Sepilok

Hello all,

This morning, Sam knocked on our door and told us she had found some baby turtles outside who had lost their way. With the help of some Australian kids, we collected the turtles and released them on the beach. 

We caught the boat back and it was very rough and very wet. Then we got the bus to Sepilok for 45 minutes. 

Sepilok is home to the world famous Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, and that was our first stop. Here they rehabilitate orphaned orangutans found in the wild. There have been 760 orangutans rehabilitated here since it began in 1964. 66% of those rehabilitated have been successfully released into the wild. 

We headed to the viewing platform for the 9am feed, but no orangutans came. This is actually a great thing, because it means that they are self reliant and don’t rely on the centre for food. Instead we headed to the outdoor nursery and sat for ages watching the young orangutans being hyper!! They were so funny. They swung, fought and at one point, two younger ones gathered around an older one as if it was explaining something. They share 96.4% of our DNA, and it makes sense why once you watch them. They’re so like us. 

At the start of their lives, orangutan’s mothers teach them how to climb, what to eat and more. Aside from this stage of their lives, they’re solitary animals. The only other time they really socialise is when eating fruit in the same trees. The reason they’re critically endangered is because they’re the largest tree dwelling animal in the world, so the fact that trees have been cleared to make space for palm oil plantations has completely destroyed much of their natural habitat. They can’t live on the ground as they’re then threatened by parasites. Another reason for their critically endangered status is that once females can reproduce, they will probably only have two children during their lifetime. 

The centre closed over lunchtime at 11 so we then went to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Like orangutans and many other animals, the Bornean sun bear is critically endangered. Sadly, many of these bears have been kept as pets so are too reliant on humans by the time they are taken in by the centre. This means they can’t be rehabilitated and reintroduced back into the wild. That’s the ultimate goal of both centres so it’s very sad when it can’t be achieved. 

The Sun Bear Centre opened in 2008. The Bornean Sun Bear is the world’s smallest bear, and the second most endangered bear behind the panda. Amazingly, they can climb extremely high up trees using their very sharp claws. They, like orangutans, build nests in trees to sleep in. They also have a 25cm long tongue, to make it easy to extract insects and honey. Winnie the Pooh would be a fan!!

It started to pour at this point, but this was a good thing because the bears became more active. We saw many of them climbing trees at this point which was wonderful. We spared a thought for the orangutans at this point though because they hate the rain!!

After a quick lunch at the cafeteria with Sam, we went back to the orangutan centre. We watched a video about orangutans and then headed back into the park. We lucked out this time - we followed an orangutan down the pathway as he led us and other tourists down the path. He kept looking back at us as if playing a game!!

Then we headed to the feeding platform, and this time two orangutans came and ate. It was amazing watching them sit together and eat. They’re so beautiful. I hope through efforts like those at this park their population can grow again. It would be such a shame to lose them forever. 

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel and checked in. It’s a beautiful jungle resort with a lake, a pool and walking trails. Mum and I had a quick swim before heading out to do the canopy walk at the Rainforest Discovery Centre. Here we saw flying squirrels emerge from their little holes and fly (like sugar gliders) from tree to tree. 

We had a yummy dinner and now I’m off to bed. After a big day and hardly any sleep last night I’m exhausted!

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox