Back to Kalimantan for lots of orangs

For those of you who don't know, my sister Tirzah loves animals.  So, of course, her husband Bill does too.  We have lots of animals in Indonesia, so we planned their trip so that they could see bunches of them. We started off with the boat trip in Kalimantan, with my favorite ranger and guide, Yusuf.  Hard to believe, but this trip was even better than the first one.  We saw SO MANY orangutans. AND the tail of a nine-foot crocodile, AND proboscis monkeys, AND a gibbon, AND a big monitor lizard, AND a tarantula.

 

Like before, we flew into southern Kalimantan (Borneo).  Then off to the boat and on our way..

 

We got fed lunch on the boats, then off to the first feeding station.. where loads of orangs had their lunch too.

At one of the feeding stations, the male (note cheek flaps) wasn't letting the other orangs come to feed--except for his lady--so the ranger took some bananas and brought them back to a few of the young moms with babies.  I think you'd have a hard time convincing me to go up and take his bananas!!

Here's our crew! Our friends also joined us for this adventure - Pascal (far right), his son Felix next to him, and daughter Diane in pink on the right.  We had a great time together, in both French and English.  See Yusuf the most fabulous guide, far left.  He and his crew did a great job taking care of us.  After our very long and rigorous (not!) hikes to see the orangs, there was Coca Cola and banana beignets waiting for us.   Sugar rush!!

...and here is the lady in her kitchen, who prepared all of the meals for us and the crew. 

Proboscis monkey in the tree.. they have big round bellies (I felt connected to them suddenly, when I learned that), and they all crowd in one tree at sunset to sleep together.  They don't make nests, they just rest on the branches so every once in awhile, in the middle of the night, you hear one come crashing down.. having fallen out of the tree.  Hope there's no crocodile waiting below!

ah, love on vacation....

This is Mario, Eben's best friend.  They are both 7 years old.  Eben spent a long time feeding Mario bananas and oranges.  They touched each other's hands, and Eben saw how Mario had hands and fingernails just like humans.  This experience really touched Eben.  He talks about Mario all the time, and wants to go back and see him.  We talk a lot about what we can do to save the planet so animals like Mario can keep living in the wild.

Just about human.. we're so close to each other.  This mama was holding her week-old baby..

This is Boy. We met him last time.  He likes to join in for the feedings, and is quick enough to take what he wants.  He's careful, too, not to make anyone angry.  Look at how very long his arms are!

This is Tom.  He is the king of this part of the jungle.  He weights 120 kilos (265 pounds).  Suddenly, he just came walking down the same path we had used, looking at everyone in the eyes.. checking us out. It really felt like the king was walking in.  Wow.  The rangers were ready, though, just in case, and had put themselves between him and us.  He came to the feeding station, not to eat, but to find a mate.  Turns out the girl he was looking at was not interested in him, and quickly left.  He followed but apparently didn't find her, because we saw him.. about 500 meters away.. pull down a medium sized tree.  He was mad!  And so he came back to check again, but no luck that day. 

 

A group of school kids came late to the action, so I showed them some of the pictures on my camera.

 

A good way to carry your banana stash..

Flights delayed, as usual, so time for some antics in the airport..

 

After an amazing three days, we got home and got showered.  Ready for the next adventure!