Gunung arrived at our orangutan rescue centre in Ketapang, West Borneo on 3 November 2011. A man had apparently found him in a tree, in an area very close to Gunung Palung National Park. He reported to the park office who contacted the forestry department so that they could rescue the baby.

The little orangutan was named Gunung which means “Mountain” in Bahasa Indonesian. He is a male and was estimated to be just two or three months old at 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. Gunung had a deep, infected wound on the right side of his head – perhaps caused by the impact of falling from a tree.

These days Gunung can be found learning survival skills in forest school, exploring and foraging in the forest. In the wild, his mother would have taught him these vital skills for up to seven years. We can’t ever replace his mother, but we will do our best to ensure he is given the best chance. Gunung likes to spend time alone in the forest, which is a positive sign of natural orangutan behaviour. He is one of our many orangutans who loves their food. He is always the first to arrive when the keepers bring snacks out after meal time. He then quickly swings away to stop his own food being stolen by the other orangutans!