There are currently only about 5000 Sumatran orangutans left in the wild and Bukit Lawang is one of the few places you can see them in their natural setting. In doing so you can help protect them - a few tourist dollars into the local economy provides an added incentive to preserve both orangs and their habitat - and that habitat is facing critical threats.
Throughout their range forest is being cleared for oil palm and rubber plantations. This is widely documented and probably the major threat to the survival of this species and many others. But all is not well at the local level either, and visitors can really help orangutans by insisting on a responsible approach to local tourism.
Too many of the guides are not well trained, and some commit the serious error of offering food to orangutans encountered when on forest treks. This is both irresponsible and dangerous, setting back the rehabilitant orangutans who are learning to become less dependent on human care, and increasing the risk of disease transfer. It doesn’t help the tourists either – one 30 odd year old female orang (“Meena”) has become aggressive and can be a risk to visitors. It is very tempting to touch the orangutans, but you would only be adding to the problem.
Take advice from the Park authorities and people like Samsul (of "Sam's Bungalows"), to recommend good and responsible guides who know and respect the forest and do not put the orangutans in danger. Then you can relax, learn about the forest and leave only the imprints of your boots in the soft forest floor.
You could quite literally throw a stone from the balcony of Sam'sBungalows across the Bohorok river in north Sumatra and it would land in the Gunung Leuser National Park. If you did you might startle a Thomas’s Leaf monkey foraging in the greenery, or disturb a water monitor basking in the sun on riverside rocks. Better than attacking the local fauna would be to sit with a cup of jungle tea and one of Sam's special fruit salads and watch the jungle move.
Sam's Bungalows are ideally situated up the river opposite the Park entrance, a short walk from the orangutan feeding site. There are currently 3 bungalows, all with their own balcony and shower room - beautifully decorated with rounded stones, smoothed by the river, and blending with the surroundings. The soothing sound of a nearby waterfall reminds you that this is rainforest, and you feel at one with nature.
Electricity has not yet reached this far up the river, but a generator provides power daily between the hours of 6pm and midnight. There is also only one temperature for the shower – Fresh! Daily rates range from between 80,000 – 150,000 IDR (£4.50 - £8.50) and the adjacent “Sam’s restaurant” overlooking the river below, is the perfect place to enjoy delicious home cooking from Ifat’s kitchen.
For bookings, contact Sam on: +62 813 7009 3597
I would like to encourage anyone who has stayed at Sam's Bungalows or been to Bukit Lawang to write a review in the form of a comment on this post to advise others who are thinking of travelling to this beautiful part of the world.
Joan Root was passionate about Africa, its diversity of culture and landscape, but most of all, conservation of its astonishing wildlife. Joan was a kind and caring person; she was also a hugely talented film-maker, and along with her husband at the time Alan, made some of the most stunning and exciting documentaries about African wildlife ever produced. Among their various critically-acclaimed films were the likes of “Year of the Wildebeest”, “Balloon Safari over Kilimanjaro”, and the Academy Award nominated “Mysterious Castles of Clay”.
For the past 20 years or so, Joan lived at her home on the shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya. A place of outstanding beauty, her home also acted as a refuge for orphaned animals, which Joan looked after. I remember visiting Joan here many times as a child with my family, and always being amazed by the mini oasis she had created. Gazelles and mongooses roamed carefree on her lawn; she could call up a porcupine from its underground burrow, or a lilac-breasted roller from the sky to her hand. Most memorable for me was meeting a tame aardvark and following it as it rooted around the garden. It was one of my favourite places, imbued with Joan’s peaceful and nurturing spirit.
Joan cared deeply for wildlife and the environment, and it was her innate desire to protect these that could have led to her death. She was campaigning to stop illegal fishing and poaching around the lake. She was shot through her bedroom window with an AK-47 assault rifle.
My 2006 exhibition "Out of Africa" was dedicated to the memory of Joan and her incredible achievements, and Working Title Films are currently producing a film about Joan's life with Julia Roberts portraying her.
Joan’s death was a waste, but the memories of the amazing life she led and all the good she did will never be forgotten. She has been an inspiration to so many people, and will be deeply missed.
I recently donated some limited edition orangutan prints to the Borneo Orangutan Survival UK foundation for their APE event at the Flemings Mayfair in London. The evening was put on to raise awareness for artists producing orangutan themed work, and to raise vital funds needed to ensure that Nyaru Menteng remains open to the continuous flow of displaced orangutans, both orphaned and wild, through the form of an art auction. I’m pleased to say the event was a success, and my personal contributions raised over £400 for the cause.
BOS UK is planning another similar event early next year, so keep checking the website for updates:
On a bursary from the Society of Wildlife Artists I will be heading to Southeast Asia after Christmas to visit the orangutans in Sumatra. My parents began their zoological careers in the forests of Sumatra, setting up conservation programmes for orangutans back in the 1970's. Three decades on, I plan to travel back to this same area of Indonesia and hopefully connect with some of the same people that worked with my parents 30 years ago.
Seeing orangutans in the wild is one of my lifelong ambitions and I'm very excited about the prospect of fulfilling this dream in the New Year. In time I hope to publish a collaborative book with my mother that connects the past and future of these red apes. Watch this space... .
This small project was an idea I had when I visited the beautiful province of Niassa, northern Mozambique, in 2006. My aim was to secure enough funding to produce an initial 50 footballs to be distributed throughout the neighbouring villages of the Niassa reserve, with the intention of expanding the project in the future. Through the help of Fauna & Flora International and generous contributions from private donors, this first stage has been possible, and the balls are now in place. The footballs are produced by a charity called Alive & Kicking and are made strong enough to withstand the harsh conditions of rural Africa. They also carry messages about the dangers of HIV/AIDS and malaria - both very real threats to the people who live in these villages and their children. As well as these educational messages, the footballs are branded with a logo I designed, depicting an African Wild Dog as a flagship species for the reserve.
The future of the people and wilderness in Niassa depends on good cooperation between the reserve management, the communities, and the private concessions around the protected area. This small project will only help to reinforce that cooperation. You can help too by donating a ball:
There are currently only about 5000 Sumatran orangutans left in the wild and Bukit Lawang is one of the few places you can see them in their natural setting. In doing so you can help protect them - a few tourist dollars into the local economy provides an added incentive to preserve both orangs and their habitat - and that habitat is facing critical threats.
