AN ENCOUNTER WITH 5 GUARDIANS OF THE KEHJE SEWEN FOREST

It was such a joy to see 5 special orangutans; Mona, Berlian, Hamzah, Leke and Upi, during our patrol last week.

Mona was found feeding on forest fruits up in the tree tops. Seeing us coming close she paused and climbed down and walked towards. We however tried to keep our distance and managed to observe her for a period of two hours from afar.

It was a different story with Berlian and Hamzah. When we spotted them they were feeding and did not seem to be perturbed by our presence. All through the two hours that we observed them, Berlian and Hamzah were enjoying themselves moving around tree branches and eating forest foods like rattan shoots.

They obviously enjoy their natural food and were more focused on moving around the trees than on the team observing them.

It was a happy moment for one of our team to be able to catch a glimpse of Leke during their phenology survey.  Unfortunately, Leke immediately recognized them and disappeared to the other side of the hill.

We had one more surprise in store that day! On our trip back to the camp, we were welcomed by Upi who was eating fruits high up a Meranti tree. Occasionally she would pause to take a closer look at something towards the camp, but we could not figure out what her object of focus was.

The team has also been busy cleaning and maintaining Camp Lesik. The camp site has been thoroughly tidied and the lawn has been mowed; a tidy camp is a comfortable camp after all!