Orangutans reintroduced to nature at Tanjung Puting
Orangutans reintroduced to nature at Tanjung Puting
Jakarta Post contributor Rebecca Mowbray visited Tanjung
Puting National Park on a recent journey through Kalimantan. The
following are her articles and photos of the orangutans in the
area.
TANJUNG PUTING, Central Kalimantan (JP): The engine of Satria
II chugged as the slow-moving klotok fishing boat parted the
waters of Sekoyner River and pardoned some over-zealous water
plants blocking the way to Camp Leakey.
Proboscis monkeys chattered and hopped in the overhanging
trees, shaking the leaves like tambourines. A crocodile
relinquished its late afternoon sunning spot and disappeared into
the dark water of the river.
A trip to Central Kalimantan's Tanjung Puting National Park is
a bath in the natural world, a meditation on the trees and the
animals that are so far from Jakarta skyscrapers.
Tanjung Puting is a national park where orangutans rescued
from captivity, like the park's human visitors, are reintroduced
to the wild. It is not a zoo, but a nature preserve and
functioning research station where the famed Dr. Birute Galdikas
began her comprehensive study of orangutan behavior in 1971.
The park's 415,000 hectares of tropical forest and peat swamp
are accessible only by boat. Most visitors rent klotok and stock
up on cooking provisions at the market if they plan to sleep
onboard.
Visitors willing to sacrifice the nighttime view of the stars
for a hot shower can stay at the Rimba Lodge or the new Eco-
Lodge, which donates a percentage of its profits to the local
community.
Every night after a late afternoon wildlife cruise and filling
dinner of fried noodles, sauteed vegetables, white rice and fruit
prepared by chef and first mate Yadi, we pulled mattresses on
deck and fell asleep soon after the sun. A mosquito net is a good
item to pack.
In the mornings we were wooed to consciousness by the waking
sun, monkeys and birds, but on one morning we awoke to crashing
branches as a wild male orangutan palmed his way across the
treetops to gander at our boat.
After bathing in the cleaner waters of a branch of the
Sekoyner near Camp Leakey each day, we set off for one of the
park's three camps where feedings take place to observe the ex-
captive orangutans.
An orangutan feeding is an unscripted performance in a natural
setting. While the orangutans gorge themselves on bananas and
dangle from tree branches, visitors can admire the mastery with
which they maneuver through the forest. A feeding may not be a
natural event, but it is an incredible chance to watch this great
ape.
The park also offers kilometers of trails for strolling
through the forest. Rangers know all about the trees, their
medicinal uses and Dayak spiritual beliefs about them.
A vacation in Tanjung Puting's wall of green empties one's
mind and forces even the most high-energy visitor to adjust to
the pace of the forest. It is a meditation in beauty and
solitude. For me, even a postcard required too much
concentration.
But the polluted waters of the Sekoyner River and the stubbled
forest along the opposite bank also provide a rare opportunity to
contemplate questions of development that balances humans,
animals and the ecosystem.