In Kehje Sewen Forest, our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team encountered Leonie, a female orangutan who was last seen in 2017. Our PRM team split into two groups to patrol and clear the transect path, which had become overgrown with thickets, and to provide tagging tape. 

The first PRM team, consisting of Ashrofi, Faldo, and Welem, cleaned up transect 31. The three walked from the main road to the helipad intersection and discovered combrang sticks (Etlingera spp.) as orangutan feed. The group came upon a female orangutan named Leonie passing in front of them after setting some tape tags on the path. Not wanting to miss out on the occasion, our three PRM teams stopped to take pictures of Leonie before continuing their way back to Camp Nles Mamse.

Read also: LEONIE ENJOYS LIFE IN KEHJE SEWEN FOREST

Unlike the first PRM team, Yunus and Lirin patrolled until transect 17. The two walked from the main transect to a location known as "pondok 2." Both of our PRM crews encountered the same orangutan and made observations right away. Leonie's main activity is resting and swinging from one tree to another. Leonie appeared to be enjoying her liana-shaped lunch. She was also seen urinating and deficient three times.

Our PRM team did not continue patrolling since Leonie moved about so quickly. Leonie has clearly lived in and explored the Kehje Sewen Forest. We are optimistic that Leonie will return to our PRM team's monitoring with good news one day.

Text by: PRM Team at Nles Mamse Camp, Kehje Sewen Forest, East Kalimantan