A Macaque mother and baby

This section highlights the main primates found in Indonesia, Malaysia (the Malaysian Peninsula, especially Langkawi Island) and Thailand.  These include the orangutan, gibbon, proboscis monkey, macaque monkeys and the langur.

In the world of mammals, the order Primates includes some 235 species of animals, including the obvious ones like humans, gorillas and chimpanzees, but also less known ones like lorises.  As humans we seem to have a fascination with the sub-order of primates known as anthropoids, meaning they are human-like.  These include the great and lesser apes and the monkeys.  Primates that are the least like humans are in the sub-order prosimian.

In Southeast Asia the largest (and therefore sometimes the most exciting) group of primates to see are the monkeys and apes.  In the rainforests of Kalimantan, (Indonesian Borneo) we saw 7 different species!  Macaque monkeys are found throughout Asia and are common in and around religious shrines and roadside parks (where, unfortunately, they are often given hand-outs.)  The Dusky Langur we saw in Langkawi was an unexpected treat as they are somewhat shy.  This page is not attempting to show anywhere near all the primates of SE Asia, but highlights the few that we were able to photograph.

Many of the primates shown here were seen and photographed in Tanjung Puting National Park, Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia.  To get there by boat you sail up the Kumai River to the town of Kumai where you can hire a klotok to take you into the park.  By air, you need to fly from Jakarta (Indonesia's capital) to one of the main towns in Kalimantan such as Banjarmasin or Palangkaraya, then to Pangkalanbun, the airport nearest Kumai and the park.

Getting to Langkawi, Malaysia is easier, either by ferry from the Peninsula or by air from Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok.

For more on other animals (fauna) of SE Asia, both reptiles and mammals, see our Other SE Asia Animals page.  Check our SE Asia Birds page for more on the birds we saw.

While walking around the grounds of the Orangutan sanctuary in southern Borneo we came upon a troop of Gibbons Hylobates agilis who had taken over the a picnic shelter.  And feeling very possessive of it!  Swinging with incredible swiftness and agility, they moved from shelter roof to tree limbs to the ground like flashes of brown, black and white.  Then we saw a female and baby suspended upside down in a nearby tree, so intertwined we couldn't tell which was which!  These distinctively long lesser apes are found only in SW Borneo and are sometimes known as the Black Handed Gibbon.  (Their faces are also black, some with a white fur fringe.)  Their diet consists of fruit, leaves, flowers and insects.  Their very long limbs allow them to brachiate easily through the trees where they spend most of their time, though they do come to ground to feed and play.  The mate for life, are very territorial and live in small family groups.  A large gibbon, either male or female, might stand 75‑90 cm (30‑35 inches) high, with an arm span nearly twice as long. Photos © Amanda Hacking, Tanjung Puting NP, Borneo

Long tailed fem Proboscis Monkey

As we glided through the silent rivers of Borneo in our hired klotok (river boat) we heard deep honking noises coming from the trees above the riverbank.  There, perched on the branches of a huge mangrove tree sat several large red-brown and grey Proboscis monkeys Nasalis larvatus.  What strange looking apes they are!  The males (right) have distinctive long, drooping noses (proboscis means nose) which begins to grow during puberty.  Females (left) have much smaller, and up-turned noses, as do all juveniles.  The young have blue faces and dark fur which turns lighter with age.  These leaf-eating apes are found only on Borneo and a small nearby island.  They have specially adapted digestive systems that allows them to eat huge quantities of mature (i.e. tough!) leaves.  They also eat fungi, insects, and other plant parts such as fruits, seeds and buds.  They live in the mangroves and Nipa palms on the edges of rivers, especially near the coast.  The honking sound comes from the horn-like shape of the male's nose.  Males weigh about 29 kg (64 lbs) and are 75 cm (30 in) tall.  Females are about 10 kg (22 lbs) and 67 cm (26 in) tall. Photos © Amanda Hacking, Tanjung Puting NP, Borneo, Indonesia

Mine is bigger than yours!

What would Asia be without monkeys?  We saw our first troop of Macaques  Macaca spp (right) on the roadside in Lombok.  (Not sure what species they are!)  Our guide, unfortunately, pulled over and handed us bags of peanuts.  We didn't want to insult him by refusing, so against our better judgment we held out the peanuts to the monkeys.  They had obviously been fed a lot, for some were very aggressive.  But it is fun to get close to the animals and watch as they groom, play and nurse.  Photo © Amanda Hacking, Lombok, Indonesia

It was a relief, a month later, to see some Long Tailed Macaques (left, aka Crab-eating Macaque) Macaca fascicularis.  These were wild and protected in Tanjung Puting NP, where no one is allowed to feed them!  The smallest of the macaque family, they are grey-brown, and some mature ones have cheek tufts.  They live in groups of up to 30 individuals and gather by the dozens in trees near the river in the evening.  These macaques do eat invertebrates (including crabs, hence the name), but are also found in cultivated lands raiding crops.  Photo © Amanda Hacking, Tanjung Puting NP, Borneo Indonesia Much of the above information on lesser apes - Gibbons, Long-tailed Macaques and Proboscis Monkeys - comes from a guidebook to Tanjung Punting National Park by BMF Galdikas & G Shapiro

Orangutans are great acrobats

We traveled for 4 days in the southern Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) fulfilling our goal of spending time with the wild and rehabilitated Orangutans Pongo pygmaeus.  Classified as great apes, these large, reddish-brown primates are found only in Borneo and northern Sumatra, Indonesia.  It is illegal to kill, capture or own an orangutan, but poaching continues and the Indonesian authorities often have other priorities.  Many of the animals who live in the heavily forested Tanjung Puting Reserve have been re-taken from captivity or brought in when they were orphaned.  Visitors are allowed to visit the feeding platforms where both wild and ex-captive orangutans are free to come feed on bananas and milk twice a day.  The rangers call them by whistle, and the number of animals that feed varies from day to day and season to season.  The protected rain forest in which they live supports over 200 different tree species that provide the orangutans with fruits, seeds, nuts and shoots.  Orangutans also occasionally eat small animals, including young monkeys.

Samson, a young adult male

Orangutans are generally solitary, females seeking out males when they are ready to mate.  They then spend several days together until the female is pregnant. About 9 months later one baby is born.  The babies stay with their mothers for up to 3 years then go off on their own.  Orangutan males are larger than females (95cm tall and 77 kg vs 78cm tall and 37kg) and have large cheek pouches which give their voices a deep resonant sound.  Orangutans spend most of their time in the trees, making nests in tree tops each night. Occasionally, solitary males will nest on the ground.  When they do come out of the trees, orangutans walk on all fours.

Canadian researcher Biruté Galdikas has been the primary researcher involved with the Borneo orangutans since the early 1970's.  Her autobiography, Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo is an excellent read for those interested in these great apes.  Orangutans are an endangered species, due primarily to illegal poaching and habitat destruction (the rain forest is being burned and cleared for palm old plantations, so we now boycott palm-oil products).  For more information on the orangutans of Indonesia, see Orangutan.org  Photos © Amanda Hacking

On the island of Langkawi, in northern Malaysia, we came upon this elusive and shy Dusky Langur resting on the telephone wires over the road one early evening.  Langurs are members of the family Cercopithecidae, which includes the macaques and probsocis monkeys.  Langurs are long-tailed monkeys that live in troops, in trees.  The Dusky Langur is found on the Malaysian Peninsula.  It has dark hair and a long gray tail.  Its face is dark with characteristic white nose and eye circles. Photo © Amanda Hacking, Langkawi, Malaysia

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