After visiting The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, it was time. I was finally getting my chance to come face-to-face with an orangutan!
In Malay and Indonesian, orang means “person” and utan is derived from hutan, which means “forest.” So, orangutan literally means “person of the forest.” This makes sense, as orangutans share 97% of the same DNA as humans, making them our closest relative.
Unfortunately, over the years, the actions of humans have caused a rapid decrease in the population of orangutans. The most significant being logging and forest degradation for the expansion of palm oil plantations. Indonesia and Malaysia produce 90% of the world’s palm oil.
Over the past 60 years, orangutan populations have decreased over 50%. Only 105,000 orangutans are estimated to be remaining in Borneo, and the population is predicted to further decline to 47,000 by 2025. In July 2016, they became listed as Critically Endangered by The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (“IUCN”). This means they are close to becoming extinct in the wild.
Luckily, there are organizations actively trying to save the orangutans including caring for injured or displaced adults, rehabilitating young orphans, and relocating those ready back into the wild.
The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is one of those organizations.
Founded in 1964, the Centre is 43 sq km of protected land at the edge of the Kabila Sepilok Forest Reserve. The Centre cares for young orangutans orphaned as a result of illegal logging, deforestation, and those who have been illegally caught and kept as pets.
New arrivals are given a complete health check before starting on the long road to rehabilitation back into the wild. This essential process takes up to seven years.
The Rehabilitation Centre includes an indoor nursery, outdoor nursery, walkway for visitors, and feeding platform.
The feeding platform provides daily feedings for recently rehabilitated orangutans released into the forest reserve. The food supplied is intended to supplement their diet only, and is purposefully monotonous and boring to encourage them to forage for themselves.
Feedings are held daily at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
While we were planning to view the morning feeding at the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, we left the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre too late. Luckily, the Centre offers more opportunities to view the orangutans either along its boardwalk or at its Outdoor Nursery.
After purchasing our tickets, we headed down the walkway to the entrance of the Centre. Passing through the gate, we were immediately stopped in our tracks. Less than 10 feet away from the entrance in the trees, was an orangutan!
I gasped with excitement as my face lit up. I quickly turned to Kevin to ensure he saw her as well. The smile on his face said it all.
We pulled out our cameras and started snapping pictures as fast as we could. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She sat in the tree lazily staring back at the crowd that quickly formed. Curiously, she scanned each of us with her gentle eyes.
She was as beautiful as I imagined!
We spent at least 30 minutes with her. Practically face-to-face, we had no idea if another opportunity like this would present itself.
When we ran out of time, we walked away smiling, immediately reminiscing about the experience. As we proceeded down the boardwalk to the exit, we didn’t pass a single other orangutan.
That was our moment.
Still buzzing from our morning experience, we returned to the Centre at 2:00 p.m. when they reopened for the afternoon feeding.
Only one orangutan showed up for the feeding. We watched for a short while as it sat quietly and enjoyed the meal provided. After a bit, we decided to beat the crowds and head to the outdoor nursery.
There is an indoor and outdoor nursery at the Rehabilitation Centre. No visitors are allowed to see the babies in the indoor nursery where the youngest orangutans live. This is to protect them as they are very prone to human illness and are at a crucial stage in the rehabilitation process. Baby orangutans are cared for 24 hours a day, just like human babies. As they grow older, they join their peers in the outdoor nursery.
The outdoor nursery is available for public viewing through glassed-in viewing platforms preventing the risk of contact between visitors and the orangutans. The outdoor nursery is where the juvenile orangutans complete their final stage of rehabilitation, training on the ropes and trees.
In the wild, orangutan babies stay with their mothers for approximately 7 years while they are taught the skills they need to survive in the forest, the most important of which is climbing.
At Sepilok, a buddy system is used to replace a mother’s teachings. A younger ape is paired up with an older one to help them develop the skills they need. Once they develop their climbing and foraging skills, they are eventually released into the surrounding forest reserve to fend for themselves.
After our morning interaction, we didn’t think the day could get any better.
Then we spent an hour at the nursery.
Like children, the juvenile orangutans played on the jungle gym with their friends. Whether it was trying out fun climbing techniques, rough housing, or making each other laugh, it was cutest thing I’ve seen in a very long time. I was so thankful for the Rehabilitation Centre to give these young animals a second chance at life.
Among the adolescent orangutans in the outdoor nursery was a mother with her six month old baby.
They kept their distance while the other children played, but eventually made their way down to the platform when it cleared out late in the afternoon.
Overall, it was a perfect first day.
Two days later, we returned to the Rehabilitation Centre to get one last view of the orangutans.
We headed to the morning feeding and were immediately stunned at the size of the crowd.
Eventually, we made our way to the front to watch a mother and a baby stop in for a feed.
Overall, the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre exceeded our expectations. The viewing of the orangutans was spectacular and it was clear that the orangutans health, safety and rehabilitation were the priorities of the Rehabilitation Centre. Unfortunately, this is not always the case with some popular “sanctuaries” that are more concerned with profiting off of the animals than rehabilitating them back into the wild.
To learn more about the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre or how you can make a contribution (adopt or donate), please visit www.orangutan-appeal.org.uk.