POPY BUILDS A NEST
As the sun continued its westward crawl and the day’s colours slowly began to fade, Popy and her mother picked out a tree to sleep in. “Popy, we have to choose a different tree every day to sleep,” said Popy’s mother, tugging at the twigs and leaves to form a nest for sleeping.
Popy asked, “Why, Mom? Why don’t we build a nest in one tree, and sleep in that nest every day.”
“If we sleep in the same nest every day, it will be dangerous for us,” her Mom replied.
“Dangerous? Why is it dangerous, Mom?”
“Our species is few in number because female orangutans can only give birth to one infant every 7-8 years. We also cannot move very fast, so many animals might decide to make us their prey,” Mom explained.
“Wow, it’s scary. Mom, I’m afraid!” cried Popy, hugging her mother.
“That’s why we swing long distances, find a tree and build new nests to sleep in every night- to avoid our predators.”
“I understand, Mom. So, how do we build a nest?”
“First, we choose a tree that is quite tall with lots of twigs and leaves. Then we pull the twigs and leaves around to make a nest,” Mom said.
“Wow, it looks easy Mom. I want to try it!”
“Well, now that our bed nest is done, let’s go to sleep”
“But, I’m not sleepy yet, can you tell me a story, Mom?”
“Hmm, okay, I’ll tell you about animals that sleep during the day, but are active at night”
“Wow, animals like that really exist?”
“Of course. Animals like us that are active during the day and sleep at night are called diurnal, and animals that sleep during the day but are active at night are called nocturnal,” Mom explained. “These nocturnal animals look for food at night; for example, owls, clouded leopards, sun bears, slow lorises, tarsiers, bats and many more.”
Popy looked up, wide-eyed, and said “Wow, there are a lot of animals who don’t sleep at night! But… I’m sleepy, Mom.”
“Go to sleep Popy. Maybe next time I will tell you more about the nighttime activities of these animals.”
And Popy and her mother slept soundly together in their comfortable nest.
What will Popy do tomorrow?
Written by Petricia Hutasoit, Education Officer of BNF Indonesia
Illustration by Ferdinandus Eko/BNF Indonesia
Don’t forget to follow Popy’s Adventure Series on the next episode, Sobat Natura!
