Borneo Orangutan Volunteering - Part 1

Well after a serendipity moment or twist of fate, couldn't believe it when one place became available for a female to go to Borneo Malaysia to work with Orangutans in the Volunteer Programme at Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre! So after flying into Kuala Lumpur, then spending a couple of days acclimatizing in Kota Kinabalu whilst everyone arrived, we were then flown into Sandakan before finally arriving at Sepilok! An exciting start to 2014.

My new office...

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in the Malaysian Sabah District of North Borneo was founded in 1964, to rehabilitate orphan orangutans. The site is 43 sq km of protected land at the edge of Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve. Today around 60 to 80 orangutans are living free in the reserve.

The facility provides medical care for orphaned and confiscated orangutans as well as dozens of other wildlife species. Some of the other animals which have been treated at the centre include; sun bears, gibbons, Sumatran rhinos and the occasional injured elephant. The project has improved education within the community which has seen a reduction in the number of orangutans being kept as pets and a wider understanding of achieving balance from the palm oil plantations which threaten the habitat for many animals and has contributed to the orangutans becoming an endangered species.

With such a good reputation naturally the centre needed a team of 12 volunteers to keep up the good work and the team was formed...

Yep they are a funny looking bunch haha! 

Jodie (USA), Hayley, Erin, Carlie, Caroline and Vanessa rocked up from Australia and then Gill, Paula, Claire, Kathryn, Anne and myseelf representing sunny England!  

All the volunteers live and share rooms in the rest house which is at the entrance to the rehabilitation centre.

Whilst staying here, Tuti, Jack and gadis looked after us doing a fantastic job!

The first week was spent getting to know each other during the induction and finding our way around sepilok, sandakan our nearest town which was less than an hour away. We visited a local temple which had the coloured lanterns up for chinese new year and it was a good opportunity to see another part of the malay culture. Red and gold lanterns everywhere, people passing money envelopes for luck and wealth for the new year and the gymnasts and martial arts teams do a great job performing lion dances.

 

 

Did you know???...The lions head symbolises the following;

On one of the last induction days we went walking in the rainforest discovery centre to learn more about the jungle environment that we will be living and saw the first glimpse of real monsoon rains!!!

If you look at this link you'll get an insight into orangutan behaviour in the rains. They always make their own umbrella's and look as impressed as humans when the heavens open! :-) VIDEO LINK- Orangutan in the rain.

First day at work... the group was split into teams of 4 and we rotated on a weekly basis between areas at the centre during the 2 months; Husbandry, Clinic and Trekking.

Me, Paula, Vanessa and Kathryn were group 2 who started our rotation in Husbandry. As volunteers we were able to take lots of pics from the feeding platforms which is what the public see, but no cameras allowed whilst working to minimise distraction as you have your hands full and to stop the orangs trying to break them! lol

 Everyone was excited about starting and meeting the Orangutans for the first time, unsure of what to expect, how would they respond to us and what do you mean we need to learn Malay to communicate with the Orangutans haha?! Hence the list above of key terms that would prove useful for us to work effectively with them. 

So what is Husbandry... Husbandry is where you work with the Orangutans that are approx aged 4 years upwards in the phase prior to release. These orangutans each have their own story of how they were rescued but in this stage are familiarizing themselves with the jungle environment, gaining more confidence climbing and nest building in the tree tops and they are also becoming more independent thus limited interaction. 

There are 5 orangutans that we worked with in husbandry named Cinta, Matimis, Lumiyud, Kasi (females) and Kala Batu (male).

Each have their own cheeky personalities and it is mesmorising watching their behaviours. They smile, roll around the ground having tantrums if they don't get their own way, play on the ropes and climb high into the treetops until they are a mere outline, and they make squeaking noises when they are scared which you would never believe it comes from an orang! 

                                                                           Lumiyud is a good climber and with encouragement will have a promising future in the wild. Lumiyud makes you smile with her erractic crazy swinging technique.

