After surviving the heat, boredom and dangerous wildlife on our painfully hot and dull crossing from Bali, it was time for a new adventure. It was time for orangutans. Unlike our previous attempt to see impressive mega fauna (you remember Komodo, yes?) we actually succeeded in finding our quarry this time. So, of course, a tribute and story is due.
We anchored our boat near the town of Kumai which is in the region of Borneo known as Kalimantan (Borneo is owned by three different countries- Kalimantan is the Indonesian part). It’s a common destination for orangutan seekers, since this is where primate research stations, “protected” forestlands and guides can be found. And you cannot go see the orangutans without a guide because the guides are necessary as protectors as well as pathfinders. So upon arriving, we went to find ourselves a tour and a guide. We did briefly think about going with our boatboy, Addi, but when he asked us if we enjoyed crystal meth, we decided to find someone a little bit more reliable.
The man we met and booked our tour with was called Jenny. Jenny loved orangutans. Loved them. You could tell just by looking at him because he played with them the only way orangutans know how to play- rough. Jenny had scabs up and down his arms and scars all across his back. You’d think that getting bitten by an animal with a jaw strong enough to husk a coconut would be traumatizing, but not for Jenny. He showed us album after album of his favorite orangutans brushing their teeth, washing towels, putting on shirts and paddling canoes. It was like hanging out with a proud and slightly too obsessed father, only his children were massive, powerful and unpredictable. And furry.
Unfortunately, Jenny was busy the following day and did not guide us on our tour. Our guide had a much healthier respect for the orangutans' overwhelming strength, so we did not get to see a human vs. ape wrestling match, but perhaps that was for the best. What we did get to see was some pretty awesome primates doing their primatey thing.
Our speedboats picked us up at 7 AM and zoomed us up the river through breathtaking jungle scenery. It was so green, it strained the eyes and the rich smell of dirt was almost strong enough to taste. We were about to get up close and personal. On our track to the first feeding station we clambered over twisted roots and through black jungle waters that smelled of decay. While we waited for the orangutans at the feeding site, huge butterflies roosted on our feet and fingers.
Then we actually saw them. They swung through the trees, these larger-than-man creatures, flashes of orange-brown against the green, hooting loudly in reply to the calls the rangers were making. And oh, how gorgeous they were. At that first station we only saw one male and a female with her baby, but we were smitten. The male stared at us, his huge cheek flaps quivering as he munched on bananas and oranges mere feet from our snapping cameras and awestruck gestures. The female largely ignored us and taught her baby how to climb and move from tree to tree.
But really, Camp Leaky, the research station and our second stop, was what it really was all about. There we met Siswi, the resident lazy orangutan who would abuse welfare if she were human. She demanded toll with an outstretched hand as we tried to pass her on the bridge, but later we got to lay down inches from here. Then Siswi petted us and fixated on Kitten’s elbow for awhile.
The feeding at Camp Leaky was incredible. Mother orangutans swung in with their young clinging to their backs and stomachs. By the end of the feeding, we’d seen perhaps 20 different individuals, though sometimes we lost track of them as they climbed overhead, or disappeared up a tree only to appear behind an unsuspecting tourist. One tried to poop on Adub (he dodged). Another stole a water bottle from an elderly British lady, then opened the bottle and drank all the water.
They were beautiful creatures. Thick fur, strongly muscled bodies shaped so much like a human’s and most of all, the eyes. Deep, soulful eyes that looked back at you with such intensity. You could see them thinking behind those eyes, judging the world with an understanding that was, well, sentient.
Only one word: incredible. What a world we live in.
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