The rehabilitation centres are home to many harsh stories — but also many stories with happy endings. One of the very best is the story of the female orangutan, Du.
Female orangutans are mothers to the core. At the same time, orangutans are among the animal species that care for their young for the longest period. In the wild, the young stay with their mother until they are 6–8 years old.
Although many of the orangutans at the rehabilitation centres are orphaned, it also happens that an adult orangutan gives birth at the centre or on the pre-release islands. One of them is the female orangutan Du, and her journey as a mother is truly an amazing story.
She went from being repatriated from Thailand to becoming a mother of three — and adoptive mother to one.
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From Smuggled Orangutan to Mother
Some of the orangutans at the Nyaru Menteng rehabilitation centre are orangutans that have been repatriated from other countries through negotiations between national authorities. These are often orangutans that were smuggled out of Indonesia to be sold as pets or used to entertain tourists. It is therefore a huge victory when these orangutans return to the country where they belong — and even more so when, despite deep emotional scars, they actually prove to be doing well. Some may become ready for release back into the wild. Others may even have offspring of their own.
The latter was the case for the orangutan Du, who was repatriated from Thailand in 2006 together with 49 other orangutans. At the time, she was already 10 years old, and after her quarantine period she was moved to a pre-release island.
There, three years later, she became pregnant and gave birth to the infant Dea, whom she — despite her difficult past — excelled at caring for. Dea herself grew into a quick and intelligent orangutan, and she was released back into the wild in 2019.
That alone is a tremendous success. Not only was Du brought home after being smuggled out of the country, but against all odds she also contributed to new orangutan populations in the wild.
Read more: Wild-born baby gives hope for the future of orangutans
Adopted the Orphaned Dumel
But the story does not end there. Du also gave birth to the infant Dinda in 2016, who later moved to Kaja Island, and in 2022 she had her third infant, who was named Dai. Around the same time, her close friend Melata — who had also been repatriated from Thailand — gave birth to little Dumel. However, this was a far less happy story, as Melata disappeared in early 2023, leaving Dumel without a mother.
This was where Du truly showed what a caring being she is. She stepped in and adopted Dumel, who she raised alongside Dai.
After an incident where Dumel was taken by a male orangutan, the little family was moved back to the centre, where they could be completely safe. Dumel spent much of the time clinging to Du — in fact, more so than her biological infant Dai did.
It is rare for female orangutans to care for multiple infants at the same time. Normally, they only have another baby once the older offspring has grown significantly and no longer needs to be carried or nursed. But Du is different. Four infants later — including one she chose to care for herself — she is not only an exemplary mother, but also a symbol of how well things can turn out even for an orangutan that once seemed beyond hope.