During the fall, the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Centre welcomed a young female orangutan, Pororo, who was voluntarily surrendered after being found on a road within an oil palm plantation in Central Kalimantan.

A small female orangutan was sitting all by herself on the road when she was found by a local resident. Her mother was nowhere to be seen and without her, the orangutan would not be able to survive.

The local resident took the orangutan, who was later named Pororo, home and cared for her for two days before local authorities (BKSDA) were contacted. The protected animal was handed over to the BKSDA, who then brought her to our partner organisation BOS Foundation.

 The little orangutan was estimated to be around twelve months old and weighed just 1.96 kilograms upon arrival.

Empathetic care

Although Pororo showed no visible injuries, her fragile and underweight body worried both BOS’s medical team and the caretakers. Pororo also seemed to refuse to drink milk, which raised further concerns about her health. 

Medical examinations later revealed that Pororo had malaria. She was immediately given specialist treatment, while her caretakers remained by her side to provide her with comfort and care.

Regaining her strength

Over the following days, Pororo began to show signs of improvement. Her appetite for milk gradually returned and her affectionate personality began to emerge. When her dedicated caretaker stood up, Pororo whined from her basket, reached for the caretaker’s pants and tried to climb up for hugs and comfort.

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Once Pororo regained her strength, she began to explore her surroundings, climbing small trees in the quarantine facility. She enjoyed hanging with one hand as if testing her growing strength. 

One thing still scared her: long-tailed macaque monkeys. Every time she saw them nearby, Pororo quickly climbed down to her hammock, whined and sought the safety of her caretaker.

Hope for the future

All new arrivals at the rehabilitation centre begin their time there in quarantine to protect the other orangutans from potential diseases. Pororo is now in the final stages of this quarantine period. 

Once her health is fully stabilized, she will join the nursery group with the youngest orangutans to begin the first phase of her rehabilitation journey.

With the dedicated care of BOS Foundation’s caregivers and medical team, we hope that Pororo will continue to grow stronger and healthier. This critical time will help her develop the important survival skills she will one day need when she is ready to return to her true home, the rainforests of Kalimantan.