Archie embraces independence

Archie was born to rehabilitated female, Mimi, at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in 2014. Shortly after, the Sepilok staff noticed that he was lethargic and weak. It looked as though he wasn't getting enough milk from his mother and needed an urgent health check.

Continued health issues concerned the staff as Archie grew. It was later discovered that he had an intolerance to cows milk, which is given as a substitute milk to all of the orangutans under their care. As an alternative, he was given a formula of goats milk.

As he grew, so too did his personality! Walking around on two legs with his arms crossed, he earnt himself the nickname 'Boss' as it looked like he was always supervising the orangutans and the staff.

After 11 years, we were unsure if Archie would ever chose to leave the familiarity and support of Sepilok. With a difficult start and specialist needs he sometimes struggled to grasp the essential orangutan skills required in the wild.