Friday, March 17, 2006
Last Day in the Outdoor Nursery
It was one of the best days we've had up there - we had plenty of time after working to sit inside The Office and look out at the orangutans climbing, play-fighting or just chilling like Eyos here... 
We were also graced by a visit from a 13 year old mother, Mimi, and her young son Roni. Hope you like the pictures...
Quite a bit of the time we were the attractions inside the human zoo, with several "men of the forest" looking in at us locked inside The Office. After just an hour there I know I'd hate to live in a cage for the rest of my life. So it's good to know that our work here makes a small contribution to help some of these beautiful creatures live free.
On that subject, we had the good news confirmed that seven of the older ones from the Indoor Nursery will be moving to the Outdoor Nursery on Monday. They will stay in the big holding cage there (next to The Office) for a week to help the transition to their new environment. This is done so that they can start to see their new home and also for the existing orangutans to familiarise themselves with them.
So if all goes well, just a few days before the end of our time here, they will then be released into the wild and will be free to live wherever they choose in the Sepilok Reserve. Some will go deep into the forest and probably never return, while others will stay closer and start to use the tourist feeding platform to supplement their food whenever they feel like it. Apparently a release like this hasn't happened for over a year, so once again our group has been very lucky with the timing.
To see that release would be the perfect way to complete our time here. Watch this space...
After that it was exercise time for the toddlers, this time i started off with Eniro who is pretty confident in the branches and loves to swing backwards and forwards testing how much each one will bend. A lot of the time it appears he is mastering his ability to come crashing down onto our unsuspecting heads before swinging back up out of our reach!
We swapped around a bit too, so i made sure i also got time with Reto as well. She had a brief climb (and of course a little squealing session!) but was more interested in being cuddled today and then going to sleep sucking her thumb :-) All say "Aaaah..."
This weekend we will be trekking (or swimming if the rains don't stop soon!) to Sepilok Laut (which means Sepilok by the Sea) and staying overnight. The place we are heading for is owned by the Forestry Department and used mainly as an outpost to keep an eye out for illegal logging operations on the edge of the Sepilok Reserve area.
It's a pretty remote area so don't expect any blog updates for a couple of days until i get back, ok? (Gosh, what will you all do without this daily dose of adventure to brighte your days?!)
The whole group of 11 will be together there (Elle and Becky get back from Rasa Ria tonight) with a couple of the Sepilok Rangers plus some of the local Forestry people. The plan is to have a BBQ, a few glasses of rice wine and then start collecting open and honest feedback about the success (or not) for each area of our work program. Not sure if we'll be under canvas or kipping in the reception area of a building - probably the latter because of the weather...
The days are disappearing so fast now - it's hard to believe there are just 2 and a bit weeks of work left here for us. I'm starting to get a few "what next?" thoughts in my head about future work. I've enjoyed the work here and the beautiful Sabah area so much that when i think of going back to Brighton i'm not too excited by the prospect. Seeing girlfriend, family and friends again back home, a big yes to that of course, but not going back to cold, damp and grubby old England. I feel very relaxed and at home here now in this beautiful place.
Although....
....there is a family holiday to Egypt planned for April...
....and a World Cup coming up this summer....
....and a Panini sticker album to start with the lads....
....and a few Poker nights....
....so that will add some colour for a while!!
Anyway, have a good weekend all.
Talk to you soon...X
We were also graced by a visit from a 13 year old mother, Mimi, and her young son Roni. Hope you like the pictures...
Quite a bit of the time we were the attractions inside the human zoo, with several "men of the forest" looking in at us locked inside The Office. After just an hour there I know I'd hate to live in a cage for the rest of my life. So it's good to know that our work here makes a small contribution to help some of these beautiful creatures live free.On that subject, we had the good news confirmed that seven of the older ones from the Indoor Nursery will be moving to the Outdoor Nursery on Monday. They will stay in the big holding cage there (next to The Office) for a week to help the transition to their new environment. This is done so that they can start to see their new home and also for the existing orangutans to familiarise themselves with them.
So if all goes well, just a few days before the end of our time here, they will then be released into the wild and will be free to live wherever they choose in the Sepilok Reserve. Some will go deep into the forest and probably never return, while others will stay closer and start to use the tourist feeding platform to supplement their food whenever they feel like it. Apparently a release like this hasn't happened for over a year, so once again our group has been very lucky with the timing.
To see that release would be the perfect way to complete our time here. Watch this space...
After that it was exercise time for the toddlers, this time i started off with Eniro who is pretty confident in the branches and loves to swing backwards and forwards testing how much each one will bend. A lot of the time it appears he is mastering his ability to come crashing down onto our unsuspecting heads before swinging back up out of our reach!
We swapped around a bit too, so i made sure i also got time with Reto as well. She had a brief climb (and of course a little squealing session!) but was more interested in being cuddled today and then going to sleep sucking her thumb :-) All say "Aaaah..."This weekend we will be trekking (or swimming if the rains don't stop soon!) to Sepilok Laut (which means Sepilok by the Sea) and staying overnight. The place we are heading for is owned by the Forestry Department and used mainly as an outpost to keep an eye out for illegal logging operations on the edge of the Sepilok Reserve area.
It's a pretty remote area so don't expect any blog updates for a couple of days until i get back, ok? (Gosh, what will you all do without this daily dose of adventure to brighte your days?!)
The whole group of 11 will be together there (Elle and Becky get back from Rasa Ria tonight) with a couple of the Sepilok Rangers plus some of the local Forestry people. The plan is to have a BBQ, a few glasses of rice wine and then start collecting open and honest feedback about the success (or not) for each area of our work program. Not sure if we'll be under canvas or kipping in the reception area of a building - probably the latter because of the weather...
The days are disappearing so fast now - it's hard to believe there are just 2 and a bit weeks of work left here for us. I'm starting to get a few "what next?" thoughts in my head about future work. I've enjoyed the work here and the beautiful Sabah area so much that when i think of going back to Brighton i'm not too excited by the prospect. Seeing girlfriend, family and friends again back home, a big yes to that of course, but not going back to cold, damp and grubby old England. I feel very relaxed and at home here now in this beautiful place.
Although....
....there is a family holiday to Egypt planned for April...
....and a World Cup coming up this summer....
....and a Panini sticker album to start with the lads....
....and a few Poker nights....
....so that will add some colour for a while!!
Anyway, have a good weekend all.
Talk to you soon...X
// posted by storri @ 3:23 pm 
