A UNIQUE FRIENDSHIP
Sally, a female orangutan who previously lived in the Socialisation Complex at Samboja Lestari, has taken a huge step on her rehabilitation journey: the BOS team relocated her to the Juq Kehje Swen Pre-Release Island in East Kalimantan. This move marks a crucial phase in preparing Sally for an independent life in the wild.
Life on a Juq Kehje Swen Pre-Release Island
Currently, Sally is the only rehabilitated orangutan living on this pre-release island. Under the close supervision and regular monitoring by our Juq Kehje Swen Team, she continues to adapt to her natural surroundings while practising essential survival skills. These include climbing, foraging for natural food, and building nests.
Living on a pre-release island allows Sally to experience conditions that closely resemble her future wild habitat. With minimal human intervention, she is encouraged to rely on her instincts and natural behaviours. Each day, Sally explores the island, learns its landscape, and becomes more confident navigating her environment. These qualities are important indicators of her readiness for eventual release.
An Unexpected Friendship in the Forest
Beneath the seriousness of her rehabilitation process, Sally has unveiled a heartwarming and unexpected aspect of life on the island. During daily monitoring activities, our team observed that Sally has formed a special bond with a small, furry companion—a caterpillar. This tiny creature is the larva of a moth from the Lepidoptera class.
Remarkably, Sally carries this caterpillar wherever she goes, whether she is walking along the forest floor or moving between trees high above the ground. On several occasions, the monitoring team found Sally happily playing with her little friend. The caterpillar is often gently placed on Sally’s face, such as around her lips, cheeks, or forehead and sometimes even on her hand.
Sally gently places her little friend on her face and takes him everywhere with her.
Exploration, Play, and Gentle Care
Sally appears to truly enjoy exploring the island with her tiny companion by her side. If the caterpillar accidentally falls, Sally will stop her activities to search for it before continuing her exploration. Even during mealtimes, Sally carefully places her small friend beside her while she eats, returning it to her face once she has finished.
This gentle and attentive behaviour highlights Sally’s curiosity and sensitivity toward her environment. It offers a rare glimpse into the emotional and cognitive complexity of orangutans.
Nature’s Harmony Across Species
Interactions like this are not entirely new in BOS Foundation’s rehabilitation sites. The technicians have recorded similar observations in the past. For instance, they observed Koko and Winey, two orangutans at the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Centre, spending time together and sharing food with long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) at a feeding platform.
Sally and her tiny companion’s story reminds us that a healthy, well-protected forest provides space for extraordinary and unexpected interspecies interactions. These small but meaningful moments reflect the richness of biodiversity and the delicate balance within forest ecosystems.
Protecting Forests, Preserving Stories
As humans, capable of altering ecosystems on a global scale, we carry a responsibility to protect forests and the life within them. By safeguarding natural habitats, we ensure that unique, heartwarming stories like that of Sally and her little friend can continue to unfold in the wild, just as nature intends.
