Back to the Past, or Orangutans for the Second Time

January 2, 2017 - January 14, 2017

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I returned from Asia, and over a year since I finished my volunteering. Luckily, I no longer have to miss Borneo because I've decided to go there again. .

For those who haven't read the previous posts (shame on you! :P), I went to Borneo, to a place near Sandakan, to an orangutan rehabilitation center. It's a wonderful place called Sepilok, and I'll be spending eight weeks there volunteering. I traded in my accounting job for cleaning up monkey poop—it's more exciting!

First week 

The first week is lazy; we don't do much. We can't go to work with the orangutans right away for fear of any illnesses we might bring with us. They assume that if we don't get sick or end up in the hospital in the first week, it means we're healthy and can get close to the orangutans.

As usual, on the first day, we went to see the orangutans, for a little introduction, and then another feeding session. For me, a must-see is a visit to Mama Wati's for a fresh coconut, to stay young and beautiful 😛 . Mama Wati had a makeshift stand with a table, a bench, a roof made of plastic wrap, Romanian bags, pieces of aluminum, and whatever else they had that would work as a roof. There were flies everywhere, but the place had charm, I loved it. Now the business has moved 20 meters away. It's still makeshift, but more modern, with less atmosphere, but the coconuts are still there, the people are the same, the cat is the same, but even fatter (I didn't know that was even possible, the fattest cat in the world). Mama Wati's husband recently brought home a tiny, white kitten. I hope that when I return next year, it won't look like its older brother!

One day we went to Sandakan, a city with a low tourist population of about 150,000. Quite often, tourists who come to see orangutans base themselves in Kota Kinabalu, a city six hours away by bus but only 50 minutes by plane. With several flights a day, they can easily arrive in the morning and return in the evening, and KK has much more going on and better hotel options. I've already described Sandakan in a post from my previous visit, so I won't repeat myself; I'm just adding the latest photos.

Another day they took us to see the proboscis monkeys, it was my second trip to Labuk Bay, I haven't described this place yet, so there will be more in another, new post.

A few more words about the group. As usual, the group is predominantly British and Australian. 12 people in total. Age range: 18 to 51. It would be nice if we could get along, but I'm assuming I came here for the orangutans, not the people, so whatever happens, I'll be happy. It's not bad for now, although some tensions have already arisen between some of us, and I have to admit, I can't stand one woman, but maybe that will change and we'll be best friends 😛

Start of work 

In the second week, we finally began our long-awaited work. The entire project lasts eight weeks, divided into three groups, each with four people. There are three assignments: a clinic where babies and tiny orangutans are housed; a preschool where, as the name suggests, preschoolers (5-8-year-olds) are housed; and a jungle trek where we search for rattlesnakes, spiders, giant ants, and other monsters to brag about on Facebook. But most importantly, we search for orangutan nests to estimate the population.

My first assignment is at the nursery. I'll be spending six days there. Some of the orangutans that were at the nursery last year have been released, while two from the clinic have been transferred to the nursery. Beryl, one of my favorites, and Bidu-Bidu, a sweet orangutan, but probably not the smartest.

Chiquita and Gelison were in preschool a year ago, and they're still there. As I was to see, nothing had changed. Gelison He's been called the laziest orangutan, and it's hard to disagree. He uses us as taxis; he doesn't feel like walking, so sometimes we have to drag him like a sack of potatoes. Gelison also likes to run up to the roof, so we get some exercise. We have to chase him up a hill and then drag him down from the roof. I'm almost an expert. In situations like these, I'm glad I have to wear a face mask; tourists always watch closely, photographing, and filming my often clumsy attempts to get the little creatures down.

Chiquita She rarely escapes to the roof; she mostly walks on the ground, which she's not allowed to do. In the wild, orangutans live exclusively in trees and don't go for walks, so it's important not to allow her to do so. Furthermore, the ground, especially the mud, contains various parasites that orangutans easily pick up. They can get sick or have diarrhea, and if they get diarrhea, we're 90% sure we'll get it too.

The preschool playground isn't separated from the jungle, so even wild orangutans can drop in for a visit. Those released into the wild also come, but they're still too young or too confident to venture into the forest, forage on their own, and be separated from humans. I remember most of these orangutans from last year, but there have been some new ones as well. Jack, a male about 10 years old, shy and very nice, plays nicely with others, doesn't provoke, isn't aggressive. Orangutans live alone in the wild, the father doesn't raise the child, it's the mother who has this responsibility. I was even more touched by a young orangutan named Malim, who adopted a young orangutan! Two orangutan mothers, Mimi and Mariko, have given birth to babies, what a wonderful sight. The babies are about 10 months old and so adorable!

So far, there haven't been any major adventures, once I was bitten on the finger, once Gelison grabbed my ponytail and I was lightly pulled away in front of the tourists, once I thought it wasn't obvious that I had bread in my hand (which orangutans like very much and which we use as bait to lure them from the roof), but it turned out that the orangutans saw it and I was attacked :) once I was lightly attacked by Kalabat, I don't really know what he wanted from me, he didn't try to bite me, he wasn't aggressive, he just grabbed me and there was a slight struggle.

The most interesting adventure was experienced by my friend. Bidu-Bidu He was quite naughty and didn't want to climb trees. Near a certain large tree, there was a mini-tree that looked more like a branch. The aforementioned ape-man was sitting on this branch, and her friend's task was to catch him and carry him to a proper tree so he could climb. She didn't anticipate, however, that the ape-man would suddenly jump down from the tree. The tree branch was taut like a string, and when the orangutan jumped, it shot out like a slingshot, right into her friend's face. I know we shouldn't laugh because it must have hurt, but it looked hilarious. Now her friend proudly walks around with a purple eye.

I have another week with… babies!