The Development of Feeding Competence in Rehabilitant Orphaned Orangutans and How to Measure It
For critically endangered species, restorative conservation becomes increasingly important. Successful re-introduction of rescued wild orangutan orphans requires rehabilitation mimicking maternal rearing in the wild. Feeding competence—what to eat, where and when to find food—needs to be learned bef...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-06-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/13/2111 |
| _version_ | 1797592176451911680 |
|---|---|
| author | Signe Preuschoft Andrew J. Marshall Lorna Scott Siti Nur Badriyah Melki Deus T. Purba Erma Yuliani Paloma Corbi Ishak Yassir M. Ari Wibawanto Elfriede Kalcher-Sommersguter |
| author_facet | Signe Preuschoft Andrew J. Marshall Lorna Scott Siti Nur Badriyah Melki Deus T. Purba Erma Yuliani Paloma Corbi Ishak Yassir M. Ari Wibawanto Elfriede Kalcher-Sommersguter |
| author_sort | Signe Preuschoft |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For critically endangered species, restorative conservation becomes increasingly important. Successful re-introduction of rescued wild orangutan orphans requires rehabilitation mimicking maternal rearing in the wild. Feeding competence—what to eat, where and when to find food—needs to be learned before re-introduction. We observed seven orphans (2–10 years old) for a period of 3 years during their rehabilitation at the Yayasan Jejak Pulang forest school. Of the 111 plant genera eaten by the orphans, 92 percent were known orangutan food plants. Five plant genera were eaten by all orphans in over 90 percent of the months within the observation period. The Fruit Availability Index (FAI) was used to predict which parts of a plant were consumed by the orphans. We found that the orphans ate primarily fruit when the FAI was high, but consumed more young leaves, cambium, and pith when FAI was low. Thus, the orphans exhibited food choices very similar to mature wild orangutans and appropriate to forest productivity. The orphans’ acquisition of feeding competence was facilitated by their immersion into a natural forest environment in combination with possibilities for observational learning from conspecifics as well as caregivers modelling food processing and consumption. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:47:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1104f53aaf914afa91f11d118a35f964 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T01:47:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-1104f53aaf914afa91f11d118a35f9642023-11-18T16:03:08ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-06-011313211110.3390/ani13132111The Development of Feeding Competence in Rehabilitant Orphaned Orangutans and How to Measure ItSigne Preuschoft0Andrew J. Marshall1Lorna Scott2Siti Nur Badriyah3Melki Deus T. Purba4Erma Yuliani5Paloma Corbi6Ishak Yassir7M. Ari Wibawanto8Elfriede Kalcher-Sommersguter9Ape Protection Unit, Four Paws, 22767 Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Anthropology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Program in the Environment, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAFaculty of Biology and Psychology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37083 Göttingen, GermanyYayasan Jejak Pulang, Samboja 75276, East Kalimantan, IndonesiaYayasan Jejak Pulang, Samboja 75276, East Kalimantan, IndonesiaYayasan Jejak Pulang, Samboja 75276, East Kalimantan, IndonesiaApe Protection Unit, Four Paws, 22767 Hamburg, GermanyBPSILHK, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Samboja 75276, East Kalimantan, IndonesiaBKSDA Kalimantan Timur, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Samarinda 75243, East Kalimantan, IndonesiaApe Protection Unit, Four Paws International, 1150 Vienna, AustriaFor critically endangered species, restorative conservation becomes increasingly important. Successful re-introduction of rescued wild orangutan orphans requires rehabilitation mimicking maternal rearing in the wild. Feeding competence—what to eat, where and when to find food—needs to be learned before re-introduction. We observed seven orphans (2–10 years old) for a period of 3 years during their rehabilitation at the Yayasan Jejak Pulang forest school. Of the 111 plant genera eaten by the orphans, 92 percent were known orangutan food plants. Five plant genera were eaten by all orphans in over 90 percent of the months within the observation period. The Fruit Availability Index (FAI) was used to predict which parts of a plant were consumed by the orphans. We found that the orphans ate primarily fruit when the FAI was high, but consumed more young leaves, cambium, and pith when FAI was low. Thus, the orphans exhibited food choices very similar to mature wild orangutans and appropriate to forest productivity. The orphans’ acquisition of feeding competence was facilitated by their immersion into a natural forest environment in combination with possibilities for observational learning from conspecifics as well as caregivers modelling food processing and consumption.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/13/2111rehabilitationre-introductionorangutanfeeding ecologylearning |
| spellingShingle | Signe Preuschoft Andrew J. Marshall Lorna Scott Siti Nur Badriyah Melki Deus T. Purba Erma Yuliani Paloma Corbi Ishak Yassir M. Ari Wibawanto Elfriede Kalcher-Sommersguter The Development of Feeding Competence in Rehabilitant Orphaned Orangutans and How to Measure It Animals rehabilitation re-introduction orangutan feeding ecology learning |
| title | The Development of Feeding Competence in Rehabilitant Orphaned Orangutans and How to Measure It |
| title_full | The Development of Feeding Competence in Rehabilitant Orphaned Orangutans and How to Measure It |
| title_fullStr | The Development of Feeding Competence in Rehabilitant Orphaned Orangutans and How to Measure It |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Development of Feeding Competence in Rehabilitant Orphaned Orangutans and How to Measure It |
| title_short | The Development of Feeding Competence in Rehabilitant Orphaned Orangutans and How to Measure It |
| title_sort | development of feeding competence in rehabilitant orphaned orangutans and how to measure it |
| topic | rehabilitation re-introduction orangutan feeding ecology learning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/13/2111 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT signepreuschoft thedevelopmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT andrewjmarshall thedevelopmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT lornascott thedevelopmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT sitinurbadriyah thedevelopmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT melkideustpurba thedevelopmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT ermayuliani thedevelopmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT palomacorbi thedevelopmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT ishakyassir thedevelopmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT mariwibawanto thedevelopmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT elfriedekalchersommersguter thedevelopmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT signepreuschoft developmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT andrewjmarshall developmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT lornascott developmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT sitinurbadriyah developmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT melkideustpurba developmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT ermayuliani developmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT palomacorbi developmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT ishakyassir developmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT mariwibawanto developmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit AT elfriedekalchersommersguter developmentoffeedingcompetenceinrehabilitantorphanedorangutansandhowtomeasureit |