Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia

Kuching is on the banks of the Sarawak River on the island of Borneo. It's got an interesting history. Sarawak was a part of the Sultanate of Brunei 200 years ago but as a reward for help in putting down a rebellion, it was ceded to the British adventurer James Brooke, who ruled it as his personal kingdom. Kuching was made his capital and headquarters. The Brooke Administration was given the status of Protectorate under Rajah Charles Brooke's rule and was placed behind the Indian Rajs and Princes. The Brooke family ruled Sarawak until the Japanese occupation in1941& Sarawak was part of the Japanese Imperial Empire for over three years. At the end of WWII the last rajah, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke ceded Sarawak to the British Crown, which gave Sarawak independence in 1963 and it became part of Malaysia later that year.

Kuching is the 4th largest city in Malaysia with a population made up largely of Chinese, Malays, Ibans & Indians. It's supposed to be one of the world's healthiest cities! It was certainly very clean & very pleasant. We stayed in a lovely little"art" hotel where we bagged the honeymoon suite! (The only difference to any of the other rooms seemed to be that it had a 4 poster bed, but still ........) We ate delicious Chinese food, wandered by the banks of the river & visited the charming museum to learn a little about the native culture, ahead of our stay with the Iban people. The Iban were among the former head-hunting tribes of the region, but we were relieved to have it confirmed that such practices died out in the early years of the 20th C. There was also an interesting section of the museum sponsored by Shell which started its oil drilling & refining activities in Borneo in 1898 under the direction of Marcus Samuel, a subsequent Lord Mayor of London. Shell obviously holds sway in Borneo still, from what we could see.

Rehab almost complete

Hazy photos taken from afar at Semengoh - we weren't able to get any closer, which is the whole aim of the rehabilitation process, of course.

He wears it well

A







"Bearcat" is another name for a binturong, the sloth-like mammal from Southeast Asia which seemed strangely attracted to Howard, whichever angle you look at it?!

Malaysia - Kuching & surrounds, Sarawak, Borneo

Following on from our zoo experience, we made our way back to Kuala Lumpur for a flight across the South China Sea to Malaysian Borneo. We spent a few days in the city of Kuching, in the state of Sarawak, with time for a little sightseeing & visits to 2 wildlife centres before we headed off to live in the rain forest for a week.

The plan was to let us see the full spectrum of ways in which orang utans survive in Malaysia from zoo conditions right through to the ideal of roaming free in the rain forest.

The Matang Wildlife Centre is situated at the western corner of the Kubah National Park, about 30 kms from Kuching City. It consists of about 179 hectares of lowland forest. At this centre, the animals live in huge enclosures surrounded by their natural habitats. It's a centre for education, research & conservation. Endangered animal species which have been confiscated from the public, such as orang utans & sun bears, are rehabilitated & efforts are made to promote awareness in the general public about the importance of the conservation of these species. Visitors can also come just to enjoy the rock pools, waterfalls, picnic sights & nature trails. Our zoologist (as well as ex-Buddhist monk & club bouncer, amongst a startling variety of other careers) guide Leo Biddle works at this centre alongside the head keeper Keith Lloyd (who has worked with primates alongside Gerald Durrell & John Aspinall, as well as at London's Regent's Park Zoo - we get to meet some very interesting people!) The team at Matang were responsible for the world's first cataract operation on an adult orangutan, carried out by 2 S African surgeons. For more info about all the fantastic work - & how you could volunteer!! - check out http://www.orangutanproject.com/index.php?

Semengoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre was established in 1975 for the rehabilitation of confiscated and surrendered wild animals. It is located about 20 km south of Kuching and is situated within Semengoh Nature Reserve. It is a temporary home for various endangered wildlife of Sarawak, especially orang utans, rescued from captivity, and hornbills. Orang Utans are Totally Protected Animals under Sarawak's Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998. They have been given special protection because they are most severely threatened. With each passing year there are fewer & fewer orang utans in the forests. The main aim of this centre is to rehabilitate confiscated wildlife that have been incapacitated or handicapped due to prolonged captivity by humans - with the objective of releasing them to the forests eventually. Research is conducted, both on wildlife & captive breeding, & there is a wildlife conservation education programme. Most mornings, young orang utans are let out of their enclosures for training & exercise at various locations in the forest. Sometimes the animals may stay out in the forest for the whole day & some may even stay out overnight. In most cases, however, the young animals will be called back to their enclosure by their trainers in the early afternoon. During unfavourable weather conditions, the young animals may not be let out of their enclosures or be called back earlier. The older semi-wild orang utans who have become more independent and can look for their own food in the forest reserve rarely come back to rest at the Rehabilitation Centre. However, between March to September when local fruits are scarce, they may wander back to the Centre for extra food.

So we got close to orang utans again - but how close would we get to them out in their natural habitat?