Aman
BEHAVIOURAL ENRICHMENT
Aman, our resident dominant male weighing in at about 150 Kg had a great day today after volunteers on their daily trip to collect leaves and natural foodstuff came across a large banana tree that had been damaged by the weather and was laying on the ground.
The volunteers brought the whole plant, complete with banana flower and unripe bananas to Aman’s enclosure and threw it into him. He went for the banana flower first and after eating that started on the bananas, all 50 of them! It was as if he didn’t know what to do first. He proceeded to rip the stem of the plant open so that he could eat the soft inside of which is a white juicy stem.
The rest of the day was spent moving the tree about his enclosure and playing with the enormous leaves. He must have thought he was in banana heaven.
Doris was not amused as the size of her leaf was considerably smaller but decided to make the best of it.
Aman can see!
My next visit to Matang was in July, I returned with my husband Gareth with plans to help with building a new enclosure for the sunbears, this has now been completed but took longer than first anticipated as the project has now gone much further than we could ever hope for, it is now going to be a sunbear rehabilitation project which means hopefully with Sarawak forestry’s help some of these bears will be released back into the forest to live a normal life. This is a world first and has meant that I am now involved in so much more than I expected.
Seeing Aman again was amazing, he is a large adult male that had a cataract operation in May until then his sight was very limited and could see no further than his feet, he now has lost weight due to being able to move around his enclosure, he climbs high onto a platform that was constructed for him by volunteers and is able to watch all the daily goings on and has a real interest in life. You only have to look into his eyes and see the life there to realise what life must be like for him. This was the worlds first ever cataract operation performed on an orangutan and once again it was the combined effort of volunteers, experts, world class vets, Sarawak Forestry and all those involved in the Great Orangutan Project that made it possible. It would be lovely to think that one day it may now be possible for him to return to the forest where he belongs. Click here to read more about Aman’s operation.
Aman during is cateract operation
Taking in the View: now Aman can see again
I then had the most wonderful experience I was part of the start of taking Ting Sang (the young orphaned orangutan) way into the jungle to start teaching her forest skills, she spends hour after hour climbing high into the trees and also the fruiting season started so she was able to start finding food for herself she learns very quickly and I know that one day she will be living as an orangutan should, free and in the trees.
Ting San: learning what she can eat in the jungle
She has grown so much since February almost doubling her size and now weighing 14 kilos, she loves the forest and spends hours up in the highest tree and is just starting to learn to make a nest
I have had the most amazing year and now once again. have the privilege of returning in January to see the sunbears put in their new enclosure A lot of work has gone into this project and I know it will be a very emotional time for everybody to see these 4 bears that have been in quarantine eventually able to enjoy an outside life.
Volunters at work
As each month goes on the volunteers and staff at Matang do their best to give the animals the best quality of life and it is wonderful for me to have been able to be part of that. Please watch this space it can only get better.
Heather .