Matimis is a very stubborn yet strong character and knows her own mind, this is a positive yet challenging characteristic of hers and will serve her well on release.

Cinta is adorable, looks very timid and often sits sucking her finger as a comfort habit.

 Kaci is Miss Independent and well on her way to disappearing into the treetops! She often stays out several nights at a time and then returns to the centre on occasion for food. She has a tiny frame and a big pot belly making her easily identifiable in the canopy.

 Kala Batu is the only male and is a softie. He is a capable climber and a cheeky character with a gentle soul.

Cala batu did the sweetest thing on day one he looked me straight in the eyes, reached up for my hand and then kissed it! Unforgettable moment.  When they were having their hands and feet washed (as its the parasites in mud that often make them poorly) I was sat on the floor and he came and sat on my knee wrapped his arms and legs around me and rested his head on my shoulder. This is when you realise they are still so young. 

They stay with their mums until they're 7 years old in the wild and must really miss that contact as orphans.

The male orangutan grows to around 5ft tall and can weigh up to 230 pounds. Females however only reach half that size. Orangutans reach maturity at 7 - 10 years of age and can live up to 40 years in the wild. 

The most beautiful adult male orangutan was Mico who had beautiful long red hair (always looks pristine!) and when we moved into the house he even swung by the rest house to visit us which was a very exciting a memorable moment! 

Check out this clip of Mico helping out when the builders were on site last year! These animals share 97% of our DNA and when you see their behaviours you can see how intelligent they are.

WATCH THIS VIDEO LINK...  Mico helps out video clip!

After a tough first week at work, there was only one thing for the group to do...we went into town to meet some of the guides and got a local audience with our karaoke skills, was a night full of Tiger beer and great enthusiasm. At least we tried haha...think the microphones may have been faulty distorting our voices hehe!

Easy Tiger!!

 

We had a funny five minutes in the house singing and dancing :-) Erin rocked it with her Thriller Michael Jackson Moves....

Morning wake up calls are usually done by Hector the hornbill, who likes to tap his beak on the windows to make sure everyone is awake and ready to start the day haha! Gill and Paula particularly had this pleasure early most mornings.

Second week rotation was in the Baby Clinic! 

Absolutely loving this area too as we have 6 babies to care for. their names are Bidu Bidu, Beryl, Boogie Boy, Gellison, Chikita and Peanut. They are aged between 1 and 4 years.

Again each have their own personalities...

Bidu looks very sweet and innocent and likes to attach himself to you when moving between enclosures, but once he does it takes 3 adults to prize him off you- so strong! This is him puckering up to Carlie. 

Chikita is my adopted orangutan and was found abandoned as a baby by some plantation workers. Shes 3 years old very playful and a crazy character, often wrapping herself around your wellies and trying to nip your ankles! She swings like a crazy lady on the ropes and drops to the floor to make snow angel shapes, hilarious to watch!

Boogie Boy is older and is a very good climber. Hes independent, climbs high in the trees and a great future ahead for release. he's beautiful.

Beryl is a little beauty. She's like a shy child who sucks her bottom lip as a comfort thing and always looks gooey eyed. one of the days I was stood by the platform which she was lay on and in the midday heat she put my hand on her head.  I stroked her head really gently then moved my hand away, then she'd grab my hand and keep putting it back to her head. Beautiful moment.

Gellison is a mischievous boy who is lovable but definitely a cheeky monkey! He's the one who usually pings our face masks, sneakily grabs our gloves. I found that out day one when he grabbed my mask and let it go flirting back in my face and I didn't even see his arm move! Lesson learned and Caroline shared the same painful experience too haha!

And then there's baby Peanut... i'm smitten by this tiny baby. Big brown eyes, he's the size of a human newborn baby and he clings to you for cuddles when moving him between outdoor areas. He's just started climbing on the low ropes and small trees, so has lots to learn and a long way to go before release but if I could smuggle him back i'd be tempted...just kidding!

