The Endangered Sumatran Orangutans Spotted In Jungle Trekking

in #amazingnature5 years ago

Sumatran Orangutan-The Primadona Critically Endangered

What Is Orangutan?

Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo Abelii) and Borneo Orangutan (Pongo Pygmaeus), are a large red-haired primate who lives in a humid rain forest area. The Orangutans can move easily hanging from tree to tree and also walking on the ground. They eat fruits and plants only, but their body strength is amazing, if they hug you, the power equal to 3 times human adult, you don't want make them angry then, that's what the local ranger said to me in The Leuser Mountain National Park, Bukit Lawang Village, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia.


Click on image to view full screen

Where They Live?

Except the Zoo, In this world you can only see The Orangutans in their real habitat only in 2 countries, which is Indonesia and Malaysia in the tropical South East Asia. Both are rightly in the equator line, with moist and fertile tropical rain forests. And this article is written based on my own experiences during my jungle trekking in Indonesia my motherland. The trekking was in a group with the students who did their study tour and we guided by the local ranger, the jungle chef and the raftingman who we deal with.

Is it Possible To See The Orangutans Directly For Real?

Yes of course, we can see them by visiting certain jungle like in Leuser Mountain National Park in North Sumatra, in Kutacane Aceh Province, also in Tanjung Puting- Borneo. Their awesome habits amazed us and how they really almost looks similar to human, like in how their eyes gaze when look in something, how they protect their baby. Based on what i saw, The female Orangutans will never let their baby go away more than 10 metre. They are a very proctective mother.

The Orangutans are solitary animal, meaning they live alone in they nest in a certain area, although that's a wide jungle area where we can see many of them found. Like in Gunung Leuser National Park in Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra, these Orangutans live alone, some live together with their children. They have their respective territories. Their nest are on a tree with dry leaves that are thick and soft enough to form almost like a mattress. It's quite interesting how they can make their own bed.


Click on image to view full screen

Is It Safe To See The Orangutans?

Of course it's not safe if you will go visit this creature alone. Highly recommended, you go with an experienced ranger or jungle guide. You can try to find a good and trusted licensed jungle guide. As I found in North Sumatra-Bukit Lawang, they are hereditary experience from their families, they are also licensed under HPI (Himpunan Pramuwisata Indonesian) a guides organization where the give the young rangers a professional training series like how the survival things, the flora fauna knowledge, learn about the jungle map and trails branches, read nature time and the weather, also learning foreign language, until they passed the exams whilst in the forest and they certified.

These guides are responsible for bringing their guests in the appropriate rhythm whether their guests are young and full of energy or oldman who are easily exhausted, whether it is a long track that takes days or is it just a simple chicken track. They can provide a menu of food in the forest that fits your body whether you are a meat eater or vegetarian, a must item they serve is tropical fruits. With things like this, it feels like trekking in the forest is much unforgetable!


Click on image to view full screen

Are they Good?

The orangutans I have seen in Gunung Leuser National Park in Bukit Lawang village divided into 2 kind: Semi wild and wild. The semi wild is an orangutan that has been treated goodly and quarantined in sanctuary to be released back into its natural habitat. They usually have been named like Sandra, Jacky, Mina and many others. They are used to see humans, so they are mostly like remain in their place when they are hanging in the trees and we can watch looking up there.

This type of semiwild has its own power teritory. Like Mina, a female who is quite aggressive, she controls the orchid hill. This hill area on the left and right side is a danger slope and the jungle trekkers need to be careful when step down and that is one of the paths in the jungle trekking everyone have to passed. Rangers are always be careful to look at the signs, if Mina is on the hilltop or in the slop track area, we will for some minutes, because slope area is a fast way for the orangutan to chase humans very easily.

Another kind, the wild orangutans. They are shy when they see humans, mostly they will go away if they detect human present near them. I have seen them once but they can only be seen for a while and go away.


Click on image to view full screen

The jungle officer check and write the daily routine report in the morning at the jungle

Orangutans Chasing Humans?

