Written by Puspa, Communications Officer

Orangutans are arboreal mammals who are known not only as forest gardeners, but as forest architects, with magnificent nest building abilities. These primates spend their days climbing, foraging for food, and brachiating through the forest canopy. Afterwards, they build a new nest every single night to sleep in.

These smart creatures carefully select branches and leaves to shape the foundation of their nest. This is done by bending and twisting the branches into a base structure, ensuring that it is strong enough to support their body weight.  Once a sturdy foundation has been established, individuals make a circular frame from smaller branches to act as a firm barrier. Orangutans are also known to make day nests for naps, though these tend to be less intricate.

Building a nest is not just a practical skill for orangutans. It is a tradition passed down from parent to offspring. However, this will be different for orphaned orangutans who have to learn the skill by themselves or by copying another orangutan. One example of this case is Logos, an orphaned male orangutan that was rescued from an illegal wildlife trade in Surabaya, East Java on 23 June 2023. When he arrived at Lamandau Wildlife Reserve on 25 October 2023, he was only three years old.

Camp staff routinely take Logos to play and train essential skills throughout the soft release program, as they learn to grasp the workings of life in the forest. Logos is a dauntless orangutan; he is very active and loves to explore. Confidently, Logos moves from branch to branch foraging for forest food, trying a variety of fruits. He enjoys climbing trees and spends most of his days amongst the treetops.  

Camp staff observed Logos trying several times in one day to build his own nest. These continued efforts are an excellent sign that he will one day posses all three required skills for independent release: climbing, nest-building, and foraging. We hope that Logos continues to develop his forest skills so that he can soon be released back into his natural habitat.

Meanwhile, another orphaned orangutan who joined a soft release program at Camp Buluh, Timtom, is still not interested in creating her own nest. Even when the camp staff let her stay in the forest, Timtom chooses to spend the night on old nests left by another orangutan, or a large branch, rather than building her own.

Timtom also opts for playing on the ground rather than in the treetops. She plays in the trees for a short-while, before climbing down and continuing play on the ground or in the water. Once satisfied with her play-time, Timtom will again climb a tree.

We hope to see Timtom begin building nests, and spending more time climbing and foraging in trees, so that she can develop these forest skills. With this progression she can one day be released into the forest to live as a true, wild orangutan.