Meet Jera! Juni’s 3rd offspring!

Juni gave birth to Jera in April 2019 but it took us a few months to figure out if her new infant was a male or female – She gave birth to another daughter and the Tuanan team named her Jera. Jera joins big sister Jane who is still traveling with Juni and Jera, although she has started making her own night nest (as is typical when mom gives birth again). Jane is just about 6 years old, which is a bit young to be on her own. So she will continue to travel with Juni and Jera for some time. I was lucky to be in Tuanan in 2008 when Juni gave birth to her first son, Jip. We have not seen Jip for over a year now, but we hope he comes back for a visit we will keep searching.

I was really excited to see Juni and Jera on my last full day in the forest; they had a party (social gathering( for a few hours with Mindy and Moby and an unflanged male – so it was a special day! Orangutans are not very social and spend most of their time on their own or with their infants (if they are adult females) – so six orangutans in one day all together was a special treat!