Happy surprise for the orangutan patrol in Bukit Tigapuluh! End of May we finished our new ranger post by the Manggatal river. On the very first patrol we met our old friend Sita, an orangutan lady and her newborn. Sita was released in the Manggatal area in 2006 and can be observed in this area on a regular basis. She is about 12 years old and actually still a bit young for being a mother. In the wild orangutans typically reproduce for the first time at the age of 15. Nevertheless: Mother and child are in very good condition. We will monitor them regularly to see how Sita copes with her new role as a young mother. Back in April another orangutan with her offspring has been spotted. We are pretty sure it’s Bolo, who was released in 2009. What’s more, one of the orangutan patrols evacuated Kiki from the rim of a pit mine in SuoSuo. She was released in 2006. Judging from her condition and her looks, Kiki, too, in the meantime must have had a baby.

These three happy events suggest, that the long predicted baby boom finally has arrived in our released orangutan population. We are on the right track!