| Stage 2 - The Enrichment Development Unit |
|
 The Enrichment Development Unit is an extension of the exercise yard, and is designed to expose young orang utans to items found in their natural surroundings such as leaves, branches, and tree trunks, which are essential for helping them develop their basic survival skills. Infants remain in this stage for up to 2 years. The activities within this unit is further divided into 5 sections to aid the young orang utans’ development: a) Climbing: Hanging ropes encourage the young ones to hold on to a rope, climb, learn how to balance themselves and stand, as they would on trees in the wild. b) Water sourcing: Learning how to source for water, especially when it is scarce, is a critical survival skill, and here, young orang utans are taught to develop this instinct. c) Foraging: Food items are hidden in different areas to encourage young orang utans to forage for food as they would in the wild. d) Nest-building: Nesting material is provided to let the orang utans promote their nesting instincts, allowing them to build comfortable places of rest. e) Swinging: Swinging, climbing and balancing are core aspects of the orang utan’s arboreal nature, and nothing brings these qualities out better than the swinging exercises developed here.
|
||||