Carmen was transported to Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project by her "owners" in a small basket attached to a motorbike. She was secured to the basket with a rope that was tied around her neck and she was clearly petrified. Carmen has very dark skin and hair and big, black eyes. Her arms and legs are skinny but she has a large belly. Like her namesake, she has turned out to be quite a character. She is very independent in the forest and spends lots of time high in the treetops,investigating fruits and new leaves. Carmen is very expressive and has a passion for milk. If she had to wait more than 10 seconds for a bottle of milk when she was younger, she would have a huge tantrum; throwing herself on her back, kicking her arms and legs while screaming at the top of her lungs. At night the babysitters would keep a fresh bottle of milk ready at all times in the corner of her basket, otherwise she would wake up all the other orangutans with her screams and by pushing the other baskets around the room in frustration. Carmen no longer screams when the babysitters take too long to prepare her milk, she just goes and helps herself to a bottle.
Carmen is still a TB suspect and still in quarantine facility. We are still waiting for the latest PCR result. PCR is a test to find out the exact type of micro-bacteria that might cause the TB.
Unfortunately she is growing a little thin and her skin looks darker and some of her hair has fallen out. The staff are working to try and turn her condition around as soon as possible and clear her of TB, so she can progress towards release.
