Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sabah left an indelible impression

LOCATION
The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre was established in 1964 to return orphaned "apes back to the wild. The centre was being administered by the wildlife section of the Forestry Department which in 1988 was upgraded as a department under the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Development. All administration and management was given to the new Wildlife Department of Sabah.

ORANG UTAN
Orang utans emerged from the trees and headed towards the platform. A few young ones trailed behind. The small crowd started taking pictures. The orang utans seemed to enjoy the attention as they posed for the camera.

All the wild monkeys were afraid of the orang utans. As the orang utans came nearer, the monkeys grabbed their food and fled from the platform. The orang utans took their own sweet time to eat the fruits.

The guide explained to us that they gave the orang utans bland food because they wanted to encourage the orang utan to venture deep into the jungle once they have been rehabilitated and become independent. However, during the fruit season, the orang utans eat whatever is in season, otherwise they might get so bored of the usual bananas and sugar cane that they might venture out of the sanctuary and steal food from the neighbouring areas.

HOW TO GO THERE
Daily flights link to Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau from Kota Kinabalu or approximately 6 hours air-conditioned coach and mini bus transfer.

The world’s largest orang utan rehabilitation center is just 40 minutes away from Sandakan Town. To visit, take a taxi or ‘sepilok’ buses from the station near Central Market in Sandakan

Contact Information
For further information about Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, please contact:
Coordinator
Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre
Sabah Wildlife Department
W.D.T. 200, 90000 Sandakan, Sabah, East Malaysia.
Tel: 6089-531180 Fax: 6089-531189