Did you know all great apes build nests to sleep in at night? Just like us humans, orangutans like to rest on cushioned surfaces. Orangutans will bend, break and weave branches and leaves to construct nests in trees. Often, they will build a new nest each night (or sometimes just for an afternoon nap!), though other times they will reuse or re-construct old nests that they come across in the forest canopy.
Starting from a young age, orangutans will practice nest making alongside their mothers, so that they can perfect their skills by the time they become independent at around 8 years of age. Infant and juvenile orangutans will also construct play nests, which they may later break through or destroy once they are done playing. But, until they’re independent, they share the nest with their mother each night.
When following orangutans, our research team pays close attention to the way they build their nests. We record the species of tree the nest is built in, where within the tree it is positioned, the height of the nest, and any additional features they may add – orangutans have been observed adding leaf pillows, blankets, mattresses, or a roof when it’s raining!
Though we’ve been able to capture some photos and videos over the years, most of the time it can be quite difficult to see orangutans making their nests – they may not build them until the sun has set and it’s dark, or they may be obscured high up in the tree.
Below is a video taken by Field Research Assistant, Dang, who took the opportunity to climb up inside of a nest one day, offering a unique perspective. In the video Dang explains that he’s approximately 20 meters high in the tree and it’s the first time he’s seeing what the inside of an orangutan nest looks like. He went out with the team in the morning to follow Walimah, but she was not in her nest from the night before when they arrived, and must have left in the middle of the night.
Next time you snuggle up in bed and rest your head on a pillow, you can think about all the wild orangutans in Gunung Palung National Park constructing their leaf pillows and blankets and remind yourself we are not so different from the people of the forest.