Orangutan Island

***Orangutan Island*** is an American documentary television series produced by NHNZ with creator Judith Curran also acting as the series producer. The series was produced in a similar style to *Meerkat Manor*, blending more traditional documentary filming with dramatic narration. It was aired on Animal Planet for two seasons from November 2, 2007 to March 17, 2009.

## Premise

The show focuses on a group of orphaned orangutans at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Center that are raised to go against their normally independent nature and instead cooperate and live together in a society so they can be left to live wild on their protected island. Lone Drøscher Nielsen of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, the founder and manager of the center and Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project, regularly appears on the show interacting with and caring for the young orangutans.

## Orangutans

* **Alibaba** - A resourceful orangutan who manages to find food in the water. Later become adept at raiding fish traps to take the fish for himself after studying the Teknisi and learning how they use water bottles as traps.
* **The Bandit Boys** - A group of five- and six-year-old males that formed in baby school. Known for being mischief makers, the group likes to engage in food fights and wrestling matches.
	+ **Donald** - the "Apprentice", a six-year-old male who came to Nyaru Menteng with Daisy. Though they were close in forest school, Donald becomes the sidekick of the larger Chen Chen, enabling him to live in a mostly worry-free life. He dies of blood poisoning in the Season 2 premiere.
	+ **Mercury** - One of the victims of a mysterious illness, which was defined as Ebola.
	+ **Milo** - the one who caused Bonita's retreat to the comforting Papau.
	+ **Rocky** - Fights with Milo for dominance when Hamlet leaves.
	+ **Saturnus** - The island's smallest male constantly seen seeking attention and discovering ways to turn new things into a toy. His love of toys earns him the nickname "Pervert".
	+ **Togar** - One of the original Bandit Boys, his role in the island society is shaken after falling victim to the strange illness that struck the island. When he returns to the island, he is shaken and fearful but eventually finds his place again.
* **Barata** - Oren's best friend.
* **Bertha** - The island's largest female, who catches the eye of Saturnus, the smallest male.
* **Bonita** - A five-and-a-half-year-old young female who tends to be independent and something of a loner. She was rescued from poachers who killed her mother and wanted to sell her as a pet, and taken to the Nyaru Menteng Rescue Center, where she entered baby school.
* **Bule** - A Palas Island male who even impressed Daisy when she first saw him. He is bigger than Hamlet, who has tried to psyche him out, but is very gentle.
* **Cha Cha** - A six-year-old female who first came to the Nyaru Menteng Rescue Center at 18 months old and found a surrogate mother in Lone Drøscher Nielson. She was initially devastated when separated Nielson and refused to adapt to the island, which caused Nielson to question if she could be independent. However, Cha Cha came to accept her new home after bonding with Daisy.
* **Chakra** - The male invader from Palas Island who attempts to steal bananas but is defeated by Mogok.
* **Chen Chen** - A young male who is missing both eyes from an accident on the high seas. He makes up for his lack of sight with smell and taste, and has multiple altercations with Hamlet, which resulted in the death of his first mate, Pete the Parrot.
* **Chilli** - Appears in episode 1 of season 2 with Pickle and Peanut.
* **Compost** - A six-year-old female who came to Nyaru Menteng on August 20, 2003, still basically wild. She lost one of her ears after an electrical shock. Named after famed wildlife photographer Alain Compost, she is nicknamed "The Photographer".
* **Daisy** - A feisty and determined six-year-old female who takes no prisoners. She came to the island with Donald and became something of a tomboy who shows that she can hold her own in an altercation when Donald starts bonding with Chen Chen. She earned the nickname "Sheriff Daisy" for her willingness to stand up to bullies. Brave, determined, and rebellious, Daisy is one of the island's best foragers, and shows a gentler side to her when she befriended the less confident Cha Cha.
* **Guy** - A Palas Island male who mostly pleasures himself with thoughts of Manisa.
* **Hamlet** - A 10-year-old male who escapes from Palas Island to make his home on Orangutan Island, earning him the nickname "The Intruder". In his first appearance on the show, he kidnaps Jasmine. Despite this rude introduction, his five years of experience in the wild enables him to help the less experienced newcomers survive their first rainy season. Hamlet is deposed by Reno towards the end of season 1 and then builds a relationship with Papau, but eventually regains his position.
