logo Harmonie
Date: 26 Oct 2010 15:13:23
Title: Planet of the Orangutans - Kumai, Kalimantan Province, Borneo Island, Indonesia
[<< Prev Post] | [Next Post >>]
[Back to Index/Map]

02:44.038S  111:44.379E
 
Ok.  Now it's time for the really good stuff.  Not that everything else in Indonesia hasn't been good, but how can you beat a trip up a jungle river to see a bunch of orangutans?  Yes, orangutans, those big, orange, furry beasts who swing through the jungle like Tarzan and share 95% of their DNA with us humans.  As far as animal-in-the-wild experiences go, we're not sure there is anything cooler.
 
First things first though...
The 200 mile, two-day, one night motorsail from Bawean Island to the Kumai River in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan on the big island of Borneo was mostly uneventful.  Uneventful if you don't count a new high temperature record (93.7F) or the spotting of a new fishing boat species.  This variety has elaborate scaffolding that supports huge lights to attract squid? (we think it's squid they're after) at night.  As opposed to the flotilla of smaller fishing boats and nets we dealt with during our previous overnight motorsail, we enjoyed the squid boats because their lights lit up the horizon for us in the absence of moonlight.  Very thoughtful of them.
 
We arrived at the mouth of the Kumai River in the early afternoon of September 30.  Our timing was good, although it was just a happy coincidence and not a result of careful planning on our part, and the river current was only a knot and half against us as we wound our way ten miles upstream to the port town of Kumai.  We discovered later, during the six days we were anchored in the river, that the current can run as high as 3.5 knots downstream when the tide is going out - which would have made for an ugly motorslog upriver had we arrived in the morning and not the afternoon.  Approaching the river mouth, we worried we would have trouble getting over the shallow bar at the entrance.  Then we saw a very large ferry heading toward us down the river, and figured if they could get over the bar, then we certainly could.  So we did.
 
Once again the size of the town surprised us.  We were expecting a lazy, laid-back river town with a few local wooden boats and a broken down dock.  What we found was a bustling port town with mid-size cargo freighters and tankers, tug boats and barges, several wharves for the big ships and a long line of Sail Indonesia boats anchored along the far side of the river.  We went to the head of the line and dropped anchor, sharing our part of the river with a very intimidating freighter anchored mid-stream.  We stayed six nights, and over the course of that time, all the anchored boats, including the tankers and freighters, flipped 180 degrees every six hours like a choreographed dance with the incoming and outgoing tide.  It wasn't an unpleasant place to be, although we could have done without the deep brown color of the river water (colored that way due to silt run-off and effluent coming out of mines in the area), the mosquitoes, and the oppressive, humid heat.  But it's a jungle 160 miles from the equator, so we couldn't really complain.
 
Borneo is one of the largest islands in the world, and is split between three countries.  Indonesia's Kalimantan Province is the largest portion, followed by Malaysia's Sarawak Province and the tiny country of Brunei (which I didn't even know existed until I read about it in the Lonely Planet).  Brunei is like a Muslim Tonga with oil.  In other words, one family basically rules the place, but the country has money because of its oil reserves.
 
Now, the orangutans...
We booked a day trip in advance on two small speedboats with John and Sue and their guests Claire and John (of 'The Man from Snowy River' fame - blog entry dated 3/22/2010).  In addition to the six of us, there were two drivers and one guide.  The plan was to leave around 7:30am and speed up one of the Kumai River tributaries to Tanjung Puting National Park where Camp Leakey, a working research camp (think 'Gorillas in the Mist'), is located.  We would return around sunset later that day, and while we were gone, a boat boy would stay in our cockpit and watch the boats to be sure nothing untoward happened while we were away. 
 
 
Speeding up the river through the jungle in our smaller-than-a-Sodus-Bay-ski-boat speedboat.  Of course we never have the opportunity to go this fast in our boat, so we enjoyed the ride.  Besides, mosquitoes can't bite you when you're moving this fast.
 
 
We arrived at the first orangutan feeding station around 9am after wading through knee-deep water covering flooded boardwalks (the rainy season has bled into the dry season here, causing lots of flooding), and walking barefoot along the jungle path.  Don commented several times that it might be hard for people at home to believe we were walking barefoot through the Borneo jungle - but our feet were wet and we didn't want to put our socks and sneakers on with wet feet, and besides, our guide Janie went barefoot the whole day and never ran into a snake or a leech.
 
