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?