ORPHANED ORANG UTAN RESERVE IN MALAYSIA

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Rasa Ria reserve opens new facilities for wildlife

 

*STORY AND PHOTOS BY RUBEN SARIO*

 

WARM WELCOME: Carolyn (right) and ranger Lyn Malicay are among the first

faces that visitors are likely to encounter.

*F*ROM afar, the forested hill adjacent to the ShangriLa Rasa Ria Resort at

Tuaran, some 30km from the city, looks unremarkable.

 

But for the past nine years, the 25ha area has served as the first and only

privately-run nature reserve in Sabah where 15 orphaned or abandoned orang

utans have been rehabilitated to enable them to return to the wild.

 

The Rasa Ria nature reserve recently charted another milestone with the

opening of its RM1mil nature interpretation centre as well as a veterinary

clinic and a pantry where 'meals' are prepared for some of the area's

residents.

 

CLOSE WATCH: A ranger examining one of the orang utans being

rehabilitated at the Rasa Ria reserve.

And there are a wide variety of them at the nature reserve. Apart from the

six orang utans currently being rehabilitated there, the facility also has a

menagerie of wildlife including bear cats, porcupines and long tailed

macaque monkeys.

 

" There is also some mousedeer, ant eaters, pheasants, slow loris and turtles

here while 60 species of birds and 30 types of butterflies have been spotted

around the reserve, " said coordinator Carolyn Justin.

 

The nature reserve is also home to a number of domesticated animals

including turkeys, ducks, geese and a couple of goats.

 

Visitors can explore the nature reserve and view the various plants there

including the renowned nepenthes or pitcher plant, fig trees and various

types of ferns through the five trails that wind through the area, each

spanning a distance of about 1km to 1.8km.

 

The Nature Trail for example would take trekkers through sightings of

insects, a termite mound, medicinal plants, varieties of palm trees and a

fig tree; while the Bird Watching trail would take visitors to a bird

feeding station as well as the reserve's observation tower.

 

VARIETY OF FAUNA: 'Whistling ducks' frolicking in the pond.

Carolyn said those wanting to visit the reserve should make a reservation

first since only a maximum of 100 visitors are allowed into the area daily.

 

 

She said the daily visiting sessions were at 10am and 2pm and coincided with

the time when the orang utans are fed.

 

The Rasa Ria nature reserve was set up following a memorandum of

understanding signed between the resort and the Sabah Wildlife Depart- ment

in 1996.

 

Under the agreement, the department trained the nature reserve's 13

employees in caring for the animals.

 

" The aim of the nature reserve has always been to enhance the conservation

of the flora and fauna native to Sabah.

 

" The animals transferred to the reserve are often those that have been

abandoned while young or those domesticated by villagers and then rescued by

the Wildlife Depart- ment, " said Rasa Ria general manager Alain Borgers.

 

He said apart from the conservation efforts, the nature reserve had also

provided education experience for students from around the state capital.

 

Borgers said this was important as schools in the west coast of the state

would not likely be able to send their students to the renowned Orang Utan

Rehabilitation Centre at Sepilok in Sandakan.

 

" We are proud to be able to play the role of satellite centre for the

Wildlife Department by welcoming students, " Borgers said in noting that for

this year alone, some 800 students and teachers had visited Rasa Ria nature

reserve.