So anyway, the feeding station...
Borneo and the Indonesian island of Sumatra are the only places in the world outside of Africa where great apes (orangutans are part of the great ape family) exist.  Gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees are similar in that they are the three species that have the highest percentage of DNA in common with humans at about 95%.  Also, the three are the only species that are self-aware, which is what makes them seem so magically (or eerily depending on your perspective) human-like.  The number of orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park is something like 7,000.  Many of these are wild and not often seen by tourists like us (although we did see one wild orangutan in the trees that day).  The rest have either been re-introduced to the wild by the researchers at Camp Leakey, or they are offspring of the re-introduced orangutans.  Re-introduced orangutans come from zoos, or were once pets, or were orphans cared for by Camp Leakey until they were old enough to survive on their own in the jungle.  The researchers do their best to encourage the re-introduced orangutans to fend for themselves in the jungle, but because these lovely creatures are so used to human contact, they often return to the camp, and frequent the banana feeding stations.  As a result, the researchers and all the guides know all the orangutans that hang out near the camp by name, and can recite their family history by rote.  We found the bond that exists between the guides and the orangutans to be fascinating as you'll see later.
 
We arrived at the feeding station in the middle of the jungle and found a few Camp Leakey 'banana boys' (young guys that lug the buckets of bananas and antibiotic-laced sweetened milk to each of three feeding stations twice daily), and a few other boater tourists, but no orangutans.  Our guide said, "We have to wait for the orangutans.  They live a very solitary existence in the jungle, so have to travel quite a distance through the trees when they hear the calls from the banana boys at feeding time.  You will hear the orangutans coming before you see them."  About ten minutes later, we heard noise - trees swishing, branches cracking.  Then we could see the trees moving.  There was no breeze, not a breath of air, so it had to be an orangutan causing the commotion.  "One is coming." our guide said quietly.  The next five seconds of anticipation were right up there with that wait before walking down the aisle or opening that letter from the DMV knowing that this time you passed.  Then she appeared like magic, swinging between the branches of the trees right in front of us as you can see in the picture above.  It was, to use that overused word, amazing.  Positively amazing.  Orangutans are the largest mammals that live in trees, the largest males reaching close to 300 pounds.  So when they swing through the branches, some can't take the weight and instead of a soft swishing noise, most orangutan movements are accompanied by a sharp cracking of tree limbs.  A stealthy approach is definitely not their strong suit - but makes for an extremely dramatic entrance.
 
 
This young guy (can't remember his name, although I'm sure we were told), climbed down to the feeding platform and proceeded to load as many bananas as possible into his mouth before climbing back up to a perch in the trees where he could enjoy his meal in peace (spitting out the banana peels from above).
 
 
This mom and baby stopped by for a snack.  The babies are adorable and hang on to their mother's backs for 4 to 5 years.  Yes, 4 to 5 years.  Or until a new baby is born and the older child is encouraged (none too kindly) by its mother to move on so the new baby can take up residence on her back.  This system works well since it forces the births of orangutans to a single mom to be spaced apart by 4 or 5 years.  Orangutans need a lot of jungle space to themselves so they can forage for food (fruit, nuts, termites and other tasty jungle treats).  If the population density gets too high, the orangutans will not be able to find enough food for themselves.  Of course the banana feeding stations help in this regard for the re-introduced orangutans, but the bananas are not their sole source of food, so they still need plenty of space to move around.  One of the big problems on Borneo and even in the Tanjung Puting National Park, is illegal timber harvesting.  The Borneo jungle continues to disappear at an alarming rate, which is a worry for the jungle hungry orangutans.
 
 
This is not a fake picture!  We stopped to have lunch on the river jetty and this lady and her baby came by to have a peek at Don's lunch.  Our guide gave her a banana (which she promptly gave to her baby as you can see) to keep her happy and she retreated.  I think her name was Gilda.
 
 
This is our guide Janie and his best orangutan friend, Pan.  Seriously, his best orangutan friend.  They've known each other for years and met when Janie was a lowly cook on one of the tourist river boats.  The story, as Janie told it, goes like this...
 
