Trish and I have had many truly amazing encounters with wildlife on this trip,

Hump Back Whales in Tonga, Sea Lions in the Galapagos, Sharks in the Tuamotus

and Sloths in Panama to name just a few. But the time we spent with the Orang-Utans

in Tanjung Puting has to rank up there with the best.

We were able to get really close to many of them as they came from deep in the forest to feed

on the bananas that the rangers put out for them.

watching the mothers with their babies it is easy to put human traits on their actions and

mannerisms, but we do share a remarkable 97% of our DNA with these creatures.

These animals are so photogenic that we have literally hundreds of photographs so I will put

on just a few more.  This is Tom, the dominant male in his area around Camp Leakey.

The Orangs are incredibly strong and very agile and carry their babies around their bodies as

they swing across the tree tops

A few cute baby pics!!!! Well their mothers think they are cute.

The males were huge and had large jowls and were obviously feared by the rest of the troup

It was amazing to see them come in from deep in the forest, swinging through the trees, using tiny

branches and vines that seemed unlikely to take their weight. Once their mothers stopped,

even the babies showed great agility and little fear of falling.

This one is hanging by its feet as it collects bananas from the feeding table which they then

stuff into their mouths before retreating to safety in the tree tops.

The record I saw being 12 bananas

This supplementary feeding helps to ensure that the life expectancy of both babies and adults

is extended considerably.