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Gunung

Male , 12 years old

About Gunung

Gunung still has a long way to go and lot more things left to learn. In the wild, he would stay with his mother for up to seven years, learning all the skills necessary to live a life in the forest. We can’t ever replace his mother, but we will do our best to ensure he is given the best chance.

We are very happy with the progress he is making, especially as an orphan orangutan without a mother to guide him. Roaming from tree to tree, he enjoys peaceful solitude high up in the treetops. Gunung isn’t picking up new skills as quickly as his peers, but it appears he is aware of his own ability as he puts in extra effort to learn the essential survival skills he will need to when he is eventually released. These days Gunung can be found exploring, foraging and causing mischief in the forest.

Adopt Gunung today to receive regular exclusive updates and join him on his journey back to the wild.

Gunung's Story

Gunung arrived at our orangutan centre in Ketapang, West Borneo on 3rd November 2011. A man claimed to have found him in a tree, in an area very close to Gunung Palung National Park. The man reported to the park office who contacted the forestry department so that they could rescue the baby. Unfortunately, we were only informed of the incident the night before Gunung was rescued, so our team was not able to be part of the rescue operation. Therefore, we do not have first-hand information about what really happened but we find it hard to believe that such a young baby orangutan could be found alone in the forest without any signs of his mother.

The little orangutan was named Gunung after the National Park in which he was found by–it also means “Mountain” in Bahasa Indonesian. He was estimated to be just two or three month old at the time of his rescue, so the little one had been separated from his mother at a very young age. Gunung was extremely skinny and his weight was just over 2kg when he arrived. He had a deep, infected wound on the right side of his head, perhaps caused by the impact of falling from a tree.

Gunung at rescue
Young Gunung at Rescue

When Gunung first arrived at the centre, he seemed to be in good health at first glance. However, when he was checked more thoroughly, the vets found lots of little red spots on his belly and chest, possibly from an allergic reaction. The baby orangutan was treated with tropical lotion for his skin and his infected wound was cleaned every day and treated with an antibiotic cream. Thanks to the dedication of his carers, he was completely recovered in less than a week!

Even at a young age, Gunung had an awesome character and was very curious and cheeky. He began in 24-hour care as he needed a great deal of attention. His baby sitters were very impressed with his appetite and he was feeding with milk every two hours or less. Along with seventeen other babies, Gunung was nearly ready to be moved from the clinic in Ketapang into his new forest home in Sungai Awan, accompanied by his baby sitter.

Gunung in quarantine
Gunung asleep in quarantine

Baby School was the first step of many for little Gunung to build up his strength and skills needed to survive in the wild. He was one of the boldest and bravest babies and was one of the first to reach out to the tree branches in his new home. He was extremely happy to be amongst the trees with his best friends Joyce, Rocky and Noel. Over the course of a year, his climbing skills improved greatly and he spent much of his time exploring. He was a very friendly and playful character, mixing well with all the other orangutans. He began to show promising signs of growing increasingly independent of his carers.

Although he loved his food, Gunung was quite small, tipping the scales at 7.8kg. The vets noticed his decrease in weight and he had lost some of his hair. He was taken to the clinic for a medical examination but was deemed fit and healthy by the vets! He can be a slightly picky eater which is likely to be the cause of his hair loss so the team began to provide him with additional food and multivitamins. He began to gain his weight back and his hair was re-growing, thicker than ever. He began showing fantastic signs for his eventual release as he could be found foraging and eating leaves in the forest

Gunung playing with sand
Gunung at baby school

As Gunung matured, he turned into the life of the party! He could be seen swinging, jumping, falling over, throwing toys and generally causing mischief. He was making great progress and showed signs of being able to graduate from Baby School to Forest School. His body was a great shape for his age and his hair was continuing to grow well, both great signs of a fit and healthy young orangutan.

He had to be kept in for a couple of days because he was suffering from sore eyes, but he was soon back amongst the trees eating everything in sight. His foraging and nest making skills had improved a lot and he even had the confidence to play with some of the much larger orangutans in Forest School. He slowly began to calm down and mature, although he was never seen as one of the most dominant males.

Gunung loved trying new things in Forest School. He didn’t like to stay on the ground all that much, only venturing down from the trees when enrichment or treats were bought out. He much preferred quickly grabbing his fruit and eating it high in the trees on his own. Sometimes he would steal his friend’s food just to make sure it was the same as his own and that he wasn’t missing out! He was one of the most playful orangutans in the centre and when everyone of the carers entered, he was the first to start playing with their hair or clothes! He had become a very independent orangutan and his nest building skills had progressed so much that he would build one whenever he fancied a rest.

Gunung the orangutan having a great time in Forest School!

Gunung was one of the twenty lucky orangutans who moved into into Palau Besar, or ‘Big Island’,where he currently enjoys 64 acres of untouched forest! He is a growing orangutan who loves nothing more than to explore–so he is in his element with all the space on the new island. He spends most of his time playing with the enrichment and learning everything he needs to know about surviving in the forest. He continues to thrive and he is always adapting, learning and growing. His survival skills are improving and he has started to spend more time alone in the forest. He has begun to demonstrate his intelligence through always being the first to arrive when keepers bring out snacks after meal time. He then quickly swings away to stop his food being stolen by the other orangutans!

Gunung Adopter Update August 2020

What you get?

Adopt Gunung today and you will receive:

  • A personalised certificate in recognition of your adoption
  • A high quality picture of Gunung to frame
  • An animal fact sheet with information on Gunung and orangutans as a whole
  • Exclusive news, photos and videos of your adopted animal sent via email and avaliable online
  • A soft plush orangutan toy (optional)
Gunung adoption pack