The sun was shining bright that morning, a sign of a good day to begin the Jungle School session in BORA (Bornean Orangutan Rescue Alliance). In Jungle school, rehabilitated Orangutans are let to revive their instinct and recall how to survive in the rainforest. As usual, after the first meal, the keepers carried Orangutans on their back or took them by hand and led them to the Forest School. Some Orangutans walked on their own following the keepers from behind.

Bonti, an 8 years old female Orangutan is the most difficult orangutan to call when forest school session is over. Sometimes she still wants to play around or explore the forest and swing from one branch to another. Other times she seems busy tasting some fruits she found, or just sits silently as she watches other Orangutans get back to their cage. Sure enough, that day, when school was over, Bonti didn’t want to come down. Some keepers kept calling her and followed her but instead of coming down and getting herself picked up, she went around in the cage area. She jumped from one canopy to another, causing other Orangutans to get wild in their cage. She even ignored Raffi, the Biologist at Bora. But when the keepers lured her with a bottle of her favorite milk, she finally came down and let the keepers pick her up and carried her back to the cage. 

The next day, it’s Devi’s day. Devi is an Orangutan who likes to stay and play on the treetop. Sometimes it’s difficult to spot her in forest school. That day, she couldn’t stop swinging joyfully from one tree to another. Devi prefers to be alone than be with other Orangutans, let alone humans. Just when the time’s over, we saw Devi on a fruitful tree. When Devi enjoys fruits, she forgets the whole world. We knew very well that it’s gonna be tough to get her back to the cage. It was such a busy evening! When Devi was finally full, she broke some leafy branches and piled them up carefully. Yup, she was building a comfy nest. We were stunned. It was an amazing moment. We stopped calling her and let her do her business. “Let her focus and finish the nest,” said There, the vet at Bora. It didn’t take long for Devi to finish her solid and comfy nest. We were so proud of Devi. Raffi said that it wasn’t Devi’s first time building a nest. Finally she came down and finished a bottle full of milk that the medical team gave her.

It’s a sunny Sunday. It was Bonti and Mary’s turn to go to Forest School. The keepers braced themselves as they read Bonti and Mary’s name on the list when they did morning briefing. They had to be prepared as both Orangutans were among those who often refused to get back to the cage. As expected, during the Forest School, Bonti and Mary roamed deeper into the forest, and got further and further from the cage area. Suddenly gray clouds were hanging in the sky. Sunny day’s over as rain poured down. Bonti and Mary took shelter on a big tree, hugging each other while we were soaked on the ground. We were joking around, hoping our laughter could warm our body. We followed Bonti and Mary wherever they went. At last the rain’s over. Bonti and Mary continued their journey. It had been two hours yet none of them got down. While luring them with everything we could and we had, we also prayed that they would come down soon. Finally Mary came down to get a bottle of milk and her favorite fruit the keeper lured her with. It didn’t work for Bonti. Bonti kept going back to forest school. We followed her while hoping that we didn’t have to stay overnight in forest school. Though it’s frustrating, we were also glad. It means that she feels at home in the forest. How can we not be glad when she’s getting closer to returning to where she belongs? Either got exhausted, lured by bottled milk, or pitied us the keeper, Bonti finally came down. 

“Thank God we don’t have to stay overnight here!” (TER)

TIGA HARI MERAYU ORANGUTAN

Pagi yang cerah adalah awal yang baik untuk memulai sekolah hutan di BORA (Bornean Orangutan Rescue Alliance). Sekolah untuk orangutan yang sedang menjalani rehabilitasi dimana mereka akan mengasah kembali insting alaminya dan bertahan hidup di hutan. Setelah makan pagi, sesuai jadwal orangutan pun dibawa ke lokasi sekolah hutan, ada yang digendong, dituntun bahkan berjalan sendiri mengikuti jalur yang ada.

