After a day in Kota Kinabalu we caught a bus to Sandakan and visited the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre.
There are about 10,000 orangutan left in the jungle and as more and more jungle gets bulldozed down to plant palm trees for palm oil their habitat is shrinking. The Sepilok Centre has orangutans that have been found by plantation workers. Some were caged as pets and some were babies whose mothers had died.
At the Centre the animals are vaccinated and tattooed. The babies are bottle fed and then taught how to climb and other skills they need to be able to return to the wild again.
Tourists can view the animals that have graduated from the nursery. They are fed at 10am and arrive at the feeding station as the first step to losing their fear of the jungle. As they become more used to the jungle they follow the ropes that take them further and further into the jungle to find seeds and leaves to eat. Some eventually never return to the feeding station.
Occasionally some of the rehabilitated orangutan have returned with their babies for a visit and so the staff at the centre feel it is a sign that their rehabilitation programme is working!
