-
Ethical Malaysian Wildlife: Visiting Turtle Island Borneo
I rolled my pen across the wooden linoleum, sliding it back and forth over the table top as I glanced over towards the clock. Everyone busied themselves with small talk, knitting, or writing as we patiently waited in the cafeteria after dinner for a ranger to run into the room alerting us of a turtle laying her eggs. Female Green or Hawksbill turtles can come up to lay at any time so the wait in the dining hall could be anywhere from right after dinner to twiddling our thumbs well into the night. Turtles will only lay eggs in the evening and can be choosey about the conditions of where…
-
Monkey Business: Borneo and a day with the Orangutans
Borneo The region evokes images of sprawling jungle, dark forests with murky rivers running through them, exotic animals lurking in tall, towering trees.  I’ve always envisioned it to be a mysterious place full of wildlife and dense uninhabited rain forests, a place where you could explore the unknown. Borneo is about the size of Texas, and is comprised of three countries, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei and houses some of the world’s oldest rain forests.  This small island makes up about 1% of earth’s land but the tropical paradise is home to over 6% of all the world’s species making it a region with incredible biodiversity.  Here’s a couple of facts that…
-
Elephant Nature Park: Pachyderm Paradise
She gracefully swings her trunk over along the thick, gray, wrinkled ear of another elephant. Â They stand next to each other in the field, tapping gently with their trunks, communicating through noises they send through their long noses. Â The elephant is talking to her friend in a way she can understand since she is unable to see. Â They lightly trumpet to one another, the calls are low pitched squeaks. Â Our group stands and quietly watches them as they chat over their lunch, like a couple of ladies at a cafe for brunch. Â It is such a treat to see elephant behaviors in a space that is more like their natural…
