Five orangutans of various ages rested or swung about in cages. Most had been recovered from villagers. Some munched on bananas -- each is given 18 a day, the caretaker said. One of the apes reached for a visitor's hands, and a female orangutan next to him, apparently jealous, slapped his hand away. Orangutans, whose life expectancy is estimated at about 30 to 40 years, depend on their mothers for their first eight years.
"I felt really sorry to see that little orangutan," Sindang said. "He was like a human baby, crying."
An orangutan awaits transfer to a rehab center in Borneo.
(Ellen Nakashima - The Washington Post)
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Logging has thinned out the fruit trees that orangutans feed on, forcing the creatures to search longer and harder for food.
Bastarin led the team up a park slope laden with durian trees, whose sweet, creamy fruit is prized by villagers, despite its pungent aroma reminiscent of sour sweat. The durian is also an orangutan magnet.
"Any orangutans today?" Bastarin asked an 18-year-old carrying a basket of the spiky-skinned durian.
"I saw one today, taking my durian," the youth replied.
"But you didn't shoot the animal, right?"
"No," he said. "How could I? I don't have a gun."
Bastarin nodded. "If you have any problems, please let me know."
Then Bastarin hiked on, up the slope toward the mist.
Researcher Robert Thomason contributed to this report.
