A Visit With King in the Rainforest

June 17, 2010

A couple of days ago, I shared with you the amazing experience we had exploring the canopy walkways through the rainforest of Malaysian Borneo. When we descended the canopy, we continued our exploration through the luxuriant, dense environment below, hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the native primates that live in the rainforest. One such creature is the oran-utan - also spelled orang-utan. In Malay, "orang" means "man" and "utan" means forest; hence the term, "man of the forest." Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, oran-utans are seen only in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. We were not disappointed as our knowledgeable and informed guides led us to an encounter with King, the magnificent, who reigns supreme over this region of the rainforest.

: Sophie really ‘connected’ with King!

: Was King giving us a thumbs up? (photo by George Hong)

: Memrie, this time on a bridge that spanned a river.

: This tree supports another small bridge – notice how it’s ‘consuming’ the rope.

: Edmundo, a guide and Memrie standing in the fold of an enormous tree

: These fuzzy green leaves were growing among tree roots – perhaps an African violet?

: A fellow traveler – also staying at The Rainforest Lodge – looking at the gibbons

: We were about to return to the lodge for lunch when Edmundo informed us that an oran-utan was near.Also spelled orang-utan, meaning ‘man of the forest’

: His name is King and he reigns over this region. King is 35 to 40-years old and no other oran-utan dares to step in his path.

: King is casually snacking on figs from a ficus tree.

: It was such a beautiful and emotional experience to be so close to King in the wild. His demeanor was friendly and calm.

: An oran-utan can live for about fifty years in the wild.

: King climbed up into the tree to reach for more figs.

: His hands are so like ours.

: Spotting another fig

: Unlike the human foot, the oran-utan has an opposable big toe, which is very useful when climbing.

: King probably has an an arm span of about 7.5 feet!

: We enjoyed lunch back at the lodge after a truly emotional and breathtaking experience. The pasta was great!

: There was also a healthy assortment of fresh vegetables.

: This is the view from the main lodge.

: The group from the Borneo Rain Forest Lodge. Thanks so them, we had such a wonderful stay!

: Shortly after exploring the rainforest from the canopy, we set off for another hike in this luxuriant, dense environment.

: On the bridge with Memrie and Denny, one of our guides.

: This bug certainly blends into its surroundings.

: Denny showing us a small rain forest flower

: A close-up – how pretty!

: We saw so many beautiful varieties of moss.

: In the rainforest, trees, especially older ones, are numbered for research purposes.

: A very interesting vine

: The root systems are amazing.

: This bark is so satiny.

: Can you picture Tarzan swinging on these vines?

: Leafy vines

: Lovely waxy flowers

: A centipede curled up tight

: Here I am with Denny and Edmundo.

: Yogini Sophie doing a handstand on the soft jungle floor

: Another leafy vine

: And another

: The guides carry communication radios and they heard from another group that Gibbon apes were in the area. We ventured off the beaten path in search of them.

: The rainforest is so dense and home to so many unusual insects.

: We finally encountered three gibbons high in the canopy. The difference between monkeys and apes is that monkeys have tails and apes do not.

: This gibbon was climbing up a vine.

: They seemed to know that they were entertaining us.

: There are also many leeches, like this little skinny one, in the rainforest. Those green gaiters are leech protection.

: A twisted twisting vine

: This little fellow is a short-crested forest dragon.

: I can’t quite remember what we spotted, but you can be sure that it was amazing!

: The hike ended at this beautiful swimming hole called Jacuzzi Pool.

: A tree with an identification label

: A bracket fungi

: More moss

: After lunch, Sophie and I uploaded the morning’s photos and then took off again with Memrie and our guides in search of more wildlife. We soon found a group of red leaf monkeys.

: Here are two mothers with their babies. The babies turn red as they get older.

: They observed our presence.

: And then went on to groom their babies

: Later that day, after dinner, we were lucky to encounter this small nocturnal tarsier. One of the smallest primates, the tarsier has eyes like an owl, a tail like a rat, and ears and nose like a bat.

: Sophie was so excited to see this adorable animal. Here he is looking right at her camera!

: Remarkably, the tarsier is able to turn its head nearly 360 degrees meaning that, coupled with those large eyes, the tarsier able to spot any oncoming predators with ease.