Carlos was a very skinny and scruffy infant when he arrived at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project in a small, wooden box. He weighed only 2.7 kilograms, despite being over a year old. Carlos had been kept as a pet in Parenggean where his owner’s fed him rice. Most of the forests of Parenggean have been cleared for palm oil plantations. These large plantations are decimating Indonesia's forests and are one of the biggest threats to orangutan survival today. Carlos is now a big boy, weighing a little over 10kg. He is very cheeky and determined and loves to play in the forest. As soon as Carlos is awake and has had his milk, he is ready to explore the outside world. He often escapes the hands of the baby caretakers as he tries to unlock the door of his sleeping quarters. Carlos eventually gives up and takes his place in one of the baskets, in which the infants are carried to the forest. Impatiently he sits there, with a look on his face as if he wants to say; "Can you hurry up a bit, can't you see I am waiting?" Carlos has become a very healthy orangutan because he is one of the best at identifying forest foods which he loves to eat. Update 2012:
Unfortunately his babysitters have nicknamed him” the provocateur” because he is very naughty. He picks fights with his orangutan friends and because of this has lost some hair. He also ransacks the babysitters food so gets punished by sometimes missing out on a day in forest school. 