The first time I saw an orangutan in the jungle I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or cry. They are so extraordinary, so perfectly adapted for their lives amongst the tree tops that it is hard to reconcile the animals that I have seen in zoos with the ones we saw in the jungle canopy. They move across the canopy, agile and beautiful. Your heart does funny things when you see them, it skips and swells. Your neck hurts from looking upwards but you can't look down and your face starts to ache from smiling.
I fear for a future where the only way to see these beautiful animals is in zoos – it would be like only ever seeing whales in holding tanks or birds in cages too small for flight. Without the medium of the jungle they are cute pot bellied primates, in the jungle they soar.
Most of the orangutans who live in the forest around Bukit Lawang have suffered because of humans but only two of them openly show their dislike. Mina has bitten countless guides and tourists. Jackie doesn't bite, but occasionally she will leave the canopy and firmly take hold of a passing tourist, refusing to let go until paid with food. Our guides carried back packs with generous banana bribes, just in case. About half way through our day-long trek we stopped on a ridge to watch an orangutan in the canopy below us. As she started moving towards us Ari said, "That's Jackie," and frowned. Because of the fractured jungle light and the thick foliage it was...
I fear for a future where the only way to see these beautiful animals is in zoos – it would be like only ever seeing whales in holding tanks or birds in cages too small for flight. Without the medium of the jungle they are cute pot bellied primates, in the jungle they soar.
Most of the orangutans who live in the forest around Bukit Lawang have suffered because of humans but only two of them openly show their dislike. Mina has bitten countless guides and tourists. Jackie doesn't bite, but occasionally she will leave the canopy and firmly take hold of a passing tourist, refusing to let go until paid with food. Our guides carried back packs with generous banana bribes, just in case. About half way through our day-long trek we stopped on a ridge to watch an orangutan in the canopy below us. As she started moving towards us Ari said, "That's Jackie," and frowned. Because of the fractured jungle light and the thick foliage it was...
...hard to see her, but we could track her progress through the trees which quivered and shook as she passed. Ari said, "I think we should go," so we turned and started climbing yet another impossibly steep hill, hauling ourselves up with branches and tree roots, our shoes slipping in the mud. Ari was behind us. "You should go," he said. "You should go quickly." And so we went, stumbling and scrambling. We stopped at the top when Ari waved that she had stopped and that it was ok. All of us puffing and laughing and sweat running down our faces.
Our trek finished with a hill so steep it felt like a cliff. We slid, half fell and climbed down backwards holding vines for support. When we returned to our guest house, tired out and muddy, we decided that a day when you get chased (but not caught) by an orangutan is a very good day indeed.
PJ
Our trek finished with a hill so steep it felt like a cliff. We slid, half fell and climbed down backwards holding vines for support. When we returned to our guest house, tired out and muddy, we decided that a day when you get chased (but not caught) by an orangutan is a very good day indeed.
PJ
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