains in good health and lives a happy life in the wild!
