Jungle Trekking

9 days of trekking through the jungle in the sweltering heat trying to count Orangutan nests… That means looking up and not where you are putting your feet. Other danger include snakes, spiders and LEECHES… We didn't see any snakes or spiders and luckily we had James (our ranger) and a bottle of Dettol.

Before I continue I would like to write about leeches.

There are 2 types of leech. Brown leeches - these are pretty boring, looking a bit like a small slug and living on the ground in the mud and puddles. Tiger leeches are slightly bigger and have big claws and teeth with strips on their backs… only joking about the claws and teeth! These guys live under leaves at about waist height, perfect for clinging to your arm and sneaking under your armpits. Both leeches have the same agenda. They head for a moist warm place on your body and then sink in their teeth and suck your blood until they have doubled in size, at which point they fall off. When they bite they use an anesthetic so you don't feel them. This also means that the bite bleeds a lot after they are full. However all being said, it doesn't really hurt but the thought of something sucking your blood from a moist place in your body would make anyone feel uncomfortable.

So while trying to count nests and watch your step on roots and holes, you also have to check those little blood suckers aren't trekking up your trouser leg. There is one thing leeches hate, Dettol! So a bottle of Dettol or a good flicking action is essential.
So did we get leeched??? We all got at least one 'sucking leech'. Both Jo's and mine was just above our belly. Our Friend was unlucky enough to have one fall out her pants… Enough said!

That's enough about leeches anyway…

The first 5 days was a 2km trek in the morning counting nests along different routes around the reserve. The afternoons were free, so we either, went up to the Sun Bear Sanctuary and helped prepare their food and collect leaves for their enclosures, or we helped group in the clinic to exercise the baby Orangutans and train them to climb and build nests.

The last 4 days we were doing the small mammal survey. This involved putting out 30 traps aimed to catch small mammals such as Common Palm Civits and Common Tree Shrews. We would check the traps every morning and every afternoon. If we had anything in a trap then we would weigh it, measure it then release it. This was really good fun as we got to see mammals very close up which usually would be up a tree or running away. We caught 4 different types of mammal - Rat, Squirrel, Civit and Shrew. These surveys are important to the reserve to see how healthy the forest is.

Although I wasn't looking forward to Jungle Trekking, I really enjoyed it and walking in the jungle with only four people means your get more chance to spot the wildlife. We saw Otters, Wild boars and of course wandering Orangutans.

Nest stop Rasa Ria (5 star resort - shame we have to work)