Camp Leakey Borneo Orangutans by Houseboat
Borneo is the third largest island in the world after Greenland and New Guinea. Borneo covers 746,309 sq km. Indonesian Borneo is known as Kalimantan “River of Diamonds”. It is occupying two-thirds of Borneo land mass, Kalimantan is divided into four provinces : East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan. There are over 30 ethnic groups living in this particular island making it as an island with the highest human social group in the world. The native inhabitants of it is island is the “Dayak” who live in the interior of its island.
Visit Kalimantan to see the beautiful balance between the wildlife, the landscapes and cultures. Experience Dayak cultures, Orangutan and their habitat with us. Orangutans are our closest living relatives sharing 97% of our DNA, Intelligent, puckish and tricky. Come and see the only great red apes found in Asia. They can be found only in the two islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Tanjung Puting National Park is located in the Central West of Kalimantan. It is the last home for Ex-captive and wild orangutans in Borneo. We would be glad to share our knowledge to make your visit with Borneo Eco Tour will be unforgettable memory.
All our tours are based on the principle of responsible travel; protect the environment, respect local cultures, benefit local communities, help and protect borneo orangutans, wildlife and Local Cultures. We are dedicated in helping you to plan your perfect trip as you dream on going. We also can offer you a recommended tour to other island in Indonesia. such as Sumatra, Java, Lombok, Komodo, Sulawesi and of course Bali; the world famous hideout place of Indonesia.
Camp Leakey is situated within the Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. At Camp Leakey the animals are free to come and go as they like – there are no fences here. The food is offered in case the animals need it. Camp Leakey is truly a unique place to see orangutans. It has a vast space for rehabilitated orangutans to wander around alongside wild orangutans in their natural habitat, as they prepare for their integration back into the wild.
Camp Leakey is at a branch of the Sekonyer river in Tanjung Puting National Park and was founded in 1971 by Canadian researcher Biruté M. Galdikas. She named it after the Kenyan anthropologist Louis Leakey, who supported her in her efforts to study orangutans.
In Borneo there are about 54,000 orangutans. The majority of these, about 32,000, belong to the subspecies Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii. The Sumatran orangutan is highly endangered. It is estimated that there are around 13,000 remaining The Tapanuli orangutan with only about 800 individuals is close to extinction. Scientific studies suggest that the strong population decline must have happened recently, because the genetic diversity detected in the Sumatran orangutan is much higher than in the Bornean orangutan.
There are estimates that in about 30 year’s time all rainforests worldwide will be destroyed. As rainforest inhabitants, orangutans are directly affected by this. In Indonesia there are several reasons for deforestation. One of them is the export of tropical timber, as a much sought after material for the production of furniture or wooden floors. A far greater danger comes from the palm oil industry. Over 85% of the palm oil traded worldwide comes from Indonesia. Palm oil is an important raw material for the production of food (margarine, peanut butter, etc.), cosmetics, candles, laundry detergents, and bio fuels. Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of oil palms.