AN ORPHANED orangutan has spent his first day at a nursery with other rescued babies.

Four-month-old Gatot is being looked after by Uckfield-based International Animal Rescue (IAR) in its Borneo rehabilitation centre.

He was originally found in the forest by a man looking for firewood who heard crying. He took him home and kept him as a pet for nearly two months - treating him like a human baby and feeding him milk - until the IAR heard of his existence and took him in to care.

He has been with the charity since August and now has taken his first steps into a nursery to introduce him to new surroundings and other baby primates.

Just like a child clings to their parent on the first trip to play group, Gatot was unsure of the journey as he held on to a vet nurse. At first he is very nervous and frightened. He cries a great deal and tries to cling to Kandi, another baby. Jamila, a young female orangutan, hugs Gatot and tries to comfort him.

Alan Knight, the charity's chief executive, said: "This tiny baby is almost certainly an orphan because his mother would never have simply abandoned him in the forest. Baby orangutans stay with their mothers until they are seven or eight years old. It is heartbreaking to see such a young infant without his mother to comfort and protect him. The good news for Gatot is that he is now in the hands of our expert team and they will give him the best chance of surviving and returning one day to his home in the forest.

"The first day at any school is tough and it is heartbreaking to see little Gatot seeking comfort from the other orangutans around him. However it is among his own kind that he will learn the behaviours and the skills he will need to prepare him for life back in the wild. I’ve no doubt that he will soon adapt to his new environment and start to grow in confidence."

While learning basic socialisation and climbing skills in baby school at the IAR centre, the apes are constantly monitored by their babysitters who assess their progress to determine when they are sufficiently confident and adept at climbing to move on to forest school.

In forest school they continue to be monitored closely by IAR’s team to assess whether they are displaying the natural behaviours they will need to fend for themselves in the wild - climbing, building nests and foraging for food in the trees.