Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (+ Sun Bears) | Sabah, Northern Borneo
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- #orangutan #borneo #sabahmalaysia
Borneo is world famous for orangutans, so whilst I was in Malaysia it made sense to make the trip.
Borneo is split between Malaysian and Indonesian Borneo. This trip was to Sabah in Northern Malaysian Borneo. To be more specific, it was part of a 3 day/2 night trip to Sepilok (near Sandakan) and then to the Bornean jungle.
Sepliok is one of the most visited places in Borneo, primarily because of the orangutans. The main attraction is the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre which has around 40 square kilometres of rainforest (part of the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve) and has been rehabilitating these great apes since 1964.
Link to website: www.orangutan-appeal.org.uk/a...
They rescue orangutans that have often had their habitats destroyed by palm oil plantations, illegal logging and deforestation. It takes many years to teach them to climb, socialise and be ready to be re-wilded, with the centre housing around 60-80 orangutans.
For tourists, it's split into two main areas: the nursery where the young orangutans are looked after and the main feeding area where those orangutans living in the surrounding area come for food. The feeding times are the most popular times as this is the best chance of seeing orangutans and these happen at 10am and 3pm with centre for foreigners costing 30RM (about $6 USD) with an additional 10RM ($2) charge for cameras.
What was it like?
It was amazing to see orangutans in their environment, even in the nursery which was arguably less natural. They're obviously quite used to humans though also seemingly don't seem to care that we're there! It was also really interesting to see the young orangutans and how they integrated into the group (with some really struggling - like the one in the thumbnail!).
One thing to note is that if you're looking for wild orangutans, this isn't quite it. This place is really popular so it's quite crowded, if you want completely wild orangutans you have to venture into the jungle like we did afterwards.
Would I fly a long way to visit just the rehabilitation centre? As cool as it was, probably not. It was great to visit and see what they are doing, but it also felt a little too convenient. The orangutans are 'free', but they come back for the food. Having said that, if you're going to Malaysian Borneo you're unlikely just going for the centre and it will be part of a larger trip.
Whilst you are there you can also visit the Bornean Sun Bear Conservatory. Honestly, I didn't really know what Sun Bears were and they weren't free to roam the rainforest. It's a nice bonus to see them though.
0:00 - Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Borneo
1:10 - Baby Orangutan with Mother
2:37 - Orangutan feeding in Sabah, Borneo
4:03 - Red Giant Flying Squirrels
6:14 - Orangutan Nursery
9:21 - Bornean Orangutans Feeding Time 2
10:13 - Bornean Sun Bear Conservatory
This is an excellent way to save the spices. Buying more and more forest and return their home and people will visit them so both sides are happy and keep the palm oil businesses away.
And they all lived happily ever after …
The babies were so adorable I could watch them all day.
@Mary Abreu - hopefully they did! And yeah, the babies were very cute indeed, especially when they were holding the hands of the carers.
Just got back to US - were lucky enough to see a HUGE Alpha male on the platform during our time - that was an incredible sight...Thank goodness we flew to Sandakan and back, cuz when we found out it would be an 8 hour, each way, almost went home without going to Sepilok, the whole reason we went to Kota Kinabalu, until I realized it's a 40 minute flight.
As for KK - naw, stayed "downtown" and found it to be a lousy city - so been there done that
Do you advise just turning up or did you use a tour guide / tour company?
it must be convenient to have four hands
Мне жалко застенчивого орангутанчика😢😢😢😢😢Он как одиночка, который не может найти единомышленника.
Hi what camera did you use to capture your visit?
@Kel - mostly a GoPro but the zoomed shots are a Sony RX10 IV
Hi! Do you think this place would be ok for a Female Solo Traveler? Also do you think this walking path would be ok for someone with mild mobility issues? Did you hire a specific company to drive you from the airport to this location? Please send any info.! I can not find any answers on other social media outlets about this place. thank you so much.
@Jessica Calvano - it seemed safe enough to me, though there have been some incidents in the eastern parts of Borneo so unfortunately it's not really a call I could make. In terms of the walking path, it would depend on how mild your mobility issue is - the path itself is fine, though I can imagine it being a little slippy if it had rained (nothing too treacherous), it's also pretty flat. In terms of transport from the airport, there's loads of taxis but the place we were staying at had organised transport from the airport to the hotel (which I think is pretty standard).
Let me know if you have any other questions because I appreciate that information can be pretty thin on the ground!
I am sorry, but Sepilok is not so good, as Borneo orangutan foundation Bosh, in this centre, many baby's are sik, and to much People, in Bosh, there is great forrest, where every day, the SURROGAAT MOMS going to school, with the class, class 1and 2 years old , and then abouth 8 years going tonthe wild and not an TOURIST!!!! NOT DON