Christopher is an adult male orangutan who shares his home with Pebbles.

Having just completed his “sub-adult” stage (just past adolescence, but not yet a fully developed adult male), his hair length and face-shape have changed rapidly. While looking like an adult, with facial cheek pads (also called flanges) completely grown, at 300 pounds Christopher (believe it or not) still has some more time to grow.

Both Christopher and Pongo were infants at a Florida tourist attraction and were the first two orangutans living at the Center for Great Apes. They have lived together since they were babies, and now as adults, occasionally still companion with each other in the same habitat. Normally, adult male orangutans will not tolerate each other in the same area due to their solitary and territorial.  But Pongo and Christopher still have a brotherly bond that has lasted into adulthood.

Nest-building is one of Christopher’s favorite activities. He makes nests of branches, hay, palm fronds, paper bags, and cardboard boxes in the40-foot high tower of the dome. He loves hats and will wear caps, boxes, banana leaves or burlap bags on his head. When he’s out walking in the woods through the chute system, he often carries a bucket or tub with him, and when it begins to rain, he puts the tub on his head for a very effective umbrella!

Christopher likes to makes tools and has altered many toys and tree branches in order to reach food and objects outside of his outdoor habitat. He often tries to figure out how to take apart every toy or puzzle given to him, and has frequently broken his water spigot by jamming it with PVC tubes.

In the mornings, Christopher quickly runs around gathering up his blankets and then trades them and his empty food dishes for his morning fruit. He dislikes cold weather, and in the winter will walk around most of the day with a blanket wrapped around his head and body.

Chris is one of the heartiest eaters at the sanctuary and seems to have many favorites. In fact, there are no foods that he does not like!