In clinic with the babies and in Husbandry we prepare milk and fruit for the orangs. They get vitamins given to them via their milk to keep them healthy whilst here.  We clean enclosures, make fruit kongs and ice lollies to get them being creative to access their foods,  and encourage them to get on the ropes to build strength, confidence and to get them closer to the tree tops in the jungle setting which we work.  It's busy but really rewarding when they share magic moment with us.

The orangutans are very expressive and they do not miss a thing!!! They are inquisitive and highly intelligent.







Really enjoying my time here, the staff are great at the centre and we can learn a lot from them, especially James and Bonnie. Those guys are amazing with the orangs and its wonderful watching their interactions and how the orangs respect them as dominant males (and we found out that all the staff can sing too!).

We had 3 days off last week, so was nice to take some time out and see more of Borneo.  So we did a great overnight river cruise down the Kinabatangan River.  We saw lizards, Mackats, Pygmy elephants, pythons and mangrove snakes to name a few things.  We did a cruise into the sunset and one was a 5.30 start to see the sunrise, was a beautiful start to the day.

 Ready for action...

Wonderful seeing Probiscus monkeys in the wild.

 

Sunrise on the Kinabatangan!

A lovely place to stay on the Kinabatangan riverside with a clear sky to check out the stars.

We also visited the Gomantong caves where we got to see the caves that people climb in search of the highly expensive and saught after birds nests that are made from saliva but are a chinese delicacy.

 I am happy being around the bats and was very calm walking through millions of cockroaches....there's hope for "I'm a celebrity" programme yet lol.

 

 After the sunrise cruise, 6 of us headed into Sandakan town for a little treat and we stayed in the Sheraton hotel.  It was stunning!  We each had our own room with kingsize beds, the infinity pool overlooked the ocean and cocktails on tap.  It was a great break and a holiday within a holiday. 

We hit the local markets, wandered the streets sightseeing, we had a lovely time at The Nak restaurant and rooftop bar, which gave us great views of the town, it was our couple of days of luxury before back to work with the orangutans...I know what you're thinking...it's a tough job but someone's got to do it. 

 

The third week rotation is Trekking. 

We have been trekking in the jungle which has been a great workout and a fun way to see more of the area around us.  Climbing Uphill, sliding downhill, climbing over logs, walking over fallen trees to cross rivers, think I might give tarzan a call to see if he wants to trade Jane in haha!  We have giggled lots, been on leech alert to stop them attaching and sucking our blood yuk...they have really good suction once attached to your skin and to say they are the least harmful thing around us, they make me the most squeamish. I have been fine with snakes, cobra's, pythons, deadly vipers and poisonous spiders that I've wrestled with a broom lol, but am not a leech fan.

Tiger Leeches that reach for you from the leaves!

Bonnie one of the rangers (right) took us on a trek to the waterfall cascade, it was great, we were in the middle of the jungle taking in some stunning scenery and I love waterfalls, so what a way to start the day. The treks give us the chance to see and learn about the environment, plus we also record information of animals and any orangutan nests seen en route to support the centres research.

There is a Sun Bear rehabilitation centre nearby so we visited there to see the great work that they do.  It's the only one in the world and there some guys from the USA volunteering there at the moment and the manager is so passionate about his work and protecting this vanishing species, it's really inspiring.  They are beautiful animals and funny watching them climb up trees, they like sweet things so reminded us a little of Winnie the Pooh.

Working at the rehabilitation centre is a wonderful opportunity to gain a hands on insight into the incredible work that is done to nurture these beautiful primates. Everyday brings a different challenge and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work alongside a great group of friends, to learn from such a dedicated staff team and to spend my days interacting with these remarkable animals. It makes you realise that in order to protect these animals for the future, action needs to be taken now otherwise within our lifetime they may be a distant memory. 

Lot's more pics to come in Part 2 of the blog xxx