We
had opted to stay for both of the day's feedings at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (good tip - the
entry ticket is for the day, rather than one feeding, so why not?).
In between the feedings we took a trek through the surrounding jungle.
Unfortunately there was only one short route accessible, but it was a
pretty pleasant and easy walk and we were able to take our time and
keep an eye out for wildlife. As is often the case in the jungle, we
could hear plenty of wildlife but couldn't see a great deal. We
heard plenty of woodpeckers in close proximity, but even after
spending a while in a bird-spotting tower, and with the assistance of
Mr Lego Explorer were only able to spot a couple of them.
We
did come across a pretty cool looking bug...
...as
well as a couple of beautiful snakes...
...and
a slightly podgy lizard.
After
our jungle walk we returned to the visitor centre expecting to rest
for a while before the second orangutan feeding. What we weren't
expecting was a private orangutan photoshoot. It turned out that
while we had been exploring the jungle a gorgeous juvenile orangutan had been
exploring the visitor centre. There were just a few other tourists
present to take advantage of the opportunity to see a wild orangutan
in such close proximity. She wasn't the most co-operative of models
because she was too preoccupied with playing and didn't stay still
for very long, but I managed to get a handful of good photos.
The
experience was slightly dampened by the fact that one of the
Sanctuary staff eventually led the orangutan away by the hand. I
would like to think that it had been a completely natural turn of
events that we had been luckily enough to stumble across, however I
suspect that the orangutan was also led to the visitor centre. Even
so, it was still a fantastic, and unexpected, experience that we're
unlikely to ever have again.
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