Tegar, born in 2016, was found alone and crying by a farmer fishing in the Bornean forest who contacted the authorities. The little orangutan was in very poor condition, having several scars and wounds across his body. He was also very scared and shy toward humans, not liking to be touched. We discovered from his behaviour that he had been made an orphan shortly before being rescued and brought to the ORANGUTAN FOREST SCHOOL which is conducted by our partner Yayasan Jejak Pulang in cooperation with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry. He was named Tegar, meaning 'Strong'.

It took him a while to adjust to the new form of care provided by humans – the bond between an orangutan mother and infant is impossible to recreate, and he felt this loss acutely. With constant reassurance and the companionship of Gonda and Cantik, he is settling in and picking up many essential forest skills. He already knows how to use the flexibility of the trees and lianas to move carefully and efficiently in the forest. He also knows how to pick forest food – something that can be seen on his growing waistline! 

Tegar likes nothing more than to play with Gonda – wrestling, chasing, and nibbling! Building up more confidence and independence, Tegar has also started to sleep in a night nest instead of coming back to the night cages, and is even sharing a nest with Eska, a much older orangutan. These are clear signs that Tegar is ready to move one step forward! He is currently in the process to be transferred from Level 2 to Level 3 in the Forest School, same as Kartini, Gonda and Gerhana.