Recently one of our volunteers, Chris, returned form The Great Orangutan Project in Borneo and he came back with a whole host of amazing pictures and memories from his time with the orangutans! We got Chris to talk us through six of his favourite pictures from the project, so let’s take a look at what he had to say!
First Up Is A Picture Of Tingsan The Orangutan…
The orangutans here have an outdoor enclosure that they play on & it's where they get fed. Tingsan here is having a chilled out time lounging around after being fed! The orangutans are super intelligent but don't let their cute eyes & nice gestures fool you they should be kept well clear of! Beware of any project which you get to come into contact with the animals as human/animal contact should be kept to zero, the main reason they are in centre is due to this issue, if it's not eco for the animal it's ego for you.
Next We Have An Image Of A Sunbear Testing His Climbing Skills!
Here we went into the enclosures (when the bears aren't in obviously) & covered the ground with food and smothered the trees with peanut butter and honey! This is great enrichment for the bears who use their powerful noses to smell out exactly every part of the tasty surprises! Hiding the food up higher doesn't deter them either, they'll use their powerful claws & their bowed front legs to climb efficiently & effectively!
It’s Not All About The Work On The Project As The Volunteers Visited The Fairy Caves On Their Weekend Off
You can visit anywhere you wish on your weekends and we chose as a group to visit Bako National Park & stay at Permai Beach Resort. The fairy caves were a real surprise so be prepared to be blown away by its beauty & it's very eerie feel. Also make sure you mind the bats flying above!
As Well As The Orangutans And Sun Bears There Is Some Other Spectacular Wildlife Here Too!
We frequently went out on night walks to explore the jungle, but please beware of using too strong a light as most nocturnal animals don't like the bright lights. We spotted snakes, spiders, giant snails, and this beautiful kingfisher! It's also a bonus to see some of the nocturnal animals awake and energetic so if you can do a night walk I would recommend it!
Chris Even Got To See A Proboscis Monkey
This was on our weekend off. Proboscis monkeys, famed for their large noses, are frequently spotted in Bako National Park. It's reached by a short boat ride from the main centre & you're given around 5-6 hours in the park before all the boats wrap up their work for the day!
Last But By No Means Least, It’s Aman The Big Male Orangutan
This is Aman he's the big male at Matang! You'll come to love him as I did, as he looks like a large dominant rowdy male (which he can be) but don't let him deceive you! His kind gentle nature is shown here, as he was unwrapping an enrichment package that was made for him by the volunteers and placing the pieces on the floor gently in some sort of order & pattern (which only he knew)! Enrichment is definitely the most rewarding part of the project, seeing the animals figuring out their packages (stimulating their minds) & finding the tasty treats within! If you wish to bring toys to the centre for the animals to play with extreme Kongs are good for baby orangs along with any puzzle balls e.g. for the binturong (bear cat).
As you can see, Chris loved his time at the project and we are very grateful that he shared his images with us. If you’d like to experience what it is like to volunteer on The Great Orangutan Project then click here and take a look at the project page!
