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Published: January 17th 2008
chilling out
reflecting on life from the comfort of his own treeAfter saying goodbye to Justine in Manila, I caught a flight to the steamy jungles of Malaysian Borneo. After a brief stay in the city of Kota Kinabalu, I headed to the Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre at Sepilog. This is where the Orang-Utans with drinking problems and drug issues come to be weaned off their dependencies. This is the Betty Ford Clinic for apes. Of course, I am only kidding. The work done here is heartwarming. The centre takes orphaned Orang-Utan babies which are found in the wild, or apes which have been captured as pets, or those which have been injured. There are roughly 20,000 Orang-Utans left in the wild, so this centre is taking a stance and helping BEFORE they become an endangered species, not when it is almost too late. The baby orang-utans are treated just like human babies in the early stages of care. They are bathed, given nappies to wear, and fed with bottles of milk. Once they are old enough, they are released into a juvenile enclosure where they learn to interact with other "teenage" orang-utans and to learn basic climbing and swinging skills. Then, as young adults, they are released into the wild. This section
going bananas
a baby and her mother tucking into their fruit of wild jungle covers an immense area, but also maintains a border with the Rehabilitation Centre. This border has a feeding platform, where fruit is provided twice a day for the Orang-Utans. The idea is that this provides a kind of halfway house, so that young apes can still come back to be fed, until they feel fully secure in their new environment. The newly released apes will typically come back sporadically for the first year, but once they adapt to feeding themselves, they won't be seen again. An ape typically eats over 300 types of food, including bark, berries, flowers and fruit. They have to learn which types are edible, and which aren't, which takes a long time. They also need to memorise the vast areas of the jungle, and the growing cycles of the fruit in each area, so that they can eat in a "crop rotation" style.
The morning feeding time was 10am, and we all gathered near the feeding platform at 9:45am, awaiting the arrival of our simian cousins. At 9:55, a cry went up from the crowd, followed by lots of shushing to keep quiet. We all looked up, and in the distance was
King of the Swingers
they make it look so easy an orang-utan casually swinging towards us, with several more visible behind it. There was a series of ropes at this end of the jungle. Ropes are infinitely easier than branches, so I would say they are the orang-utan equivalent of using escalators instead of stairs. But what I want to know is this; how do they know when it's ten o'clock? I studied each ape carefully as they swung by, and none of them were wearing a wristwatch. And as far as I know, there are no clocks in the jungle. Yet ape after ape arrived in time for feeding. This displays a characteristic which is unknown in humans in South-East Asia - punctuality. These apes move around a vast jungle area, and yet they manage to reach the feeding area for exactly 10 o'clock. Excellent timekeeping skills.
On the feeding platform were two men with buckets of food. Can you guess what the food was? Bananas! How predictable. These poor apes are given the same food every day. If I ate bananas twice a day for 365 days of the year, I would be bloody sick of them. But these gentle creatures are tolerant and happy. Orang-utans are
show us yer teeth then
never bare your teeth to a macaque monkey actually vegetarians, but that is only because they never evolved to hunt. I reckon if you placed a Big Mac or a bacon sandwich in front of them, they'd wolf it down. Not that I advocate giving junk food to apes. Next thing you know, McDonalds will be opening branches in all the major jungles (let's face it, they've opened them everywhere else).
We had been warned to beware of a monkey that might also appear at feeding time - the macaque. If a macaque appears, we were told, do not make eye contact with it. Just look away. And whatever you do, under no circumstance should you show your teeth. They will take this as a challenge and attack you! I was tempted to visit wearing a huge false pair of buck teeth, Austin Powers style, to see what happens. But common sense prevailed for once and I didn't.
A few facts about Orang-utans:
1. One of the most quoted statistics about Orang-Utans is that they share 97% of their DNA with humans. But a lesser known DNA statistic is that we share 9% of our DNA with a cucumber!
2. Orang-utans build nests in the trees
crocodile farm
on a sign: "Hello, my name is Miko and I am 60 years old. I am here because I ate four villagers in the wild. I was caught, and now I eat one chicken a day. Thanks for visiting". 3. They have a lifespan of 30-40 years on average, but have been known to live beyond 50
4. They have the longest childhood dependence on a mother of any animal. Six years on average. This makes the rehabilitation a lengthy process. Females may stay with their mothers until their teens, to actually learn the mothering process when the mother gives berth again.
Oh, I forgot to mention, this part of my journey was being done with a tour company called Geckos. When researching travel in Borneo, it seemed that a permit and a guide would need to be arranged for each national park. There were about 7 national parks I wanted to visit, so I decided to use a tour group for the whole of Borneo. The tour I had chosen also visited some very remote parts of Borneo, which would be hard to reach as an independent traveller. Another advantage of the tour group is people contact. At one point in the Philippines, before Justine arrived, I had quite a lonely time and only met one other backpacker in three weeks. While such isolation does give you more chance to meet the locals, you still spend most
village on stilts
living conditions were suprisingly high inside. evenings eating alone, travelling between towns alone, and hiking in national parks alone. Our tour group was comprised of one American, ten Aussies and me. Being exposed to such an excess of Australians has resulted in me developing a slight Aussie accent (mate).
A quick note on Borneo. Although I am referring to this country as Borneo, I am actually visiting East Malaysia (as opposed to Peninsular Malaysia, where Kuala Lumur is). People commonly refer to East Malaysia as Borneo, but this incorrect. Borneo is the island on which East Malaysia lies, but Borneo is divided into two parts, with the Indonesian province of Kalimantan being at the bottom.
