Name meaning: ‘Amalia’ means ‘work’. Although not named for her work ethic, Amalia is indeed a diligent forest pupil. 

Born in 2011

Bio: Amalia was rescued along with Eska from a private zoo that was shut down by authorities. They were both held in one cage. She was confident around humans but avoided eye contact like a wild orangutan. Over the years, she has become more trusting of her foster mothers.

Along with Eska, Amalia was moved to Camp Sungai, where the older orangutans can spend all day and night in the forest. While Eska mostly preferred to sleep in his cage, Amalia took her nest-building skills to the canopy and slept under the stars. Nowadays, they comfortably sleep together in one nest, enjoying each others company.

Amalia is currently in Level 3 in the ORANGUTAN FOREST SCHOOL, which is conducted by our partner Yayasan Jejak Pulang in cooperation with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry. She is already behaving like a wild orangutan and is building nests, searching for her own food and even teaching younger orangutans important skills – Amalia shows a highly developed orangutan behaviour. Therefore, together with Eska, she is the first candidate to be moved to the release site this year, starting there the last stage at the Jungle Academy before being fully reintroduced and free.

Favourite past-times: Amalia really loves to make big nests in the trees! And on the ground… she likes to roll her body like an orangutan beach ball!