Yes if you meet an aggressive one and if you bring their favourit food or fruit in your bag. Their smells radar is so sharp, and can detect you from far away. If whilst you are trekking and hear the sound of tree trunks moving and keep following you, the rangers will make sure and ask, did you bring something food or fruit in your bag? Detected!


Click on image to view full screen

How can you find them in a large forest?

We can detect them in several ways:

1. Walk in the forest where they usually are appears. Don't go alone. Unless you're a trained ranger. Highly recomended go in guided.

2. Activate your eyes sonar Look always at the top of the tree if you see moving leaves or tree trunks without any wind, then make sure again is that red-haired primate hanging up there? Because they have there also black gibbons, honey bear, long tail macaque, that often near the trees.

3. Maximize your sense of hearing. Open your ears wide, enjoy the jungle sound, the calling of orangutans, the gibbons, the birds singing, the waterfall ...that's the best part.

4. Activate maximum your sense of smell. Oh orangutans never go to bath. So they are very fragrant, very distinctive body, and you will be very easy to recognize it from a distance though.

5. Beware. Orangutans are animal that have an unpredictable instinct.

What should I Do When Spotted Orangutans?


Click on image to view full screen

1. Smile and keep calm and keep your distance at least 10 meters away.

2. Make yourself comfortable and make the orangutan feels it as well. Don't make him feel threatened, like surrounding him too close and too crowded.

3. Don't feed him. You can make them sick and kill them with the wrong food. Their food is fruits that grow naturally in their habitat.

4. He is not a doll. Don't approach him to hug him. The bacteria that we transferred to them can make orangutans sick.

5. Tourism Responsible. Even though they are adorable, they are animals that have instincts that cannot be predicted. There was a case where my friend stood close to Jacky Orangutan, so she was hugged for a long time by Jacky, and it was either fun or make your heart beating hardly because the orangutans strength could just make my friend killed, fortunately the situation is under control and the ranger act quickly and made Jacky to pulled away his arms.


Click on image to view full screen

This is also my entry for the #amazingnature contest that hosted by @adalger. This amazing animals closely 96% similar to human DNA. And this critically endangered gems need to be protected.

How about you, have you see them in real? Seeing the orangutans is like seeing a beautiful creature from other planet phenomena. I see them many times and it was pretty fun. If you have any question about this article, let me know and leave your comment here below. Thanks so much for reading this. Hope this article help the travelers.

THANK YOU FOR READING MY POST. HOPEFULLY YOU LIKE IT. Pictures taken in Aceh Province, Indonesia with Xiaomi Android Redmi 3 Pro.

KEEP FOLLOWING ME @KHEYS

Sort:  

This is an amazing and super informative post .. you did an excellent job there and the pictures a great ^^ thank you for sharing that with us .. I really hope that we could photect that beautiful species an the the whole area. It would be a shame otherwise !

@adalger thanks so much! yes agree as you said, we have so much amazing species need to protect on this planet, and your amazingnature contest actually that give me idea to looking in my photo folders and write this article!

pixresteemer_incognito_angel_mini.png
Congratz, your post has been resteemed and, who knows, will maybe appear in the next edition of the #dailyspotlights (Click on my face if you want to know more about me...)
Check the rules of the Daily Spotlights if you want to nominate someone!
Pixresteemer is also listed as promoter on The Steemians Directory

Thanks so much always @pixresteemer :D

Thanks for using eSteem!
Your post has been voted as a part of eSteem encouragement program. Keep up the good work! Install Android, iOS Mobile app or Windows, Mac, Linux Surfer app, if you haven't already!
Learn more: https://esteem.app
Join our discord: https://discord.gg/8eHupPq

Thanks esteemapp for notif me!

Congratulations @kheys! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

You published more than 40 posts. Your next target is to reach 50 posts.

You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

To support your work, I also upvoted your post!

Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!

Thats good news, thank you steemitboard for notif me!

What a great post! So much good information and fabulous photos! I'm sure I will never see an orangutan anywhere outside a zoo. How great that you got to see them in the wild!

;D @goat-girlz thanks my friend! Come here to sumatra !

That would be so much fun!

