Malaysian Borneo – Visiting the Proboscis Monkeys
After seeing the orangutans, which was pretty amazing, Amanda and I went to the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary. Proboscis monkeys are endangered, mostly due to deforestation that destroys their natural habitat. They are found only on the island of Borneo, and this sanctuary was built in an effort to help protect the monkeys. The entrance fee was RM60 (about US$20). There are two different viewing platforms, each with two different feeding times, so you should be able to see two feedings within a few hours.
Before this trip, I’m not sure if I even heard of this type of monkey, so I was more interested in seeing the orangutans. However, the proboscis monkeys turned out to be very interesting and entertaining to watch. Maybe because there were so many of them compare to only about seven orangutans that we saw, maybe it was because they looked so human-like, maybe it was just the goofy large noses of the males, but this was the highlight of my day. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the proboscis monkeys.
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November 27, 2011 @ 6:17 PM
What a hilarious monkey face 😀
November 27, 2011 @ 9:15 PM
Thanks Chris!
November 27, 2011 @ 6:19 PM
This made LOL… oh you got some good shots. Love the face the jealous one is making.
November 27, 2011 @ 9:15 PM
Thanks Jaime!
November 28, 2011 @ 1:03 AM
I love that you selected the most tame of the amorous shots. 😉
November 28, 2011 @ 11:01 AM
Hmm…didn’t realize I did. There were so many shots that were blocked by plants or there was so much *ahem* movement that the picture was too blurry.
November 28, 2011 @ 3:05 PM
OMG these are the cutest monkeys I’ve ever seen!!!
November 28, 2011 @ 3:29 PM
Thanks Andi!
November 29, 2011 @ 3:10 AM
LOVE the “jealous” monkey face! This looks like an awesome experience. It doesn’t matter how many times I see photos of these monkeys, though – they’re still so strange looking!
November 29, 2011 @ 9:44 AM
OMG yes, so strange! I had so much fun here!
November 29, 2011 @ 5:54 AM
This is the first time I have seen pictures of Proboscis Monkeys. My first reaction is one of shared humanity in the sense that they are so human like in appearance and mannerisms.
I read somewhere in the last couple of months thanks to one of my Buddhist contacts that zoo keepers somewhere taught a monkey how to meditate and it makes me wonder how much of these beautiful creatures we don’t know about such as their true level of intelligence for one.
But instead what we humans try to do is act out of our greed and desire for cheap goods and services and high and higher profits and dividends either knowingly or unknowingly sanctioning the deaths of innocent creatures through the loss of their habitats.
It makes me wonder how many animals have to be endangered before to the point of having only captive populations before we realize that we are the problem that these animals face but we are also the solution as well.
November 29, 2011 @ 11:00 AM
It is sad when any species goes extinct, especially since so often now it is because of humans. I really hope places like this can help maintain the habitat and help keep these animals alive. Though they are in a sanctuary and not completely in the wild, this sanctuary was built instead of a palm oil plantation, and for the most part leaves the monkeys to themselves. Thanks for the comment, Matthew.
November 29, 2011 @ 7:28 AM
I love the faces of monkeys – they are so much like us! I really don’t put them in the “animal” category. I think they are too smart for that.
November 29, 2011 @ 11:03 AM
The fact that they look so human-like made it even weirder when the one monkey started doing the other. All I could think was “inappropriate!” And then of course, laugh and take pictures 🙂
November 29, 2011 @ 10:00 AM
Great shots, Ali! These monkeys are probably one of the strangest (and most unique) animals I have ever seen. And I think you captured their strangeness (and uniqueness!) perfectly!
November 29, 2011 @ 11:03 AM
Thank you Sarah!
November 29, 2011 @ 3:05 PM
Awww, they’re so cute! I’ve always loved monkeys but I’ve never even considered going to Borneo (yet). Thanks for letting me see what I’ve missed. 🙂
November 29, 2011 @ 3:37 PM
Thanks Sabina! It was never high on my list either until I started planning this trip and suddenly it was on my radar.
November 30, 2011 @ 5:23 AM
The two photos with captions made me LOL! =) Gerard loves monkeys! Let’s hope we can visit Borneo on our upcoming trip. Great photos!
November 30, 2011 @ 11:10 AM
Thanks Kieu! Borneo was really great, I hope you can make it there too!
December 1, 2011 @ 1:29 AM
adorable! Their noses are so cute!
December 1, 2011 @ 10:39 AM
Thanks Jade!
December 2, 2011 @ 6:15 AM
they have really weird monkey faces
December 3, 2011 @ 7:47 AM
Ha! Weird but funny!