Today was another early rising day, 7:45am, but again for a great reason. After my first day in Borneo I didn't think it could get any better, but I am in Borneo so of course it did. I was up early to get a ride to Semenggoh where there is an orangutan rehabilitation center. Being in Borneo and seeing the orangutans has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid and apparently it showed on my face on the drive over there (the driver said "b/c you have had a smile the entire drive you will see them" and he was right on point). I was like a kid in a candy store and I couldn't hide it. By the way, Orangutan means people of the forest and are named that since 99% of their DNA is similar to humans.
The organutans in Borneo are one of only two places in the world you can see them in the wild (the other place being Sumatra) so I felt quite fortunate to be here. The center feed the orangutans twice a day but since the orangutans are wild there is no guarantee they will come. All the visitors were instructed to stand at this one platform which has the best views to see the orangutans should they come for the bananas, which were resting on a feeding platform approximatelty 10 meters from us. It's set up that guests can only be there for one hour -- 9 to 10 -- so as not to disturb the natural habitat. 9:20 rolled around and no sign of any orangutans but I was certainly keeping my fingers crossed. A few minutes later you could hear branches breaking, trees violently shaking and in the distance about four orangutans coming towards the food.
The first ones to arrive were a mother and two younger ones (unfortunately no baby sightings). After watching them play around in the trees the dominant male strolled onto the platform for what was an absolutely amazing site. He has an arm span over 7ft. wide and weighs over 310 pounds. Seeing him in the wild was one of the greatest and most memorable experiences ever!!!!All in all we were able to see about 8 different orangutans, from young ones to the dominant male, for about 35 minutes -- of course I was the last one to leave. Anyways, I'll let the photos tell the story....
That was certainly the highlight of the day today. Tomorrow Kevin and I fly to Miri to go to the Niah Caves until Monday.
Younger brother who swang around
the trees non stop
Dominant male
That's a lot of hair
He doesn't look real!
Mother
Bananas in the mouth, mango inthe foot
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