Yesterday I shared photos from my day-long trip crashing visiting Rasa Ria Resort near Kota Kinabalu, Borneo.
But the whole reason I’ve come to this resort in the first place is to view orangutans at the nature center. Orangutans are found in only two parts of the world — Sumatra (Indonesia) and Borneo (Malaysia). And within Borneo, there’s only a handful of places to view them; the most popular is Sepilok Sanctuary in Sandakan, a day-long bus ride away where I plan to visit next week. Since I have the opportunity to see them at Rasa Ria, I’m glad to do both.
The resort offers orangutan viewing two times per day — around 10am and 2pm. It’s open to non-guests and costs about $20 USD (slightly cheaper for hotel guests). The experience lasts an hour. The advantage to seeing these creatures here (as opposed to Sepilok Sanctuary) is that there aren’t as many tourists in attendance so there’s less jockeying for position on the platform.
There are currently four orphan orangutans in the Rasa Ria rehabilitation program. They work in conjunction with Sepilok to rehab these youngsters, and once they reach a certain age the orangutans will move over to Sepilok. There’s a distinction between the two — at Rasa Ria, these creatures are sheltered, whereas the older orangutans at Sepilok actually live in the wild and are monitored by staff at daily feedings.
Before we get to the orangutans, I have to share these images of odd Borneo wildlife on display around the rehab center.
A leopard cat…
Who knew that Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors is actually a real thing?!
A Sun Bear and a Mouse Deer… I can’t decide whether these are terrifying or fascinating or a little of both.
I want to cuddle with this Slow Loris.
Before moving to the viewing platform, we watch a video about orangutans and the rehab center.
There are two orangutans at the platform for today’s feeding — a male (Itinban) and a female (Tenten), who are both three years old.
Itinban was found abandoned by his mother at a palm oil plantation in Tawau in the south; he was transferred to Sepilok two years ago and placed in the rehab center at Rasa Ria.
Tenten was rescued in Keningau where she was kept as a pet. Before her first birthday she moved to Sepilok and then Rasa Ria.
After chowing down on fruit they playfully swing from ropes around the platform.
Then monkeys show up and scare the orangutans further into the woods.
The orangutans spread out, climb trees, and explore the woods.
At one point Tenten wanders very close to the viewing platform, under the careful observation of her handler.
She is as playful as a toddler.
This is blurry but I have to share it — she literally rolls down the hill. Adorable.
And a few more photos snapped while Tenten is in close proximity and in a very playful mood:
It is SO special to watch these creatures in action. Now I can’t wait to get to Sepilok and see more.
Rasa Ria Resort kindly sponsored my entrance to the orangutan viewing ($20 USD). Opinions are my own.
