October 2011 Ecotour continued.... The following morning after breakfast we headed to Pondok Tenggui,
another orangutan viewing area about 10-15 kilometers downstream from
our position in the Lakes. We arrived before the morning feeding and
were able to watch numerous orangutans come down from the trees to feed
on bananas and unsweetened reconstituted powdered milk provided by
station staff. This included adult males with cheek pads and mothers and
dependent offspring. Such provisioning has been a tradition for both Camp
Leakey and Pondok Tenggui- it provides sustenance for the orangutans
while providing an opportunity for visitors to watch the red apes at a
closer distance. Even after these many years, I have tremendous respect
for the size and power of an adult male orangutan. I keep my distance
and have little desire to get too close to individuals I do not
know.
We had a informative talk with the station manager before
heading upriver to reach Camp Leakey well before the feeding. We did not
want to be late and miss an opportunity to have my reunion with
Princess. The trip upstream is always magical not matter how many times
I have taken it. The pandanus and riverine trees provide a natural
edge to the river that winds and narrows as we approach the Camp. Along
the way we saw small troops of long-tailed macaques and proboscis
monkeys and the occasional kingfisher and majestic rhinoceros
hornbills.
Once we reached Camp Leakey, we made our way to the
feeding station and asked people we met along the way if they had seen
Princess on the trail or at the station. Everyone we asked either
answered, "who is Princess?" or "we haven't seen her". We kept pressing
on the trail and finally reached the feeding station. There were
numerous people there, foreign visitors and local people and their
families, adults and children.
All were watching the ex-captive
orangutans come down from the trees and climb onto the raised feeding
platform where bananas and milk were being served by Camp staff. Adult
females with clinging offspring, juvenile orangutans and subadult males
came to the station that day. All took what they could and departed for
the forest once more. The provisioned food is meant as a nutritious
supplement for occasionally meager assortment of quality foods normally
found in the forest. It also serves as a way to get the great apes to
congregate for a brief time for the viewing enjoyment of ecotourists.
All of a sudden, someone yells, "Princess is here!" I come racing down
the path and come to a gathering group of tourists near an orangutan
that I clearly recognize as Princess, my orangutan daughter.
I
call for Princess to come towards me and sign for her to sit down, which
she does. I then start asking her questions in sign language and Bahasa
Indonesia, "what this?" "what do you want?" She looks at me, now
slightly older but with a glimmer of recognition, and signs, "Food", One
of the Camp staff has some bananas and allows me to use it for a brief
signing lesson. I also show her my hat and ask her to name it, which
she does. When I ask her "what do you want", she signs "scratch" to the
top of her head. While we do not encourage anyone touching the
orangutans now for health and safety reasons, Princess and I have a
special relationship. She is, after all, my adopted daughter. I honor
her request by scratching her head. I see a gleam in her eyes and know
she enjoys the contact, perhaps also remembering how she felt three
decades ago when we spent so much time together both in the classroom
setting and just as family. She is now a grandmother, an independent
adult no longer in need of my providing her food and comfort, but I
sense she appreciates the attention and brief provisioning.
All
too soon our tour group needs to return to the river, and Princess, as
she has done for many years, takes me by the hand and pulls herself
upward to a bipedal stance to walk along the main trail with the group.
Along the way she stops to take a rest and adjust Putri. Once we get
back to Camp Leakey, Princess starts looking over her shoulder for other
females who might threaten her. She separates from us and heads for the
nearby forest to take refuge. As she enters the brush, she turns to look
at me one more time then disappears into the green.
After contemplating
her departure, our tour group heads to the river for our trip to the
ecolodge. Our time at Camp Leakey is over.
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