Meeting Jackie

It was rude of us to have interrupted her afternoon snack of durian and rambutan fruit.  We had no idea she was right there; that we would almost trip over her.  We thought she'd be much harder to find.  But she just got up and sauntered away.  We tentatively followed, slowly.  When she finally stopped, she sat down, her back to us.  She held out her long arm, and flipped over her hand, checking her nails.  We waited.  Then she glanced back, deigning to acknowledge us.  After nonchalantly considering us for a few moments she then turned sideways, profiling her prominent chin.

Jackie

Meet Jackie.  Our cab driver, Eddie, had told us about this shaggy-haired primate.  Many people travel to the Sepilok Orang-Utan Sanctuary near Sandakan, in Sabah to see the orang-utans.  Or they visit the Semenggoh Orang-Utan Sanctuary near Kuching, in Sarawak, both a minimum of a 5 hour drive from where we were.  Jackie's presence at Poring Hot Springs is not advertised at all, as she is semi-wild, and there is no way to guarantee a sighting.   It was just Aron and I, the researchers had left after pointing out where we could find her - this is how we literally almost tripped over her.  If Aron had had the camera ready, it would have been an amazing photo.  It was another example of being in an incredible place all by ourselves.  Either the other tourists were completely ignorant of this rare chance or else they simply preferred to spend their time soaking in the sulphuric hot springs.  Doesn't that strike you as bizarre?  Who wants to sit in hot springs when it's well over 30 degrees?  

From what we could gather, Jackie is a 20 year old who was taken in as an orphan by the local researchers. Her environment is partially zoo-like, as there is a fence around 3 of the 4 sides, protecting her from the nearby road.  However it's completely open to the jungle at the back, so Jackie comes and goes as she pleases.  The reliable food source provided by the researchers is definitely one reason she keeps coming back.  She also enjoys human companionship, although she wasn't in a particularly social mood when we visited her.  Sadly, she's the only orang-utan here at Poring Springs; apparently her mate had died some years ago in an accident involving an electrified fence.

It's easy to see why these creatures are called "man of the forest" (from the Malay words, Orang - man, and utan - forest).  Expressive eyes, anthropomorphic movements & gestures, nimble fingers.  Though I must say her long, thick auburn hair covered her body more generously than I had envisioned it would.  There are under 55,000 orang utans left in Borneo, and even less in Sumatra, Indonesia (only 6,600 or so).  Their habitat is being ravaged as the jungle is transformed into palm-oil plantations used for bio-fuel, among other things.

bornean gibbon

I could have sat there all day, just being with Jackie, but it was time to move on.  When we checked in to the tiny zoo at the Tropical Gardens, the fellow at the reception was apologetic; according to him, there wasn't much to see.  And it was true that most of the cages were empty, the area seemed to be under renovations.  We saw some tortoises, and a couple snakes, behind a glass enclosure.  There was also a hulk of a spider, patiently lying in wait for insects to become caught in its web.  However, we persevered & walked the lonely zoo path and were rewarded.  The Bornean gibbon was a curious little guy who had a thing for leaves.  Aron would stick one halfway into the cage, and invariably he'd clamber down to check it out.  We were close enough to see him pursing his lips at us, making kissing noises at us.  Too bad we didn't know what he was saying!