08 APR 09

We're expecting the arrival of a small group from the U.K. at the centre today. There have been a couple of orangutans in close proximity to the buildings in the last few days, so on Monday I followed Phoebe and her tiny daughter Pisang (banana) until they settled down for the night in a comfortable looking nest made either by her the day before or another orangutan, possibly her other daughter Jane who's never far away. I got up after an hour's sleep (possibly too much coffee replacing the tea I've given up for Lent?) at 5am to station myself under her tree in the rain. She was up by six o'clock and I recorded her behaviour as I followed at a respectful distance.

It was a good choice to follow the one with the baby because she wasn't intent on moving particularly quickly. By my breakfast-time Phoebe had already stopped at three different trees for fruits and leaves and I was feeling rather peckish. It was lucky then that she chose to hang around by one of the buildings for four hours, as an SMS to Chloe and Loris (the other Rachel) meant that I gained a banana and peanut butter sandwich delivery service and also some company for the rest of the day. We were close enough to the main buildings to get a take-away lunch too! I would have been able to keep track of her all day, had it not been for the impassable undergrowth she effortlessly swung over later in the afternoon and the uselessness of the dodgy knife from Laos we inherited from Dave. To cut a long story short: we lost them and had to return in the rain feeling quite defeated and orangutan-less. But it's all a matter of perspective... I don't know where the orangs are to show the group when they arrive, but I have spent 13 hours with some beautiful animals in the last couple of days!

(P.S. My blog won't allow me to access it at the field centre - this has gone a long way round to find its way online, so delays are expected!)