Rickina was rescued in late 2012 from a man who claimed that he had encountered a mother orangutan with her baby in the forest, and that the mother was so startled that she abandoned the baby and ran away. The man said he picked up the baby, and in doing so, apparently caused a gaping wound on her head with his machete. A mother orangutan will never leave her infant behind and will fight to the death to protect her baby from aggressors, so we know her story is extremely tragic and she bears the physical and mental scars of losing her mother.

Rocky was surrendered to the Ketapang Forestry Department and came into the centre shortly after Rickina. He was extremely malnourished, making him appear much younger than his actual age, and his carers were concerned about his health. He was being fed a diet of condensed milk, which leads to malnutrition, and affected his early development. He had little hair and his head looked far too big for his body. He was almost scared of fruit when he arrived, as he had never been fed this as part of his diet!

Quite surprisingly Rocky started to do very well after a short time in the centre, and more so when he was paired in the same cage as Rickina. After a short time the two infants bonded very closely. They are now the very best of friends and will grip onto each other closely during their days in jungle school.

Recently our TOP Ambassador, Zoe Foster Blake and husband Hamish Blake visited the care centre and fell head over heels for the charismatic pair, who played together at jungle school inseparably.

Your donation will provide care for their needs as well as all the infants at their care centre to ensure they continue to grow as healthy as possible before hopefully returning to the wild. Rocky and Rickina’s care includes 24-hour staff and veterinary care, food, enrichment and of course, forest school.