Saturday, February 02, 2008

Sarawak nature’s surprises


Venture out of Kuching and you’ll be amazed at the little discoveries.

Sarawak is known as the Land of the Hornbills but it is perhaps better known for another animal – the orang utan.

These “men of the jungle” are in danger of becoming extinct due to development and deforestation in their habitat.

We took a half-hour drive from Kuching to Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, a temporary home for the endangered animals of Sarawak, especially orang utans ithat have been injured, orphaned or rescued from villagers who kept them as pets.

The centre is situated in a forest, and their aim is to help the animals adapt to the wilds again.

This is a good sign as it indicates that the orang utans are slowly adjusting to the wilderness and are able to forage for food on their own.

We reached the centre early in the morning, having been told that the best time to see the orang utans was during feeding time at 9am. The park rangers told everyone to stand away from the feeding platform as the creatures were, after all, wild.

We obeyed and stared eagerly at the mountain of fruits, hoping that an orang utan would drop by. A ripple of excitement broke out within the group as a huge orang utan approached the platform from the trees.

Continue reading (incl. pics) at: Sarawak nature’s surprises

No comments: