No trip to Indonesia or Malaysia would be complete for an animal-lover without going out into the jungle to try and see orangutans in the wild. While a day in the jungle can’t guarantee a sighting, local teams will have good odds of finding the primates.
While the world used to be a great place for orangutans to live, but deforestation means their population has plummeted, and only 2% of what remains is protected.
Fortunately, there are still a few places to go to see these creatures, but one of the best is the Danum Valley in Malaysia, which is part of a rainforest reserve, so an ideal location for the primates to live. Recent research puts the number of orangutans in this region at about 500, and at least 17 live right by the Borneo Rainforest Lodge.
The best time to see orangutans is in April and May because that’s when there is the most abundant amount of ripe fruit in Borneo. Orangutans diets are largely made up of fruit, so you can take a pretty good guess about where they’ll be during these months, as they eat as much fruit as possible to put on as much weight as they can in case they can’t find food in later months. An added bonus of going in the spring is that you may also get to see a baby!
Orangutans have a very relaxed lifestyle, feasting in the morning and afternoon, and spending the rest of their time sleeping in nests high up in the treetops. While you’re in the area, why not go on safari or swim by the coral reefs and tick a couple of other boxes on your bucket list?
To find more great animal and travel bucket list ideas, or to start your bucket list, go to Buckil.com, or download the Buckil app, available on iOS and Android, to compile your bucket list and start planning how to tick those boxes!
