We are here in Borneo for one reason - and that is orang utangs! However today we are in for another "primate encounter" with the indigenous proboscis monkey - only found on Borneo at the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary. We have seen these amazing creatures at a distance when we were on our Klias river cruise but this is our chance to see them more closely.
Some years ago (1994), while embarking on Oil Palm Plantation development near the mangrove swamps of the present sanctuary, the owner of the site came to know of the proboscis monkeys living there. Fascinated, he learned more about the monkeys and their predicament. Few people in their quest for commercial gain would have paid much attention to the plight of these monkeys in their struggle for survival. However, for this owner, although the 400 plus acres of mangrove forest were initially bought for commercial development, the plan was quickly dropped so that these monkeys could continue to survive there without fear of losing their natural habitat. As the sources of the food for these monkeys had much dwindled, efforts were made to supplement the monkeys’ diet with fruits and water daily to ensure the conservation of these animals. This land continued for the last ten years and today overall groups of these monkeys totaling around 60 comes regularly for their meals to the two special viewing platforms.
The only place in the world where proboscis monkeys occur is the Island of Borneo in South-East Asia. And they are not even found throughout all of Borneo. They are forest-dwellers and limited mainly to coastal swamp forests next to large rivers.
Proboscis monkeys have large prominent noses. They have large, extended bellies, giving them the appearance of being permanently pregnant. The color of upper bodies of the monkeys are generally pale grayish-yellow to reddish brown. The fur on their upper back tends to be darker while the lower section of their body are paler.
Proboscis monkeys have large prominent noses. They have large, extended bellies, giving them the appearance of being permanently pregnant. The color of upper bodies of the monkeys are generally in pale grayish-yellow to reddish brown. The fur on their upper back tends to be darker while the lower section of their body re paler.
Adult males have much larger nose than the female, the monkeys’ nose will swell and turns red when the monkey is excited or angry. Proboscis monkeys are also known as the “Dutchman Monkey”.
We spend an amazing morning watching the monkeys at such a close range and are even treated to a spectacular male proboscis monkey territorial display as one of the largest males thunders onto our viewing platform slapping his hands and feet and making a tremendous noise.
Tiegan is also dive bombed by the resident "tame" hornbill - who apparantly dislikes children and bald men! She is just as unimpressed with him as he appears to be with her!
Our afternoon is spent on another wildlife adventure on the Kinabatangan River.
The longest river in Sabah emerging high in the Crocker Range and travelling 560km down to its mangrove swamp estuary into the Sulu Sea on the East coast of Sabah. It is one of only two known places on Earth where 10 primate species can be found. This includes the Bornean Orang Utan, the Proboscis Monkey, Macaques, Maroon Langur and Bornean Gibbon, most of which are endemic to Borneo.
We are not disappointed, as we get another close up view of Proboscis - only this time they are "in the wild"!
Most spectacularly of all, in the failing light and with only this picture to show for it, our guide points out some movement in the top of the trees above us. This, we can see with the binoculars, is a real life, wild orang utang. Actually - it is a very emotional few minutes as we watch this magnificent creature building himself a nest for the night, so high in the branches, so huge and so amazing. This is a very rare sight and we all feel very lucky as the boat turns towards the jetty passing a hornbill roost on the way.
A final treat was the beautiful sunset over the river just as we reach the end of our trip - what an amazing day!
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