Posted using Partiko Android

:D :D :D let me know

Hi kheys,

This post has been upvoted by the Curie community curation project and associated vote trail as exceptional content (human curated and reviewed). Have a great day :)

Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.

I am so happy! Thank you @curie for upvoted my post and notif me!

It would be my dream to see an orangutan. I didn't know that they are only present in two countries. I hope that there are some rules to protect them. It would be such a pity to lose such a beautiful creature because of our irresponsibility.

Your photos are very nice. I so envy you meeting these animals often :)

Thank you for sharing and have a lovely day!

Thank you for your comment @delishtreats, yes as i know the local government, also non government organizations run some programs regarding to protect the orangutans, includes some percents of the Bukit Lawang-Leuser Mountain National Park's guests permit tickets fund goes to that programs.

Congratulations! Your high-quality travel content was selected by @travelfeed curator @for91days and earned you a partial upvote. We love your hard work and hope to encourage you to continue to publish strong travel-related content.
Thank you for being part of the TravelFeed community!

TravelFeed
Learn more about our travel project by clicking on the banner above and join our community on Discord.

@travelfeed I am so glad my content selected by you. Much appreciated for the partial upvote and the notif you give me! Thank you!

hey dear @kheys,
beautiful post! travelers thank !! I have never seen a live orangutan but I hope I can do it soon! and I hope to see them in their natural environment, like you did. but are only the red-haired oranges or all the species being terminated?
I really would like to see a photo of your friend embraced by Jacky ;-)) was he afraid?
do you live there in sumatra?
congratulations for the curie vote and thank you for sharing with us

Hai @road2horizon thank you for stopping by here, yes you can go and see them it will be so much fun ;D Not only the orangutans that critically endangered there in Sumatran jungle, others are the Sumatran Tiger and Sumatran Elephant that their numbers decreases year by year and put them in the list critically endangered, the possibly way to see them like trekking 4 or 5 more days cause you need to reach deeper in the jungle and go back by tubing rafting along Bahorok River. For seeing the orangutans only is enough for me for 1 or 2 days trek. The wild flora also included on the rare list: the biggest flower in the world Rafflesia Arnoldii, that you can find also in the same jungle in National Park Leuser Mountain, see them in the right time when they are blooming in certain period. Yes, i live here in Sumatra- Aceh Province, next to the North Sumatra Province where this national park are, it's my second home as i studied n lived in that province for many years. I can't captured that quick moment, yes she was afraid but also laughing it was awkward situation, Jacky the orangutan is well known likes to hug people who standing near and never hurt them, but still the ranger have to separated them for the safety reason anyhow ;D Based on my experiences, the ranger would never guaranteed that i will see the wildlife for sure, it was all depend on your lucky, different trekker meet different wildlife. But the orangutans mostly stick to their territory so i could say i always see them every time do the jungle trekking.

thanks for all these detailed information! it's really nice to read about a life and a nature so different from mine !! we intend to travel a long time, so I hope to be able to go over there as soon as possible. in my next life I would love to be a ranger ;-))

You're welcome! I hope all things go with the best for you, and happy traveling, it would be great to read your story!

Great post. Very comprehensive. Very useful details, especailly because they are based on your own experience and observation.
I have seen these creatures only in captivity in some zoos. It would be amazing to see them in their habitats.
Hopefully, countries like yours will keep and reinforce their conservationist practices and make it possible for future generations to enjoy these fabulous creatures.
Thanks for sharing your experience and beautiful country with us.

Hi @hlezama thank you for read my post, yes, the observation based on many times trekking there not only once, because i meet different orangutans every time, with their different caracters, aggressif one, good one, shy one, cool one ;D The interesting fact is, in a territory, we found only 1 male orangutan, the rest is female orangutan-semiwild, so interesting for observe their social life. The local ranger called him Jenggot, meaning Beard as he has long beard like shown on my photo above, he is the big one with fat belly. Yes,I know some organizations that they run some program for saving the orangutan also campaigne, includes the government.

Fascinating. Thanks.
Let's hope lucky Beard keeps their population growing.

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.35
TRX 0.12
JST 0.040
BTC 71539.00
ETH 3603.23
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.75