Borneo's Man of the Forest

What would you do if you meet a 130 kilos heavy weight 'man of the forest'?

 Today around 3.00 pm I joined a group of tourists to observe 'the man of the forest' at a nature reserve some 30 minutes drive from Kuching city where the 'orang utan' ( Pongo pgymaeus) literally to mean ' man of the forest' in Malay are allowed to roam. Some have been brought in ( after being rescued from pouchers or people who keep them as pets) while a lot of them here are born in the nature reserve itself. There are now about 28 of them around the reserve being rehabilitated  before they go freely on their own accord into the real jungle out there.

Visitors are advised to be quiet and remain at a distance. It is meal time at the feeding station and slowly one after another emerged from the jungle. But the star of the today's show is undoubtedly...Ritchie.

Ritchie's biodata looks like this: Full grown male orang utan ,weighs about 130 kilos,1.5 m tall, 28 years of age , wears a beautiful cloak of golden brown, king of the tribe, favourite menu - coconut, bananas, tapioca, sugarcane, papaya ( recipe for healthy living and longevity) , intelligent and not to be messed around with.

The crowd of tourists clicking away to bring home memories of their encounter with Borneo's  'man of the forest'.

A sign at the nature reserve welcoming visitors.( 'Selamat Datang' means WELCOME in Malay). Entrance fees for adults is RM 3 per person.

This is one tourist destination you must not miss if you are happen to be in Kuching,Sarawak,Borneo.