Orang-Utan

I suddenly woke up this morning after dreaming about Orang-utans. Beautiful, gentle orang-utans literally monkeying around the enchanting forests of Borneo. This was a pleasant surprise after months of weird, recurring dreams. Has that ever happened to you? I still remember the first time I dreamed EXACTLY the same thing a few nights in a row and I honestly thought it was the effect of having a Psychology degree. Needless to say, people have thought me to be a specimen of the Crazus Eccentriculus but it does happen. I'm still doing some research into it, so look out for my first very intellectual psychology post!

Orang-utans have been on my mind for quite a long time now. It's probably since the day I saw a bunch of tiny toddlers being wheelbarrow-ed around an Orang-utan Sanctuary, all of them trying to push their mates off.  This video ---> isn't the same as what I watched on TV but it's as cute as. Look at them just sitting there!

A couple of months ago, I watched an episode of The Jeff Corwin Experience, where he visits the beautiful country of Indonesia and get up close and personal with the Orangs themselves. I've loved and admired Jeff Corwin since I was a kid , and he's always inspired me to just go out there and do what you can to help the gorgeous creatures of the animal kingdom. I guess that's how my house ended up with my five babies. They're not just animals, or dogs, or pets. They're my family. They've been there with me through everything. No expectations, no judgements. Just pure love. And that's pretty much the connection I have with any animal. It's unconditional. As harsh as this may sound, I don't think people are capable of that kind of unconditional love. Love yes, but unconditional? Quite rare.

Orang-utans are one of the most endangered species in the world as per IUCN status and are currently seen out in the wild only in the dense rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Have a look at the IUCN website. http://www.iucnredlist.org/ There's a classification system of how much in danger or how safe a particular species is. And it is positively shocking to see the pages and pages of Endangered and Critically Endangered species. It's not just a few. It's a few hundred, a few thousand.

I've always had a special love for the Great Apes, and I don't know what it is about these large, orange creatures that make me feel so good, but they do. As ironic and weird as this statement may sound, they seem so much more human than human beings themselves. I'm hoping my dream does come true and I get a chance to wheelbarrow a whole bunch of them around their gorgeous natural habitat in Borneo. That'd be awesome.

P.S: If you get a chance, watch The Jeff Corwin Experience episode of him in Borneo. =) His interaction with Orang-utans is truly something else.