Earlier this week we shared the exciting news that three new baby orangutans have been born close to one of our camps in the last 12 months. Two of them members of the G Family, headed by grand matriarch Gracia, whilst the most recent newborn belongs to mother-of-three Feb.
Orangutans are the poster children for rainforest conservation in Borneo. Threatened by habitat loss, one estimate suggests the population of Bornean orangutans fell by over half in just 16 years between 1999 and 2015. This painted a grim picture of the ape’s future, but all is not lost – in the face of such rapid decline, new life and conservation efforts bring new hope.
Who’s Who?
All the orangutans we encounter are given names. At first glance, it can be difficult to tell individual orangutans apart. However, just like human beings, every orangutan has its own unique features and characteristics. For some it’s obvious – Cleo with her prominent forehead bump, or Franky with his scarred upper lip – but for others the distinctions are more subtle. Still, by taking detailed notes and with the help of facial recognition technology, we can reliably identify over a hundred individual orangutans within survey distance of our main camp.
Meet the G Family
The G Family have been the subject of many articles, and updates on our part, having first encountered Gracia over 20 years ago. During this time, we’ve watched her go from young adult navigating her newfound independence to a four-time mum and grandmother. Although we cannot be sure of her exact age, Gracia must be at least 30 and in good shape! Despite her years, female orangutans remain fertile throughout their lives, and, in the autumn of 2023, Gracia welcomed her youngest child, Gabe.
In addition to the usual challenges of raising young, Gracia has overcome her fair share of adversity. Her third child, Gara, was born in the aftermath of severe wildfires that tore through part of her original home range in 2015. Despite this traumatic displacement, Gracia did a terrific job caring for Gara, who now sits on the cusp of maturity as a happy, healthy young orangutan.
Orangutans have one of the longest childhoods in the animal kingdom, so motherhood is a big commitment! At just under a year old, Gabe is starting to gain some mobility and spend short periods detached from (but still close to) Gracia’s side. However, he won’t be venturing further out for some time yet, as young orangutans spend more than 50% of their time within 10 metres of their mother for the first six years of life.
Gracia first became a grandmother in 2019, and then again earlier this year with the arrival of her daughter Gretel’s new baby. This is Gretel’s first child, so she is naturally protective of her newborn infant, who remains clung to her side 24/7. As yet, we haven’t been able to determine the baby’s sex; however, as they grow and begin to move around independently over the coming months, we are sure that Gretel will relax into motherhood and permit us a closer look! When we know, we’ll let you know – sign up to our newsletter and stay in the loop.
Meet the F Family
The F Family is an offshoot of the C Family, which is presided over by Cleo, the very first orangutan followed by our teams long before BNF was called BNF! The ‘F Family’ consists of mum Feb (Cleo’s only daughter) and her three children, Fio, Fay and Sebangau’s newest arrival, ‘Baby F’.
Our teams have followed Feb since she was just a baby herself, born in 2003 (the same year as Gracia’s eldest). Now on her third child, Feb may well catch up to Gracia as one of the region’s most prolific mothers! Like the as-yet-unnamed ‘Baby G’, we haven’t been able to determine the baby’s sex yet, but we’re open to any letter-appropriate, gender-neutral name suggestions you may have!
New Life Brings New Hope
Orangutans are Critically Endangered, so every individual counts towards the species’ continued survival. With this in mind, the birth of three new baby orangutans within such a small area of forest is definitely cause for celebration and a strong argument in favour of our connected conservation approach.
Gracia, Gretel and Feb are all doing their part to recover Borneo’s orangutan population – will you help them? Become a monthly donor today and help secure a future for these extraordinary red apes.
Alternatively, you can support Gracia and her family here through our symbolic adoption programme with Orangutan Outreach.
