Arrival date at OCCQ: May 12, 2002
Body weight on arrival: 3 kg or 6.6 pounds
Blood type : A
Body weight in April 2008: 20 kg or 44 pounds
Bejo is one of the 330 orangutans at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine supported by OFI. He has been available for fostering since he first came to the Center.
Bejo arrived at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) in Pasir Panjang, Central Borneo on May 12, 2002. He was a rather sickly small infant, estimated to be about two years of age, who was not in the best condition. The veterinarians at the OCCQ found 41 live strongyloides larvae in his stool. Over 500 strongyloides eggs were found in the sediment. There were 23 Ascaris (roundworm) eggs counted as well. In fact, the very next day after his arrival a live roundworm worm came out of his anus, causing some consternation among the staff despite the fact that they had seen scenes like this before.
Bejo was quickly de-wormed and regularly checked for parasites thereafter. He proved to be tenacious, persistent and good-natured. Although he never gained weight at the same rate as some of the other orangutan males in the OCCQ, nonetheless he grew and developed into a playful and healthy juvenile. He has always had relatively sparse and short hair on his body.
Although he has not exhibited any serious medical problems, he has dry skin on top of his head and his weight has fluctuated over the past year. Care Center personnel have made a special effort to give him more food.
Bejo shares a sleeping cage with Mindow, Eka, and Zeppelin. All are friends and frequently play together in the OCCQ forest. However, his best mate is Sembuluh, another juvenile, with whom he travels in the forest when the orangutans are released daily into the nursery forest. Bejo forages well. He is particularly skilled at locating and pulling up the inner shoots of rattan palms, a food also utilized by wild orangutans.
Bejo is still good-natured and sweet. Tiny little cheekpads are beginning to develop on either side of his face, an indication of his good health and increasing development as a male. We hope to release him into the wild within the next two years or so.
|
2009 Latest News
