Orangutan Adventure
I spotted my first orangutan high up from the trees from the early morning. I heard the item before I saw the item. I awoke to branches cracking along with some pretty furious tree-shaking going on. Lucky for me I was on a boat, at a safe distance via the huge, hairy, red orangutan who was working himself up into a right state.
I was on the Sekoyer River from the Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, along with my trusty guide, Nanang assured me, “You are quite safe. Orangutans can’t swim, so we can just kick back along with enjoy This particular show. We are very lucky to see This particular. He is actually the king, This particular guy. The big males fight for dominance along with territory along with within of which territory they have a harem of females. of which is actually the way the item works for them.”
I was in total awe of This particular large primate of the jungle. He was swaying from the very top canopy which towered 30 metres into the sky. Nanang’s words rung true as we soon spotted three more orangutans; the king’s much smaller females. They were wonderfully camouflaged along with difficult to spot, wrapping their branch-like limbs around the trees along with blending perfectly into their environment.
Orangutans along with proboscis monkeys in a treetop | Photo by David Metcalf
Within minutes of sighting the orangutans, a family of proboscis monkeys joined in This particular early morning spectacle.
There were seven of them along with they swung with wild abandon through the trees, grabbing vines along with thin branches on their way. They disappeared quickly into the dense jungle, along with I was left holding my morning coffee, which had gone cold, marvelling at what I had just witnessed.
To experience Tanjung Puting National Park, you need to take a boat. You fly into Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, along with via there you meet your guide along with take a short car ride to meet your boatman. You need a minimum of three days. The park, which was established in 1982, remains a truly wild along with natural place. Your ultimate destination is actually Camp Leakey, an orangutan rehabilitation centre set up in 1971; the oldest Orangutan Research along with Conservation Centre from the entire world. The camp looks after misplaced orangutans of which have been forced out of their natural habitat due to deforestation, forest burning along with the encroachment of agriculture, including palm oil plantation expansion.
Photo by David Metcalf
Many of the orangutans at the camp are bottle fed, along with some who arrive as orphans are in a very distressed state. The younger ones require physical handling along with touch, just like a human baby, along with the orangutan handlers rock these smaller infants sometimes for hours. Eventually, they are nurtured back to health along with taught to fend for themselves from the wild along with search for food, yet before This particular can happen, they must learn the skills required for surviving from the jungle. In This particular transition stage, they have a bit of help, along with three feeding platforms are positioned from the jungle.
I was only ten minutes into my trek when I heard a crashing through the trees along with found myself sharing the forest trail with three orangutans. the item was very exciting along using a little nerve-wracking at the same time. The park ranger who was accompanying our group assured us we were very safe. One came swinging through the trees along with another two lumbered up behind us walking on all fours using their palms along with fists. Picking up speed as they trudged past, they made a beeline for the platform, which was piled with bananas. Soon more orangutans gathered for a feed. They ate, tossed banana skins, scratched their armpits, looked around along with socialized.
When we were back on the boat cruising up the river looking for a place to dock for the night, we were lucky to catch a glimpse of a few gibbons, which ended the day very nicely. As the sun was going down, a magnificent lone hornbill cruised gracefully by on a steamy jungle air stream.
Discovering the Tanjung Puting National Park on a slow boat is actually a peaceful way to connect with nature, birdlife along with wildlife. Having the opportunity to get up close along with personal with an orangutan, which shares 97 percent of our DNA, will leave you using a very humbling feeling of which we are somehow close in many ways to these great primates.
Fast Facts
Province: Central Kalimantan
Population: 2.3 million (2014)
Size: 153,564.5 km2 – about 1.5 times the size of Java
How to get there: Regular flights via Jakarta along with several major cities to Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan
Where to stay: Houseboat or The Rimba Orangutan Ecolodge (at This particular point over 90 percent solar powered), Tanjung Puting National Park
What to bring: Mosquito repellent, sturdy footwear, long shirt along with trousers for evening mosquito protection, hat, umbrella along with camera
Tour guides: www.orangutandays.com – contact Yomie. www.visitorangutan.com – contact Nanang
additional trekking locations in Kalimantan: Gunung Palung National Park along with Sebangau National Park
Orangutan Facts
Orangutans are endemic to Sumatra along with Borneo. These large apes are found to be highly intelligent along with follow a cultural pattern. The Borneo species are larger along with more solitary compared to their Sumatran cousins. They have rounder faces along with male adults develop wide cheek flanges as they grow older. from the wild, they live to around 45 years, yet in captivity, they can age up to 60 years. Males can grow to 100kg along with 1.4 metres tall while females can weigh up to 50kg, to a height of 1.2 metres.
Borneo orangutans feed on fruits, including figs, durians along with bananas, leaves, bird eggs, honey along with insects.
Borneo has the largest population of orangutans, yet today their species is actually threatened due to a rapidly shrinking habitat caused by forest fires along with expanding human settlement, palm oil plantations, mining, as well as being hunted to be sold as pets.
David Metcalf runs cultural tours to Kalimantan. David is actually leading a tour on May 18-23, 2016 to a cultural Dayak Festival, The Isen Mulang Festival, featuring 17 Dayak tribes. This particular trip includes a visit to see the orangutans along with attend a 3-day Tiwah (traditional Dayak funeral ceremony).
Visit www.davidmetcalfphotography.com/cultural-tour
Comments
Orangutan Adventure
Orangutan Adventure