Beautiful Charlotte has gone from a life of tragedy and pain to joy and freedom at Jungle School at our BORA rescue centre in East Kalimantan.
You may remember that Charlotte was rescued by our Bornean Orangutan Rescue Alliance (BORA) last year, after having been held in captivity for nearly all of her four years. She was originally called ‘Rembo’ but as that was a boy’s name, she’s been renamed Charlotte, meaning ‘free woman’ in French.
We don’t know how many years the chain had been around her neck, but we do know that it was painful and severely restricted her movement.
Now, Charlotte has a new lease on life. Although at first she was very nervous around humans and other orangutans, she is starting to develop confidence and courage in Jungle School. When orangutans are taken from their mothers, especially at a young age as Charlotte was, they don’t have the skills and knowledge they need to survive in the wild.
Jungle School is the most important strategy in their development, as they learn from their carers how to eat the right foods and forage for various foods including fruits, leaves and termites. For Charlotte, as you can see in the photos here, Jungle School is opening up the world for her. Previously chained by the neck under the deck of a family home, she’s now learning how to reach for the branches, climb the trees, and become the wild, free orangutan she was meant to be.
Below you can see three photos of Charlotte just this month in Jungle School and three photos of her when she was rescued (and still being called Rembo). What a difference a couple of months, some good food, and time in the Jungle School makes!
Donating to our orangutan rescue alliances is one of the best ways you can help rescue and save more orangutans like Charlotte. Please help: https://www.theorangutanproject.org/projects-overview/rescue-rehabilitation-and-release/
