Feeding Time for Baby Orangutans at Nursery Love Nature
Transcript
00:00 (gentle music)
00:02 This is where the youngest orphans begin their journeys.
00:08 Cuddling together in these baskets
00:17 takes the place of their mom's arms at night.
00:27 At 6 a.m., Rona has a bad case of bedhead.
00:31 Mima is ready for anything.
00:38 And Bawan and Napri are good to go.
00:43 Diapers are used overnight
00:49 for the same reason human babies wear them.
00:51 And every morning starts with a bottle.
00:57 (gentle music)
01:00 In the wild, these two to 18-month-olds
01:02 would be nursing numerous times throughout the day and night.
01:05 Here in the nursery,
01:14 the infants drink a special soy milk formula,
01:17 which is better for their digestive systems than cow's milk.
01:26 These babies may be small,
01:28 but they already have big personalities.
01:31 (children screaming)
01:34 There's enough formula to go around,
01:38 but Bumi wants to dominate the bottle.
01:41 Breakfast has got 11-month-old Kalanis all fired up.
01:54 (Kalanis squeaking)
01:57 A human baby of this age wouldn't have as many teeth,
02:00 but there's something similar about the game he plays
02:05 with his surrogate mom.
02:06 Luckily, the school day for the nursery kids
02:15 is about to start.
02:16 Time to get on the bus.
02:21 (gentle music)
02:23 These orphans have no mother's back to cling to,
02:30 but this does look kind of cozy.
02:34 The caretakers wheel Kalanis and the others to class,
02:45 where they're divided into two main groups.
02:49 (children chattering)
02:51 Jelapat and Talakad go to the biggies group
02:54 for one to two-year-olds.
02:55 And then there's the littlies for those younger than one.
03:02 Despite their young age,
03:10 many of these babies have already faced extreme hardship.
03:17 Little East student Bumi was found
03:19 in a forest clearing all alone.
03:21 He was less than two weeks old.
03:29 Video shot by his rescuers reveals a helpless infant.
03:46 With the stub of his umbilical cord still attached.
03:49 It's likely his mother had been killed by a poacher.
03:54 But thanks to the care he's received here,
03:59 he's now thriving at 11 months old.
04:02 Jelapat, who's in the biggies group,
04:09 was rescued when he was one.
04:11 (birds chirping)
04:14 Photographs show how he was found living in a dollhouse,
04:19 dressed in a onesie, desperate for contact.
04:22 His owner intended to illegally smuggle him
04:28 out of the country on a coal ship
04:30 and sell him to a private buyer for about $150 US.
04:35 Rescuers stepped in just in time.
04:41 (water splashing)
04:42 And Jelapat was saved.
04:43 Now, at two years old,
04:49 Jelapat even has his first girlfriend.
04:51 18-month-old Talakan and Jelapat are inseparable.
04:58 Until it comes to fruit time.
05:02 Planting fruit in hanging baskets
05:07 promotes searching for food in the trees.
05:10 (gentle music)
05:14 Despite their young age,
05:15 Jelapat and Talakan are already fearless climbers.
05:19 Today's meal consists of yellow santons and green oranges.
05:32 These soft fruits are much easier to open than coconuts,
05:39 but still provide a challenge for the youngsters.
05:41 Talakan's having a bit of trouble.
05:46 So, she improvises.
05:50 High in a tree nearby,
06:03 a swarm of tiny bees protects its honey-filled hives.
06:07 (gentle music)
06:09 Mochi is encouraged to investigate.
06:14 But he seems reluctant.
06:21 Senior supervisor, Mulyono, knows just what to do.
06:35 A dab of honey water is the perfect bait.
06:38 The honey water is delicious.
06:53 But Mochi needs to learn to access
06:58 the honey hidden inside the tree.
07:01 (gentle music)
07:04 Talakan gives it a try.
07:10 But her finger is just too big.
07:15 Fortunately, these tiny bees are stingless,
07:21 so her intrusion doesn't provoke an attack.
07:29 Mulyono takes the lesson to the next level
07:32 by introducing a tool.
07:33 Orangutans are one of the most inventive tool users
07:50 in the animal kingdom.
07:51 And these baby students are clearly fascinated.
07:59 But there's still a little way off
08:00 from mastering tool use 101.
08:03 (upbeat music)
08:06 (upbeat music)
08:09 (upbeat music)
08:12 (upbeat music)
08:15 you