Near the rehabilitation centre was a river village constructed on stilts. We visited a house, and went inside. There was a ladyboy living there, and apparently (so I am told) when she saw me coming, she ruffled up her hair, pushed her "boobs" up and leaned back against the wall seductively. Luckily I was completely oblivious to this. Inside the house was quiet luxurious, apart from the toilet, which was a squat toilet that opened directly into the river! This is one thing which the local people need to
cute kids
playing in the stilt village be educated on - sewage and rubbish disposal. It was normal practice to dump rubbish in the river, and it was a deep, murky colour with plastic bags floating in it. No swimming for us then
Next we drove to the nearby town of Sandakan to visit a War Memorial/Museum dedicated to the people who had died in the "Death Marches" of World War II. During the war, the Japanese captured Malaysian Borneo to use as a strategic base. Prisoners of War were sent to a prison camp at Sandakan, and this included 2,000 Australian Solidiers and close to 1,000 British, The Japanese needed to build an airstrip, and decided to use the POWs as the workforce. This is forbidden by the Geneva Convention, but the Japanese did not recognise this. The location of the proposed airstrip was 240km from Sandakan, and this was the distance that the prisoners were marched. They were force-marched at gunpoint, without shoes and with minimal food, for the whole 240km. Prisoners who were too weak or injured to keep up were either shot or beaten to death by the Japanese soldiers. Many prisoners were afflicted by malaria, beri-beri, dysentry and tropical ulcers. Some
a breeze on the buttocks
this squat toilet just drops into the river of the tropical ulcers were so bad that shin bone was bared from knee to ankle. Those lucky enough to have attention from a medic would simply have the rotten flesh around the edges snipped away with a pair of scissors. The first wave of death marches contained 455 POWs, of which only 140 reached their destination. There were further waves that had a similar rate of casualties.
Of the prisoners left in the prison camp at Sandakan, treatment was no better. Initial conditions were moderately good, but the Japanese officers became increasingly brutal to the prisoners. Being captured was viewed by the Japanese as one of the worst forms of disgrace. Food and medical care was scarce. Some prisoners resorted to eating slugs. They would lay leaves down overnight, and collect the slugs from the underside the next morning. They would wipe the slime from the slugs, thread them on wire, and cook them over a small fire. Apparently they taste a little like pork.
Many prisoners tried to escape, but were either caught or killed. Those who were caught were tortured. One form of torture was forcefeeding a victim with raw rice, and then water. The
the cat that got the cream
Bornean cats are much like any other. Cunning, cautious and careful with their affections. I just love this photo, so had to include it. rice would swell, causing intense abdominal pain. Another common punishment was "The Cage". This was a wooden cage constructed so that the prisoner didn't have room to lie down or stand up. He would have to remain stooped. Some people would be left in there for days, and sometimes weeks. Once a day they would be let out for "physical training", which was actually a beating from the guards. When finally released from the cage, some men would be walking with their backs bent, like old men, and would remain like that for the rest of their short lives. Because so many prisoners were trying to escape, the Japanese gathered a number of imprisoned British officers to resolve the situation. They wanted all the prisoners to sign a "No Escape" declaration. This is the most ridiculous idea ever. Asking POWs to sign a piece of paper promising not to escape! In the end, only a precious few ever did escape. In 1943, there were 2,500 prisoners at Sandakan. By the end of the war, only 6 were left alive, and only because they escaped. A grim tale indeed.
Our New Year's Eve was spent in a jungle lodge near
the Gecko crew
taken on New Year's Eve Sepilog. It was a very lame New Year. We took a vote on what time we should celebrate New Year, and the group consensus was that we should celebrate it in Australia time. This was 9pm in Borneo. So at 9pm there was some brief whooping, some well wishing, followed by everyone gradually heading to bed. I am a traditionalist and a big believer in celebrating New Year. Call me crazy, but I think New Year should be celebrated at midnight. But by midnight I was the only person on the tour who was still awake! I was very disappointed. I saw in the New Year with a Scottish couple, Bob and Sarah, our tour guide Randy, and a crazy Japanese dude whom we called "Kenny T'. He was a classic. He was incredibly friendly, but didn't speak much English. Someone asked him "how long have you been in Borneo?" and he enthusiastically replied "YES!" with a big smile. Someone else asked where he'd been before Sepilog, and he loudly proclaimed "THANK YOU!" and grinned like a loon. God Bless Kenny T. He helped us drink some downright dodgy liquor which Bob had purchased. The first bottle was some dangerously
river folk
for the second year running, he wins the "widest hat competition" strong firewater which had been brewed locally. Forget paintstripper, this stuff could strip concrete. Wasn't too bad if you mixed it with cola and closed your eyes though. But it was New Years Eve after all, and you can't be too fussy in the jungle. The second bottle claimed to be brandy, but I was horrified when I read the label closely. It was actually a monstrosity called "Compounded Brandy", and the ingredients were: Water, Alcohol, Syrup and Brandy Concentrate. Fake brandy! Whatever next.
The next morning I awoke with a hangover and a mouth that felt like the bottom of a birdcage. I was looking forward to a nice shower to wake myself up, but the lodge had run out of water! How on earth do you run out of water in the rainforest? This was most unfortunate. So I improvised and washed myself using a bottle of Evian. This might be extravagant, but what better way to see in 2008 than with a posh shower! Rock on
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Francoise
non-member comment
So funny...
I think that is it.We now know why men are like ouran outan...bse as you said it pete "They have the longest childhood dependence on a mother of any animal."...a bit like men really?Dont you think?? Just kidding.I knew for the cucumber so... lot of Love.Francoise.