Janie was preparing lunch on one of the bigger tourist river boats tied to the Camp Leakey jetty when he noticed a small male orangutan trying in vain to get to a small speedboat tied off on the opposite side of the river.  Orangutans can't swim (no mammals in the ape family can swim, but those in the monkey family can...not sure why), but are resourceful enough to solve such a problem.  The small orangutan, who Janie later learned was named Pan, climbed into a canoe, untied it from the jetty and paddled himself over to the speedboat across the river.  Once there, he climbed into the speedboat, letting the canoe float down the river in the process.  It's not clear why Pan was so interested in the speedboat, but it's possible he knew it contained a cooler full of food.  At any rate, Janie noticed that Pan was having difficulty trying to paddle the speedboat back across the river, so he stepped in and helped Pan get back.  While Janie worked to secure both the canoe and the speedboat, Pan took it upon himself to eat the entire lunch Janie had just prepared for the tourists.  Fifteen years later and the two continue to be the best of pals.  Janie carries around pictures of Pan in his wallet and on his cell phone.  If Pan had a wallet or a cell phone, I'm sure he would do the same.  We ran into Pan on the path from Camp Leakey to a feeding station.  Janie introduced us to Pan, spent a few minutes wrestling with him (during which we could swear Pan was smiling), and gave him a banana snack.  A few minutes later, Pan took Janie by the hand (it definitely was not the other way around as the picture shows) and Janie explained to us that Pan was asking to go to the 'banana house' together.  They then walked off hand-in-hand in search of the banana house (Camp Leakey).  Janie returned alone a few minutes later and we went on to the feeding station.
 
 
This guy was enjoying a snack at the feeding station.  If he's not smiling then it's as close to a smile as an orangutan gets.
 
 
Hanging appropriately near the warning signs at the feeding station, this is Tom, the dominant male of the re-introduced orangutan clan.  He is huge, with great jowls and cheeks.  Only the dominant male, or those wishing to challenge him have such features.  Tom's cheeks and jowls formed in three months with a surge of testosterone, just before he challenged the previous dominant male and won.  At close range, he is intimidating to say the least.  Below him is a mom and baby on the feeding platform.
 
 
This is my all-time favorite picture.  Look at this lady and her baby.  I just can't get over the expressions on their faces and the way they sit with such ease split between the trees as they are.  I'm gushing, I know, but how can you not love the orangutans??
 
 
There were other things going on in Kumai besides the orangutans, and we participated in most of them.  One day, all the boaters were loaded onto three full-size tour buses, provided with a police escort, and toured around the area.  We planted trees around a traffic circle as a gesture of solidarity with the groups doing their best to stem the tide of jungle destruction via illegal timber harvesting.  Then we attended a cultural festival which didn't seem to have many attendees aside from us.  Strange, we thought, but so were the activities - a form of soccer played in bare feet with a flaming coconut, targets hung from trees and shot at with blow guns, and a half-hearted traditional dancing competition between seven groups of teenagers who looked as though they'd rather be doing something else.  I'm being harsh, but after Bali, everything pales in comparison.  The lunch, however, was a highlight.  As usual, it was provided by the local government (as were the tour buses and police escort), and later, several of the government officials performed karaoke for us.  Where else in the world would government officials get up and sing karaoke for tourists?  The lovely girls in this picture greeted us at the door of the restaurant and later danced for us.
 
 
This traditional Dayak longhouse stood next door to the lunch restaurant.  The Dayak people are indigenous to Borneo (as opposed to the Malaysians and Indonesians who have migrated to Borneo over the years from Indonesian islands and the Malaysian peninsula) and have a unique language and culture built around their lifestyle living next to the rivers in the jungle.
 
 
Like most places we've visited, the locals took great interest in us, our dinghies and our boats.  A group was usually waiting on the dinghy dock to watch us coming and going.  This young mom and her daughter were happy to pose for us on the dock.  Kumai was one of the hottest and most humid places we've visited so far at 90F and 90% regularly.  If you didn't know this, you might think it was a cool 55F based on the way these two are dressed.  And you have to love the daughter's head scarf.  No one can claim the Muslims don't have a good sense of humor.
 
At some point during our tour, we learned the number of tourists to this area number only around 4,000 per year.  Only 4,000 people per year come to see the orangutans!  Made us feel pretty special.
 
Anne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
[<< Prev Post] | [Next Post >>]
[Back to Index/Map]

Diary Entries