Hanging out with Orangutans at Sepilok28 Dec 2009
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Orang-utans at play in Sepilok, Sabah Borneo
Orang-utan acrobatics, Sepilok, Sabah Borneo
Orang-utans at play in Sepilok, Sabah Borneo
| Orangutans apparently share 96.4% of our DNA and are one of 4 primates. They are fascinating creatures and live in the treetops of the rainforest. They are vegetarians which surprised me. They can't swim so are dependent on high trees for transporting themselves and fidning food. Their arms are twice as long as their legs. It's only in Borneo and Sumatra that you can see orangutans in the wild. Estimated 15000 - 20000 still live in the wild. Main cause of destruction of their habitat is palm oil plantations which are enormous. Also some of the crop farmers often take them in as pets or they end up in the black market pet trade. The Sepilok Rehabilitation centre in Borneo was set up to help orphan Oragutans learn to survive in the wild. They have successfully rehabilitated about 800 back into the wild. Average cost is 1500 pds to rehabilitate. They do this by a buddy system whereby the older guys are paired with younger baby orangutans. So cute to see them being fed, nappy changing and wearing real baby clothes. Very clear they all have a distinct personality. You can adopt one for 30pds per year.. so next year maybe when I am backing earning cash.. After a lunch where we were amuseed to watch some monkeys mating al fresco, we were picked up and taken to the Nature Lodge Kinabatangan located in the lower Kinabatangan Sanctuary. After a welcome drink (orange squash is a poular malaysian tipple), we headed off on our first afternoon boat cruise. |
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