What a life!!
I woke up a little before the gibbons started their song, so I went out to take a video and record the sound!
But, the video is barely a glimpse of the magic, you should really come here to see for yourself!! Kalaweit is always welcoming volunteers, so do check in!
In the bathroom, the spider has moved across the wall somewhat and has a couple of friends with him, one installed behind some bottles, but remains undisturbed, even by me.
6am - The love affair of the century! Tongki and myself!
He hardly wanted to eat, more be sleepy, cute and hold my hand. When he looks you in the eyes, his stare is intense, with such trust, but such hidden sadness too.
The tears well up as I write this two hours later, so you can imagine the wreck I am at feeding time.
It is a wonder he trusts humans at all. I cannot imagine the things he has seem and the family he has lost. The reality is, poachers probably shot his mother and father dead before his young eyes. But the poaching (for pet purposes mainly) isn't always so straight forward. Sometimes the whole family might be killed, so the poachers go find another family.
Up to 10 gibbons can die, just so one person can have a gibbon as a pet.
Of course they are adorable, but we have to let them live their natural lives. However, it is hard to let go when Tongki pulls back on my hand, clearly feeling relaxed and content in my presence.
Then it was time to feed the rest of the gibbons. They are all so different! Thankfully, I was a little more prepared and remembered the aggressive ones!
Chanee came by and talked with us just before lunch. What we were talking about made me realise how me feeding a small cute gibbon was such a tiny deed in the the big picture. There is so much going on in Indonesia. There is a lot of corruption too. It made me realise that I wanted to share my knowledge and support Kalaweit forever. And no, we have Kalaweit in Japan, as well as Australia, Belgium, Germany and of course, France.
We spent the afternoon playing with the Maribu. He is a funny bird, he stares at you with his glassy blue eyes, but he does like to step a little too close for comfort!!
He even cornered me down by the boats before...scary. You don't want him pecking you with that beak!
By now, the only noises to be heard belong to the flies, the geckos and Ayung, the cook's son, who is throwing bits of coconut around!
It is simply amazing to be amongst this and it's Borneo! How lucky am I to be here!!
the peacefulness is suddenly shattered by Ayung jumping on my back, but it's such fun!
After a rather yummy lunch, with crispy fried salmon, I realised I had to cave in and pass out. I woke up (feeling sticky hot!) at 3.30pm! What a great nap, and just in time for Tongki's feeding time.
After a rather yummy lunch, with crispy fried salmon, I realised I had to cave in and pass out. I woke up (feeling sticky hot!) at 3.30pm! What a great nap, and just in time for Tongki's feeding time.4pm - I'm totally going to sponsor him when I get back. It will be amazing to follow his development and growth until his release into the wild, with a partner, where he belongs.It is great that you can adopt gibbons, I totally recommend it!
As we sat around waiting for dinner, it rained a heavy rain. Very quickly, puddles were formed ...again. I tried to imagine the flooding from earlier on in the month and how it would affect everything. At least for the gibbons, as I have said before, they would just go to the top of their cages.
The gibbons that would stay nearer the ground at feeding time, Chanee explained to us, are the ones who would attack if they were released. If they hang from the cages more freely, they will be the ones more likely to adapt to their new surroundings when released.
We also talked about the rainforests here in central Kalimantan. It is here where most of the trees have gone, so there is nothing for animals like the gibbon and the orangutan.
The whole situation is corrupt. Even for the move, Chanee needs to pay extra costs to transport the wooden cages to prove he is not logging, which is silly, as he is running an organisation against all that. It is just a way for people to get extra money.
And then, there is the issue of palm oil and, I am just skirting over the simple points. It goes much deeper than this, with people on the same sides fighting and disagreeing too.
All we can do is help; there is no one simple answer.
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