I just returned from guiding another spectacular expedition in Borneo for Natural Habitat Adventures. What I love most about this trip is the incredible exotic diversity of so many amazing aspects of nature- from birds to frogs to stunning forests…. In this post I will highlight the main draw to these trips, which is the primates. We see and learn about many species of primates which range from the most primitive- the slow loris, to the most closely related to humans- the orangutan.
We see orangutans at two rehab centers, Semengoh and Sepilok, where they are wild and free in rainforest reserves, but still come for supplemental feeding. We also look for fully wild orangutans in the Kinabatangan and Danum Valley regions.
The first day of the trip we saw something truly extraordinary- a 6 year juvenile interacting with her mother and her 6 month baby. Normally females won’t get pregnant until their offspring is fully independent, but with an animal as complex as these great apes, there are no hard, fast rules.
It is very unusual to see a mother so tolerant of her older offspring when she has a newborn. This was so cool to see!
Orangutan family just hanging out….
I had seen this family in september, and got an amazing image of the older daughter actually kissing the tiny newborn. During this visit, we could see signs of the mother wanting the older daughter to give her more space. We heard the mother making squeaking calls, which ironically shows irritation.
Here is the aforementioned family hanging out together back in September.
Semengoh is by far the best place to see huge dominant males up close. This guy is probably around 200 lbs!
Big male proboscis monkey, Bako National Park.
Our trips get lots of time searching for and observing one of the most charmingly bizarre animals on earth- the proboscis monkey! Check here to see a comprehensive article I wrote about them a while ago….
Bako, NP
Traveler Marcy Ascoff observing proboscis monkeys at Labuk Bay sanctuary near Sandakan.
These guys are amazing jumpers. with kegs like a kangaroo, and very long tail which acts as a counterbalance.
Proboscis monkey settling in for the night in a resting tree on the Kinabatangan River.
Mid air monkey rocket.
Silver leaf monkey, Bako National Park near Kuching.
Silver leaf monkey…
Long tailed macaques grooming each other at Bako National Park.
As always, the troop of red leaf monkeys who reside near Borneo Rainforest Lodge put on an amazing show for us our first afternoon there…..
The group watching wild a mother and older baby orangutan in the Danum Valley rainforest.
Our last night in Danum Valley provided an amazing encounter with the elusive Slow Loris, the world’s primitive primate. In order to not disturb the animal we lit it only dimly with an LED torch. ISO 4000, f6.3, 1/160th. Click here to read more about the amazing and charismatic slow loris.
This was just a basic photo collection, to learn more about Borneo’s amazing primates check out this article I wrote a few years ago…..
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