Bonti, orangutan betina berumur 8 tahun ini adalah orangutan yang paling sulit dipanggil pulang saat sekolah hutan berakhir, entah karena masih ingin bermain, menjelajah hutan, berpindah dari satu dahan ke dahan yang lain, menikmati buah hutan yang ditemukannya atau kesibukan lainya yang kadang hanya memperhatikan orangutan lainnya yang sudah mulai menuju kandang lagi. Benar saja, ketika waktu itu tiba, Bonti pun tidak mau turun walaupun dipanggil berulang kali. Beberapa perawat satwa  berusaha memanggil dan mengikutinya, namun Bonti tetap tidak mau turun dan menuju ke area kandang dengan berpindah dari satu kanopi ke kanopi yang lain sampai akhirnya dia mengelilingi kandang hingga membuat orangutan yang berada di dalam kandang ricuh. Panggilan Raffi, Biologis BORA yang pendiam ini pun tak dihiraukannya. Sampai akhirnya, botol berisi susu kesukaannya menjadi magnet yang membawanya kembali ke kandang.

Keesokan harinya, orangutan Devi adalah orangutan yang paling suka bermain di ketinggian, kadang hampir tidak kelihatan. Kali ini Devi berpindah dari satu pohon ke pohon yang lain sepanjang lokasi sekolah hutan. Devi lebih suka sendiri daripada bermain dengan orangutan lain apalagi manusia. Waktu sekolah hutan pun usai dan Devi menemukan pohon yang sedang berbuah lebat. Kami semua tau, dia tak akan turun jika sudah menikmati buah hutan. Siang itu menjadi siang yang paling sibuk, kenyang dan dia pun mulai mematahkan ranting yang berdaun lebat. Ya… Devi menyusun ranting-ranting itu. Bersarang. Kami pun terdiam, momen luar biasa, kami tak ingin menggagunya dengan memanggilnya, “biar fokus menyelesaikan pembuatan sarangnya”, ujar drh. There. Tidak membutuhkan waktu lama, sarang yang terlihat kokoh pun jadi, kami yang menyaksikan pun bangga. Menurut Raffi, Devi memang sudah beberapa kali terlihat membuat sarang.Selesai makan dan membuat sarang, Devi pun akhirnya turun dan meminum habis susu yang dibawa tim medis.

Minggu pagi yang cerah giliran kelompok yang di dalamnya ada orangutan Bonti dan Mary. Jika briefing pagi ada dua nama orangutan ini maka perawat satwa harus menyiapkan tenaga lebih untuk menunggu dan mengikuti keduanya yang tidak mau pulang. Benar saja, waktu semua orangutan sudah kembali ke kandang, keduanya malah menjelajah menjauh dari lokasi sekolah hutan. Cuaca cerah sekejab berubah mendung dan hujan deras pun turun. Bonti dan Mary berada di pohon yang besar dan lebat saling berpelukan dan berlindung dari hujan. Sedangkan kami yang berjaga menjadi basah kuyup dan bercanda satu sama lain mengusir dingin sambil menjaga dan mengikuti kedua orangutan ini kemanapun mereka pergi. Hujan cukup lama pun akhirnya reda. Bonti memimpin Mary melanjutkan penjelajahan mereka. Dua jam berlalu namun tak satupun mau turun. Doa dan usaha membawa mereka kembali ke kandang terucap. Untung saja Mary tergiur dengan botol susu dan buah yang dipegang perawat satwa. Tapi tak berlaku pada Bonti. Bonti kembali ke lokasi sekolah hutan. Kami pun mengikutinya dan berdiam diri sembari berharap semoga tak harus menginap di sekolah hutan. Walau harapan itu sebenarnya kebahagian kami melihat Bonti semakin dekat dengan hutan yang merupakan rumah sesungguhnya. Entah karena capek atau tergoda susu yang kami bawa. Atau lebih tepatnya kasihan pada kami, Bonti pun akhirnya turun. “Hampir saja kita bermalam di sekolah hutan”. (TER)