Orang Utans au naturel At Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre

SANDAKAN – Have you ever seen an orang utan in its natural habitat? The initial encounter may scare some but the amusing and sometimes comical antics of the orang utan are bound to tickle the funny bone in you.

Recently a group of journalist who were accompanying Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said on a visit to the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sepilok, Sabah, had the opportunity to get a closer look at the orang utan au naturel.

Opened in 1964, Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre is a primarily jungle covering 4,294 hectares, where more than 300 orang utans are rehabilitated with a view of eventually returning them to the wild.

According to our guide, Mark Louis Benedict, studies conducted by the Sabah Wildlife Department in 2004, with the assistance of several non-govermental organisations, revealed that there were about 13,000 orang utans in Sabah then.

REHABILITATION CENTRE

Since its natural habitat is increasingly being threatened by logging activities, the existence of the centre is crucial in ensuring the survival of this ape species. For here, both the orang utan and its natural habitat are rigorously protected.

Sabah Wildlife Department's Director Laurentius Ambu explained that the centre also rehabilitates orang utans, which were confiscated from owners who kept them as pets, and prepare the animals for their eventual return to the wild.

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