Gokong

Gokong loves to eat a wide range of food and he doesn’t have a particular favourite. He now weighs 10kg. He will join his friends and always try and be dominant to receive the milk feeds in the early morning. If Siboy tries to be a little pushy, Gokong will turn around and displace him by biting him. This shows that Gokong is one of the dominant youngsters in his group.

Nadya seems to be his best friend in his group. They both sleep together and follow each other throughout the day. When Gokong is taken out of the facility and placed with the smaller infants, he really enjoys following his friend Bulan and teaching her how to climb. It is very positive that Gokong has showed this initiative in interacting with other young orangutans. Although Gokong is developing into a confident and independent orangutan, he is also still easily scared and will often want to go to a keeper for moral support. He also gets support and confidence from his friend Nadya.

Gokong no longer sleeps in the clinic with the other smaller infants. He has advanced to Stage Two and will sleep throughout the night, without requiring to sleep with others. When Gokong is taken into the small forest school, he is very clumsy and careless with his climbing. He will often fall or aim to climb high and throw himself down to the ground, army roll around and then get back up and climb again. This behaviour is very cheeky and is setting a bad example for other infants like Bulan who learn from him.

Gokong has started to spend longer climbing and playing in the trees, rather than following the keepers and distracting the vet staff. This progress has been quite rapid over the last few months. He also spends more time exploring and interacting with the other infants. Gokong has also started to participate in some nest building activities. He pulls the leaves off branches and tries to make a nest. He is watching the other orangutans and tries to copy them- especially Bulan who is very good at making nests.