Sepilok Borneo - Seeing the Orang Utans

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The entire motivation for going to Borneo was to see the orang utan (Malay for person of the forest). People have asked why (why do I do anything really?) and I guess it's because I find them just amazing animals, they are endangered and I wanted to have an experience. Seeing wild animals is really different in reality compared to what one plans, which may seem obvious, but I like to hear myself talk. The odds were pretty low that I would be hiking in the rainforest and come across an orang utan, so seeing them in a rehab center and the sanctuary was still amazing and captivating. At the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre you can see animals that may have bene orphaned or injured in the wild and if possible, they will be nursed back to health and released into the wild, others will remain at the Centre. On the other side of the centre is a sanctuary where orang utans can come and go as they wish, maybe coming in for feeding, but if they are getting food on their own, they may stay away. Our group spent some time watching from behind glass, watching a feeding session and the orang utans swinging and eating with a couple of babies. It was pretty cool, but what was even better was going to the open area where we could watch orang utans without glass, and according to the website, it's even possible that the orang utan will get on the boardwalk, feet away from visitors, but our group did not have that experience. We did get the experience/opportunity to see an alpha male, who was huge, and a mama and her baby. It was really incredible and it was so hard to look away. I wanted to be in the moment, but I wanted to get as many photos as possible because I would probably never experience this again. I held out hope that I would see orang utans in the wild on a river cruise or some excursion, but that didn't happen. That didn't take away from my first real day in Borneo, it's just the reality of mother nature.

The keepers are wearing masks because the orang utans are susceptible to human diseases. 

The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre is a short walk from the orang utans, the sun bears are also endangered. They are the smallest of all bears. Again, I was foiled by mother nature and timing because the sun bears have unique marking around their necks which help them identify one another, but I couldn't see the markings unless the bears stood on their hind legs, which they didn't while I was there. Hence my rather uninspiring photo at the bottom of the page. My photo may be uninspiring, but the bears definitely are not.













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