Orangutan follow.
Orangutan researcher Helen Morrogh-Bernard recounts the slightly unusual circumstances in which this particular follow took place.
This follow was on Beethoven, a large flanged male, which took place on the 8th May 2005. Beethoven was the first orangutan we habituated and followed. He was the dominant male at that time. On this follow, we had a film crew join to film footage for Michaela’s Wildlife Challenge, a kids’ TV show, where the presenter was challenged to live like an orangutan for a day, eat what he ate and build and sleep in a nest (Series 3, episode 9. Manta Ray/Orangutan/Wildlife Sanctuary). Then they would either pass or fail the challenge! On this day, Beethoven took them on a big adventure, travelling fast and far. They were a team of three and had to carry all their gear through the wet dense swamp. It was a challenge indeed, and the map shows you how far Beethoven travelled, nearly 1.5km that day. This is far for an orangutan in one day, and hard for a camera crew to keep up.
The follow started at 4.59am and this is the activity sheet at 9.45, we had already been up for nearly 5 hours and it was still just the morning. On this day, Beethoven had travelled far and spent lots of time feeding on many different food types including termites. This also meant Ellie Harrison, the presenter had to eat them as well! Eleven and a half hours later, at 4.35pm, he eventually made his night nest by tying lots of small trees together. This would be a challenge for the film crew, but not for Beethoven, who wove his nest in minutes, showing his strength and architectural ability!
