The wild orangutans of Kutai, Borneo
On Borneo’s southern fringe where the murky Sangatta River snakes to the sea, we journey against the flow, riding our tippy wooden canoe upstream and deep into the forest. We bump against the bank at a primitive timber hut and drag our gear to the Kutai National Park rangers’ hut, strapping on hiking boots and hitting the trail minutes later.
A recent sighting has park rangers excited and there’s no time to waste. We hustle behind Pak Supiani, who leads us swiftly off trail, sweating along skinny paths that peter out until we are wading waist deep in vegetation. Supiani’s machete swings through the undergrowth, cutting through the humidity and the noisy chatter of long-tailed macaques and hornbills until this seasoned tracker hears something we don’t.
When we catch up he is pointing towards the treetops. High above, there’s a distant blaze of orange moving silently in and out of view: the world’s largest tree-living mammal, at last! Suddenly she drops daringly towards us, crashing and bashing
