Proboscis Monkeys - Borneo

[skfoo]

Proboscis monkeys are good enough reasons to visit Borneo. Borneo is the only place that you could view these beautiful wild creatures in their natural habitat. The same cannot be said of those found in Singapore Zoo. But if anyone were to think that animals in the wild and captive environment are the same, I can only say you have not observed enough.

Words cannot be used to describe how successful this conservation effort has been.

This is an excellent example served to show that human need not drive all other lesser beings to extinction. Give them some space and species of all kinds can co-exist to live in harmony.

Special thanks to the private owners of the palm tree plantation (Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary) for keeping these proboscis monkeys alive so that myself and many others have a chance to view these magnificent primates.

These monkeys made my days at Borneo. Hope to share them with you.

1) Two male proboscis monkeys on a tree.

For me, it was rare (during our one day there) to see two male proboscis monkeys sitting side by side.



2) A young proboscis monkey eating during a feeding session.



3) An alpha male looking over his territory.



4) I have a number of leap shots, but most were in shadow or the pose the the subjects in action are not ideal. I like this particular one most as the distance that the adult female proboscis monkey has to leap over is real and dangerous, with blue sky as the background.




Cheers!

[SniperD]

Shot #02 nailed the series Nice !! how much did you spend for your trip?

[Caussway]

Very nice shots skfoo. The 3rd one looks like trying to get some attention .

Sorry for OT, What do you think abt pigeons, cats and crows in Singapore don't they deserve the space and right to co-exist with us

[skfoo]

Thanks for the comments.

SniperD,

I spent less than $2k for the trip. It includes 3-day stay at Sepilok Nature Resort (next to the Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre), 1-day stay at Turtle Island and two nights at Kota Kinabalu. It’s obvious that the travel agent does not understand what nature photographers looked for. But it’s our first time in Borneo and local travel agent is the nearest help we could get. In my opinion, the 2-night stay at Kota Kinabalu is not necessary and we could have covered more grounds within the same time frame. Some mentioning can be found in the following thread:

http://www.naturephotosociety.org.sg...mID14/553.html

Caussway,

One of the reasons why I am involved in nature photography is because I embraced the miracle of life. Not just life of humans, but life of birds, animals, plants and insects etc. I love nature and all that it encompasses (yes, including human).

My view on the OT topic is that all living things deserved a chance to live. The problems that we encounter today are not the fault of the birds and cats. Birds and cats have simple aims in life. All they asked for are places to find food and shelter and stay alive. Long time ago, there were so much green areas. Now we have less than 5%. What do we expect these birds to do when the areas they used to live are destroyed for urban developments? When food can be found in urban areas, that’s where they will go. On the cats issue, I think a huge part of it has to do with irresponsible cat owners who dumped the cats for various reasons.

Cheers!

[chngpe01]

Nice work

Originally Posted by skfoo But if anyone were to think that animals in the wild and captive environment are the same, I can only say you have not observed enough.

No offense meant my friend, but a monkey is a monkey you cannot change the fact that they are all still monkeys , be it in the zoo or the wild

Of course there are differences in behaviour and way of life etc. Obvious isn't it, zoo very confine space, in the wild, big open space to run and swing to their hearts content. Zoo no need to hunt or good hungery, wild, have to fend for themselves. Zoo monkey tries to escape and drown in the process .... In the wild no need to escape so no drowning kekekeke

[skfoo]

Thanks for the comments my friend. Yes, differences in behaviour and way of life etc are exactly what I meant. In fact, zoos play important roles in educating the general public and promoting nature conservation. Some zoos even take up lead roles to raise endangered species (under captive environment) that otherwise will not survive in the wild!

Jokes aside, the differences as mentioned above are important for nature conservation. We cannot protect what we do not know.

Proboscis monkeys are good swimmers. They have partly webbed back feet, which help them to swim and also walk on mangrove mud without sinking in. Unfortunately, for every successful breeding of proboscis monkeys in captivity, many will die. This adds to the decline in population of proboscis monkeys and that is why they are so rare.

Again, I will repeat that the people at Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary are doing a great job! Without which, the proboscis monkeys will be closer to extinction!

[Garion]

SK,

Thanks for sharing with us this excellent series as well as your insights on the Proboscis Monkeys of Borneo. It has definitely been a fruitful trip for you and the McDonalds. Agree with your viewpoints, especially abt nature conservation in Sg; its sad but here, nature conservation efforts sadly lag behind those of our neighbouring countries. Much of the natural habitats of our indigenous wildlife species has been destroyed to make way for urbanization. The remaining few tiny pockets (save for the Central Catchment areas) will soon be lost too, as most of them have been earmarked for redevelopment by the govt. So, we have to enjoy what little wildlife we have left and thru our photographs, generate greater public awareness that there are still wild flora and fauna thriving in Sg, and hopefully create a bigger drive to conserve more of this areas.

P.S I applaud the efforts by the Zoo, Birdpark etc. to bring the issues of nature and wildlife conservation out to a wider audience thru their exhibits, adoption programmes etc. However, most ppl do not know/are not aware of indigenous wildlife species existing in Sg, most of them have the common misconception that the only substantial wildlife in Sg is the one existing in the Zoo.

[chngpe01]

Originally Posted by Garion SK, Thanks for sharing with us this excellent series as well as your insights on the Proboscis Monkeys of Borneo. It has definitely been a fruitful trip for you and the McDonalds. Agree with your viewpoints, especially abt nature conservation in Sg; its sad but here, nature conservation efforts sadly lag behind those of our neighbouring countries. Much of the natural habitats of our indigenous wildlife species has been destroyed to make way for urbanization. The remaining few tiny pockets (save for the Central Catchment areas) will soon be lost too, as most of them have been earmarked for redevelopment by the govt. So, we have to enjoy what little wildlife we have left and thru our photographs, generate greater public awareness that there are still wild flora and fauna thriving in Sg, and hopefully create a bigger drive to conserve more of this areas. P.S I applaud the efforts by the Zoo, Birdpark etc. to bring the issues of nature and wildlife conservation out to a wider audience thru their exhibits, adoption programmes etc. However, most ppl do not know/are not aware of indigenous wildlife species existing in Sg, most of them have the common misconception that the only substantial wildlife in Sg is the one existing in the Zoo.

Well said my Sgt friend, but where the f*** were you for the past few outings, overslept again ah! better wake up early and enjoy the wild while they are still around..... hahahaha

[Harlequin]

Originally Posted by chngpe01 Well said my Sgt friend, but where the f*** were you for the past few outings, overslept again ah! better wake up early and enjoy the wild while they are still around..... hahahaha

Well said....i think our Sgt is always busy in the chat room looking for "WildLife" at night in our own ClubSnap Night Safari.

....no wonder during roll-calls he is always missing....