Upon safely landing in Pangkalan Bun, we were immediately shuttled to the city center. Pangkalan Bun is a port city that garners little interest outside of visiting tourists excited to see one of the few places in the world to observe orangutans. For this reason, we were surprised to see the port was completely full. We soon found out that this was the primary port for the recovery of the capsized plane. There were massive recovery ships with mounted cranes and a handful of helicopters with a variety of national flags represented.
Within an hour, we set out into the jungle on our rugged, yet spacious riverboat. Upon entering Tanjung Puting National Park, I felt an immediate sense of calm wash over me, as if I were transported to a place of absolute peace and acquired a heightened awareness of nature. The sights and sounds brought to mind the film Anaconda, obviously excluding the violence and most of the danger.
This shack, perhaps more than anything else, reminded me of that fateful scene from Anaconda where Jennifer Lopez and her team find an abandoned shack symbolically set aside as a final warning not to proceed any further up the river. Don't worry, we didn't listen either.
One of the many real dangers in the jungle we came across was this baby crocodile, which also happened to be the only crocodile we saw during our trip. However, our guides reassured us that crocodiles are ever present and there is a reason why it is incredibly rare to see an orangutan or anyone wading through the water.
On a less serious note, we spotted a number of rare, endangered proboscis monkeys endemic to Borneo. The proboscis monkey is most distinguishable by its pendulous nose, whereby males intimidate rivals and impress females. Humorously, Indonesians call proboscis monkeys monyet belanda or even orang belanda, which means Dutchman or Dutch monkey as Indonesians thought the monkeys had similar large bellies and noses.
Now prepare yourself for an excess of orangutan photos taken over the course of a couple of days in Tanjung Puting National Park...
Tanjung Puting National Park is home to 220 species of bird, 17 species of reptile, and 29 species of mammal, which include sun bears, civets, clouded leopards, barking deer, gibbons, proboscis monkeys, and orangutans among others.
On Borneo there are 5,000 known species of trees compared to just 34 species native to England.
Words do not exist to properly express my wonder over the course of these couple days. To hear the great apes howl of freedom is magical, it sparks one of those few moments in your life when you experience an existential calm and reassurance that somehow the world isn't all bad and we as a species will find solutions to even our most challenging problems. Then, you are washed over with the realization that we spend our entire lives searching for these precious moments, moments of absolute peace and contentedness. We would give anything to experience these moments more often, which is why it is vitally important to understand the value of ensuring places and moments like these endure. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard for all life, and guarantee that the serenity of these dwindling escapes remain intact for all generations to come.To accomplish this will require concerted effort, both within Indonesia and abroad. Indonesia provides roughly half the world's supply of palm oil, which overwhelmingly comes from Sumatra and Kalimantan. To meet the world's growing demand, tropical rainforests are being illegally decimated to make room for growing palm oil plantations that use slash and burn techniques to destroy rainforests, while also greatly increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Most don't realize that Indonesia is home to the third largest variety of animal species in the world: trailing only the Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazil. However, it has overtaken Brazil as the fastest forest clearing nation in the world, leading to the disappearance of indigenous tribes and critically endangered tigers, elephants, rhinos, and of course, orangutans.
It may seem like an insignificant gesture, but something as simple as checking food labels could make all the difference as extracted palm oil is used in many everyday products: lipstick, shampoo, ice cream, detergent, chocolate, cookies, biodiesel, soap, and bread. Products marked with an RSPO or Green Palm label are regulated and deemed sustainable, which is why they are endorsed by the WWF. For progress to be made and to ensure the sustainability of the world's remaining treasures, we need to be the change we wish to see in the world.
The final stop on our riverboat trip came at the famed Camp Leakey: established by Dr. Birute Galdikas, a disciple of Louis Leakey who also mentored Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. At 70 years old, she has spent a significant portion of her life dedicated to protecting orangutans. When she initially established the camp, she had spent days wading dangerously through swamp water and untamed jungle looking for a location to do her research.
Orangutan comes from the Malay / Indonesian words "orang" meaning person and "hutan" meaning forest. Hence, the word orangutan means person of the forest. These people of the forest are the most solitary of all the great apes and also happen to spend the most time of any of the great apes in trees. Dominant adult males have distinct wide cheek pads and produce long calls that attract females and intimidate rivals. Younger, or less dominant, males look similar to adult females. Their diet consists of primarily fruit, but also bark, honey, insects, and bird eggs. They can live over 30 years in the wild and are among the most intelligent primates: capable of building fairly sophisticated tools and constructing elaborate nests each night.
Another unexpected surprise was the appearance of one of the neatest animals I've ever encountered, the gibbon. I later found out that gibbons are the fastest and most agile of all tree-dwelling, nonflying mammals. Watching them move effortlessly through the trees only added to my wonder. They also often left me laughing as they would quickly grab a few pieces of fruit and vanish into the trees to cherish their prize. This was incredibly amusing as the orangutans were either aloof or indifferent of the theft, while the gibbon seemed exceedingly satisfied with its subterfuge.
The gibbon waiting for its moment...
Now for more orangutans...
A mother headed to her crying young.
The little guy latching on for protection.
It was an incredible final segment of my trip with my old friend Bryan, and I loved sharing the experience with Rashidah, but eventually it all had to come to an end. Ultimately, Kalimantan was one of the most untouched, magical places in the world I've ever been.
As the reality of our trip coming to a close began to set in, the experience left me with a powerful desire to continue to advocate for sustainability and raise awareness of these invaluable wildlife experiences. And if I'm being honest, a powerful thought occurred to me as we were leaving the jungle, it briefly left me with an overwhelming sadness that just as quickly turned to fleeting anger: how is money worth more than anything I just experienced?
Although it is devastating to know that massive portions of this untamed jungle are regularly destroyed for illegal logging or palm oil extraction, I have to live with the solace that if you've read this far, you too are committed to making a difference.
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.
