A NEW FRIEND OF THE FAMILY
Recently, a five-member Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team – consisting of Faldo, Balan, Dandi, Yunus and Welem – set off early into the forest for a day of patrolling. As our team members approached a main transect intersection, they spotted Signe with her baby and firstborn Bungaran.
The team split into two groups: Faldo, Balan, and Dandi separated from Yunus and Welem to patrol along transect #12. Yunus and Welem stayed behind at transects #3 and #4 to observe Signe and her family. At the time, they saw Signe and her offspring in the company of a wild male orangutan. The mother and her offspring appeared at ease with this individual and were friendly toward him.
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- Signe and her baby appeared at ease with the wild male orangutan.
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- Signe’s firstborn Bungaran spent most of his time alone in the canopy.
In the peaceful ambience of the forest, Yunus and Welem snuck around to look for the best-shaded vantage point for observations. The gentle sound of branches rubbing against each other in the breeze became the soundtrack of the day’s y observations. Bungaran was preoccupied with spending most of his time in the forest canopy, leaving his mother and baby brother on the tree limb below with their new friend, enjoying forest fruit together.
After eating a hearty breakfast, Signe took her baby up into the treetops to relax. The male orangutan remained close. Signe and her baby descended to the forest floor several times to drink water from a spring not far from the tree they had occupied.
The unknown wild male remained close to Signe and her baby the entire time.
Just before sunset, Signe built a night nest and settled in with her baby. Observations ended around 6 p.m. after our team was sure that Signe, her offspring, and their new friend had settled down for the night.
Seeing Signe’s family at ease with another friend in the Kehje Sewen Forest was very encouraging.
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