Mindow

As Mindow became a skilled climber, forager, and nest builder, he was identified as a candidate for permanent release into the wild.

For several weeks Mindow was kept in pre-release quarantine with his friend Unyil Bejo. The two were kept separate from other orangutans and given frequent medical check-ups to ensure that they would not pass any communicable diseases on to wild orangutan populations. By the end of their quarantine, these two were very restless.

During the journey to the release site, Mindow and Unyil Bejo clung tightly to each other in their transport cage. When the release team arrived in the forest with the transport cages, several other previously released orangutans gathered for the event. The moment the door was opened, Mindow raced straight up to a female orangutan and started to mate with her. While the female seemed perfectly compliant, the other male orangutans became enraged. Mindow soon found himself in an intense face-off. Mindow fought with multiple orangutan males throughout the next hour and never backed down.  The orangutans seemed to be mostly testing each other out and establishing dominance. No one appeared to sustain any serious injuries. 

As the other orangutans continued to interact, Mindow was one of the first to move higher up into the trees to build his sleeping nest as darkness fell. He may eventually distance himself from the other males, or he may become a dominant male in the release area. In any case, the next day Mindow moved into the swamp forest where rangers were able to follow him for several days. He never looked back and now faces a new and exciting chapter in his life.

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