Young Orangutan gallery from Borneo

Hi and welcome. During our time in Borneo we went to see the young orang utans at the Shangri La Rasa Ria resort in Kota Kinabalu. A Rehabilitation Programme was initiated by the resort in support to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center of the Sabah Wildlife Department. To date, a total of 32 Orangutans have successfully passed the first stage of the rehabilitation process and subsequently returned to Sepilok for the second stage and final rehabilitation and have been subsequently released to the wild.

Fabulous creatures. It was a highlight of our holiday. Here is my gallery of "the children of the forest". The last nine photos are of the baby.




" I do not have hairy armpits like you!"

















"Bet you can't do this with your legs!"






















"You can only find me hanging out
in my natural habitat in Borneo and
Sumatra"
















"Tarzan was never as good as us!"

















"I eat fruit and leaves gathered from rain forest
trees. Sometimes I eat eat bark, insects and,
on rare occasions, meat"
















" You humans are great apes like us. You share
94.6% of your genetic make up with us"






















"That is why we are called
orangutans. It is Malay for
'person of the forest'






















"Hang on a sec, just need to stretch
the legs"
















"We travel, eat and sleep in the forest canopy
and spend 95% of our time in the trees"






















"Hmm! Where's that branch?"














"Studies have shown that we probably diverged
from the human lineage between approximately 12
and 15 million years ago"






















"If I had a Mum she would be with
me now teaching me all I need to
know. My Dad is somewhere but
he's not very good at childcare"






















"I can use my hands like my feet
and my feet like my hands which
makes me super agile"






















"I also know which branches will
hold my weight and which won't"
















"It's very rare but we do fall sometimes"
















"We can basically do anything: hang from branches
or stand on top of them with our limbs in any direction
and each limb can be doing something completely
different to the others"
















"If I wanted I could scratch my ear with my foot!"



















"We are the only red apes and in the sun we
positively glow!"



















"Ablaze in the trees"



















"I am the wild, hairy girl from Borneo!"















"These trees are perfectly positioned for a good
stretch"






















"Now for a good old think"






















"Hello. My name is Ten Ten and I am 1 year old"






















"I was taken away from my mummy to be
someone's pet. I miss her so much and I
am very angry with the human who took
me away"




















"She would have stayed with me for 10 years
and taught me everything I need to know"






















"But this ranger is very kind, only he
isn't very hairy!"





















"They say there are only about 7,000 of us left in
the wild"



















"We are in danger of extinction mostly because
of logging, conversion of our forests into palm
oil plantations and timber estates, mining
and clearing forests for settlements in Borneo
and Sumatra"





















"You humans are very selfish neighbours"





















"But there are lots of humans who help us"






















"Please come and see me. You'll have
to pay but your money will help run this
sanctuary"

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Maylasian Borneo

Welcome to my blog. Two weeks ago we went to Kota Kinabalu (KK) for a break. It was very relaxing. I will post 4 separate issues.

1 The City (this issue)
2 Tunku Abdul Raman Marine Park
3 The Orang Utans
4 The Market

These first three photos were taken early in the morning, from our hotel room, which faced the sea. I miss that view now! In the first photo to the left as we were looking out to sea, you can see some of the islands of the marine park. The smallest one is Mamutik. You are looking out at the South China Sea
















This one, looking to the right, shows Gaya Island
and the fishing village
















And this is looking straight ahead. It was
fascinating to watch the constant traffic of
small and larger boats moving across our view.
The smaller boats have powerful outboard
engines and ferry people out to and back
from the islands of the marine park






















Next to the hotel on the waterfront
is a roundabout with this swordfish.
I apologise for cutting off the tip of
his nose! I was trying hard to avoid
cars appearing in the photo, but as
you can see, not completely successfully






















Now for a walk. We saw a marquee
with local handicrafts. Here's Daniela
practising her musical skills with expert
supervision
















Boat builder. All boats in dry dock
















A street with some of the official government
buildings. Kota Kinabalu, formerly Jesselton,
is the capital of Sabah state in Malaysia. The
city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo
facing the South China Sea
















This is the City Hall
















A mosque






















Does anyone know the significance,
if any, of the different hats? Do
leave a comment if you do






















Jesselton Hotel. Jesselton was razed
by the retreating British early in World
War II to prevent it from falling into
the hands of the Japanese. It was finished
off by the Allied bombing at the end of
the war and there were only 3 buildings left
standing
















One of the buildings is this one in Jalang Gaya,
our favourite street. It housed the Post Office
for a long time. Now it is the home of the
Tourism Board
















Singer sewing machines are very popular.
You can see people repairing and making clothes
in the streets and shops






















Atkinson Clock Tower.
Also one of the three original
buildings that survived the war.
It was built in memory of the first
district officer of Jesselton, Francis
George Atkinson. He died of
"Borneo Fever" in 1902 at the
age of 28. The clock was originally
lit up at night and acted as a beacon
for shipping

This didn't survive the war! But it has become
a great place for people to express themselves






















A dark message
















Great artist(s)






















A very important message
















Great reflection from the entrance to Metro Jaya,
a brand new shopping centre opposite the
graffiti ruins
















Two little girls. Dig the headgear!
















Some of the buildings are in colour
















Not sure where billiards comes in....but a
fantastic display of pretty round things























Tree sandwiched between the
buildings providing "al fresco"
seating for a cup of tea

















Your "al fresco" seating and teapot!
















Strange place to park....
















No burgers at this BBQ






















Chicken, and chicken, and.....
















Another building in technicolour






















Little one caught in the web
Next time, photos of two islands
in the marine park. Hope to see
you again :)