Wild orangutans - An adult female and her baby!

For the past few days I have been exploring Bukit Lawang which is located about 60 miles from Medan, the largest city in Indonesia's Northern island of Sumatra.  Bukit Lawang literally means "door to the hills".   Bukit Lawang, also called an orangutan sanctuary, lies within the Gunung Leuser National Park.  The Gunung Leuser National Park is considered to be one of the two remaining habitats for the Sumatran orangutan.

Female orangutan and her baby in Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra (Indonesia)

I was very lucky to be led by a park guide into the rainforest on a mission to find an orangutan.  To our delight we spotted a female orangutan with her one baby only about ten feet from us.  The orangutans stayed in the treetops above our heads for about ten minutes while my guide directed me on the trail as I could not take my eyes off the orangs!

My mission to see a wild orangutan is accomplished!  While thinking about my journey to Malaysia I was hopeful that I would be able to see a wild orangutan but knew it was unlikely.  Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered and their population is estimated at less than 8,000 in the wild.  Thanks to some amazing guides, I was able to make my dreams become a reality.  It was an incredible experience and I am so happy I was able to snap a picture to share with everyone.  I tried to take a video but there was a lot of mud making it very slippery and it was not helping that I was crying and shaking in sheer excitement of witnessing wild orangutans.  I am still in awe from my experience!

One of the rangers from Bukit Lawang (a small village in north Sumatra) said to me, "You are a very lucky person because you have spirit."  This experience will stay in my memory forever and inspire my work in the future.

Wild Sumatran orangutans!

As you can imagine hiking through the rainforest for about four hours was exhausting.  I took a shower at the river and now my legs and knees are ready for some rest!

Antonia