- all available with JUNGLE JAUNTS
The Jewel of Borneo
MALAYSIA
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| travel to malaysian borneo rainforests
orangutans proboscis monkeys - all available with JUNGLE JAUNTS | ||||||||
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The Jewel of Borneo MALAYSIA |
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| Jodi's Jungle Adventures & Jungle Jaunts - Malaysian Travel Specialists - E. 38th Street, New York, NY 212 537 6298 | |||||||||
Straddling
the equator, north
of Sumatra, northwest
of Australia, east
of Singapore and
south of the Philippines,
Borneo is shared
by three countries,
Malaysia, Indonesia
and Brunei. The
Malaysian part
(known as East
Malaysia) is divided
into two states:
Sarawak and Sabah.
Sarawak, where
our tour takes
place, is Malaysia’s largest state. It is
home to amazing diversity in flora and fauna as well as 27 diverse indigenous cultures. Malaysia can lay claim to the world’s oldest rainforests, the world’s
largest flower (the
Rafflesia) which can
open as wide as three
feet! In addition,
world's largest cave
system can be found
at Mulu National Park,
a World Heritage Site.
West Malaysia is found
on the peninsula between
Thailand and Singapore. 
Chinese
and Malay, and
although Malay
is the National
Language, English
is widely spoken.
Malaysians are
known for their
friendliness, even
strangers on the
street will make
you feel welcome.
Representatives
of almost all of
Sarawak’s indigenous
cultures are found
here, some living
very modern cosmopolitan
lifestyles, and
others living in
rural areas in
the longhouse communities
and in the rainforest. 
Additionally
there are the Melanus
from the coastal areas,
the Orang Ulu, (“upriver” people).
Some of the smaller
indigenous cultures
are the Kayan, Kenyah,
Kelabit, Berawan, and
also the 
With
possibly fewer than
8,000 remaining, the
proboscis monkeys are
considered endangered
animals. They forage
for food in coastal
mangrove and swamp
forests. Proboscis
monkeys can be identified
by their huge, pendulous
noses. They are specialized
plant-eaters and appear
pot-bellied due to
a “double chambered” stomach
which helps digest
the seeds, leaves and
green fruits which
comprise their diets.
They are quite organized.
The basic family unit
is comprised of an
adult male with several
females and their offspring.
Young males are kicked
out of the harem groups
at an early age, forming
all-male groups until
reaching maturity,
at which time they
form their own harems.
They are only native to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. The Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation
Centre in Sarawak, and Sepilok in Sabah are the 2 such centers found in Malaysian Borneo. They are populated with
ex-captive orang-utans... i.e. orang-utans that have been taken illegally as pets and eventually confiscated from
their owners. At these centers, they are first kept in isolation until cured of injuries and diseases developed
during captivity. Then they are taught the survival skills they missed out on without their mother’s guidance.
Gradually they are reintroduced to a semi-wild environment, where they roam free in the rainforest, and are free
to come in to a feeding platform twice a day. The female orang-utan only bears one baby at a time and only once
every 6- 8 years. In addition to poaching and habitat destruction, this is one of reasons behind its scarcity.
The baby is totally dependant on its mother for the first 6 years of its life, clinging to her body for much of
this period. The only way a poacher can capture an infant orang-utan is to kill the mother and then remove the
clinging infant. These orphans need to be taught jungle survival skills from their mothers, and when separated like
this they are unable to survive on their own in the wild. They need to be taught everything... from which fruits
they can eat, to how to climb trees. Adult orang-utans are large solitary primates, requiring a huge expanse of rainforest for obtaining their diet, consisting mainly of fruits.