|
|
| ASIA - MALAYSIAN BORNEO: THE ORPHANS OF SABAH by Winnie Graham   
The three-month old baby was underweight and suffering from diarrhea when he was left in a basket at the door of the orphanage. He weighed just 2.6 kilograms and was the picture of misery.Moved by the plight of the infant, the keeper of the Sepilok Centre for the Rehabilitation of Orang-utans in Sabah in Malaysian Borneo picked him up and carried him to the nursery. The tiny orang-utan joined 20 other babies there, all of whom had been rescued from almost certain death. In five or six years’ time, when they are old enough to look after themselves, they will be returned to the wild. The “baby” in the basket – named Kajob by the staff – has been carefully nurtured in the quarantine section. He has now graduated to the indoor nursery and is a happy little creature who, hopefully, one day will live out a normal life in the wild. Kajob is just one orang-utan who has been given a fresh start at the centre. Since Sepilok was established in 1964, many dozens of orphaned apes have been rehabilitated and, once old enough to care for themselves, have been returned to the jungle. Their contact with humans is carefully managed so that they have no difficulty relating to “wild” orang-utans when they are finally released. Rather than spend time with humans, the young orang-utans play with fellow orphans. In the first five or six years at the centre they have to be taught to fend for themselves, a task their mothers would normally have undertaken. They have to be shown where to find food, how to make nests and how to avoid predators. They make beds for themselves out of twigs, leaves and small branches and sleep in these nests at night. They make new nests each afternoon. There are some 20,000 orang-utans in Sabah. Their numbers are declining because their habitat is being destroyed. To survive, they depend on primary forest and much of the virgin bush is being cut back and replaced with plantations. The inoffensive orang-utan is now a protected primate in Sabah and people are becoming increasingly aware of their need for survival. Sepilok has done an enormous amount to educate visitors – both domestic and international – but maintenance costs are high. Each orang-utan costs a bout US$1,400 a year to look after. The babies in quarantine need constant care. Once the authorities are certain that they are well on the way to recovery, they are moved to an indoor nursery where they get to know their “buddies”. Only when they are ready are they allowed into an outdoor nursery (the third stage of rehabilitation), there to swing from the tall trees. Eventually, as they grow older – around five or six – they roam free in the sanctuary, a huge forested area inhabited by wild orang-utans. The orphans seldom forget their former home, however, and return again and again, sometimes for extra fruit (and even a drink of milk) but – more importantly – to show off a new baby. The arrival of mother and child is hailed as a mark of the centre’s success. The rehabilitation has been completed successfully. We made our way along a wooden walkway to see the orang-utans at feeding time. Visitors are warned not to touch the youngsters – and for good reason. A few years ago an overzealous Frenchman lost all his clothes when an orang-utan decided to undress him, much to everyone else’s amusement. Two keepers arrived with bananas, milk and vitamin drops, mounted a platform and waited for their young charges to come for a meal. First to arrive were the macaque monkeys who greedily raided the provisions. One pair had sex on the platform, to the huge amusement of the visitors. Finally they moved away and the shy orang-utans came swinging in. They drank their milk with relish, opened their mouths for the vitamins and leisurely enjoyed the fruit. A mother arrived with her infant, a tiny creature who occasionally peered shyly at the watching throng. Visitors are shown an informative video about orang-utans which explains what Sepilok has achieved. The rehabilitation centre was first mooted in 1963 by P.F. Burgess, the then deputy conservator of forests. Soon afterwards, Barbara Harrison, wife of the curator of Sarawak Museum, Malaysia, started rescuing young orang-utans who had been kept as pets. (This is illegal in Sabah and heavy fines are imposed on people capture them.) It was then that the concept of rehabilitating orang-utans – and returning them to the wild – was first considered. Harrison visited Sabah and reported as far back as 1962 that the orang-utan was becoming increasingly rare and threatened with extinction. So it was that 40,000 hectare of virgin forest, comprising riverine forest and mangroves, was set aside for the cute creatures. Today the ape is totally protected. Most of the animals at Sepilok have been either taken from people who have kept them illegally as household pets, or have been brought in after having sustained some injury and are in need of medical attention. Their quarantine period lasts between three and six months and is a necessary precaution to ensure that diseases are not passed on to other orang-utans. They are tested for tuberculosis and malaria, their urine is analysed, their chests X-rayed. Their health is of paramount importance. When they finally return to the jungle they are in great shape – and seven times stronger than a human being. Photo courtesy David Kirkland/Sabah Tourism Board |
||
| DESTINATIONS: Africa / Asia / Australasia / Canada / Caribbean / Europe / Latin America / Mediterranean / Middle East / United States CRUISES: Cruises Around the World / Competitive Cruise Quotes HOTELS: Canada Hotels / USA Hotels HOME: Home Page / Contact Us / Submissions |
||
| ABOUT US: Travel Scribbles features hundreds of travel articles and travel stories with writing from some of the best travel writers covering hundreds of destinations from Africa and Asia to Europe, Canada and the USA. Personal experiences, travel guides, cruise reviews, wry commentary and even poetry on vacation destinations fills the pages of Travel Scribbles. We are always interested in submissions so if you have an experience of a destination you would like to share with our readers, or if you have any comments on our site - please feel free to contact us at info@travelscribbles.com |
||
 |
||