* **Hardi** - A newborn 20-year-old baby who appears with his mother, Kiki, in season 2.
* **Hercules** - A 20-year-old male who is more aggressive than the other adult orangutans on Orangutan Island. This orangutan is not on Orangutan Island.
* **Jasmine** - A darker-colored, six-year-old female who is popular with the young males on the island, earning her the nickname of "Femme Fatale". Confident and self-sufficient, she rarely gets time away from her admirers.
* **Jordan** - A six-year-old male who came to Nyaru Menteng after being rescued from an illegal stage show where he was trained to wrestle with other orangutans. He has little experience interacting with other orangutans, having been stolen from his mother as a baby, and enters the island at the bottom of the hierarchy. Once, he attacked alpha male Hamlet with a bottle, but Hamlet seemed to be understanding and didn't punish him severely. He has a constantly running nose as a result of a deviated septum.
* **Jupiter** - A female who takes a liking to water and discovers a new food source in fish.
* **Kacio** - A six-year-old female who shows that Chen Chen has a soft side by playing with him on the platform in episode 3. She is also a friend of Yeyen and Nadi.
* **Kiki** - A 15-year-old female who was kept as a pet in a cage under a house, and she could not walk or climb when she rescued - she rolled everywhere. She was released to Palas Island and now has become a regular on Orangutan Island.
* **Komo** - A Palas Island male who could possibly take Chen Chen's position in the hierarchy.
* **Mac** - A Palas Island male who visited Orangutan Island with Hamlet in season 1. He is something of a bully and tried to challenge Hamlet for dominance; he also makes Hamlet jealous.
* **Mangis** - Rescued as a toddler, she is nicknamed "Spoiled Princess" because she is lazy.
* **Manisa** - A Palas Island female who looks similar to those of Sayla and Nor. Despite her large size, she is really quiet and sweet.
* **Marly** - Introduced to Tati when the latter was first introduced to Orangutan Island.
* **Mego** - A Palas Island male who came to Orangutan Island in season 2.
* **Mentos** - A Palas Island female who is part of the Palas Island Girl Gang. She likes to assert her dominance whenever she can and is known for beating up Mangis and acting tough.
* **Mogok** - A brave young male who challenges the much larger invader Chakra by stealing back the group's bananas. Mogok went missing early on in the season, prompting Lone and the Teknisi to form a search party. He was found six days later on the opposite side of the island and looking perfectly healthy, a good sign for his fellow orangutans.
* **Mustafa** - One of the adults of Orangutan Island, he was released into Nyaru Menteng's new 10-acre forest.
* **Nadi** - Found in a small cage outside of a house suffering from malnourishment. She hates boat rides after having been transported to Nyaru Menteng in a boat and having to be sedated during the boat trip to Palas 2. Hypervigilant, she is quick to sound the alarm at the first sign of potential danger.
* **Nor** - A Palas Island female who wants to attack Mangis. She even spots the Teknisi and other orangutans searching for Mangis.
* **Oren** - Barata's best friend.
* **Oyoy** - An independent male. He went missing in episode 3 and was later found dead lying face down in the river.
* **Papau** - The oldest female on the island at nine years of age. Known for her maternal instinct, she often cares for the shyer Bonita, and forms a bond with Hamlet by the end of season 1.
* **Peanut** - A two-year-old male who appeared in episode 1 of season 2.
* **Pickle** - Lone's roommate on episode 1 of season 2.
* **Randang** - A two- to two-and-a-half-year-old female. When Bonita is sent to forest school to recover from an illness, Randang climbed on Bonita's back as if she were her mother.
* **Reno** - A six-year-old male who uses Hamlet's absence to challenge Chen Chen's dominance. Strong, clever and a total bully, he, along with Hamlet and Chen Chen, is one of the strongest males on the island. He was the main antagonist of the season 1 finale.
* **Ruby** - A three-year-old female whose mother was killed by poachers but was herself saved and sent to the Nyaru Menteng Rescue Center.
* **Sayla** - A Palas Island female who is part of the Palas Island Girl Gang. She usually has mud on her face.
* **Suka** - Introduced to Tati when the latter first arrived at Nyaru Menteng.
* **Tati** - A two-year-old female who was kept in a cage by hunters for three weeks. She was a bit aggressive at first when she came to Nyaru Menteng, but later calmed down and joins the forest school. Suka and Marly were her first friends.
* **Ujung** - A 12-year-old male and Hamlet's old friend from Palas Island who befriends Jordan.
* **Yeyen** - The mate of Chen Chen and known for her ability to walk upright in water.

## Episodes

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