Like all the guide books suggest, we got to the orangutan rehabilitation center shortly before feeding time. Although in the end it didn't really matter.

This orangutan rehab center actually has some monkeys, honey bears and several birds as well. They're kept in large cages - about 20 foot square and 12 feet high.

The first orangutan we saw hung in the top corner of his cage and just stared at us. He hardly moved but definitely watched us. I talked with him but he didn't change his expression, which conveyed about the same level of interest as a bored person watching whatever's on TV.

Another cage had a couple of monkeys that bounded energetically around the top of the cage, swinging from the bars so swiftly they almost appeared to fly. I don't suppose they do that all day but I guess they knew feeding time was soon.

The next cage had two honey bears. I had never seen these animals before. They look like a cross between a black bear and a chimp, but a little more like a black bear. They walk on all four legs but spend a lot of time standing on the back two. They have long claws and can climb very well. Their fur is a very nice thick, straight, jet black.

These two fought when we saw them. One held the other's ear in its jaws and the other tried to get out of the hold almost like a professional wrestler. Just when it looked like they would really hurt each other, the tide changed and the one on bottom got on top.

There was a monkey called a Proboscis that had an amazing nose. I'm surprised I never saw pictures of this creature before but I'm sure most cartoonist are familiar with it. The nickname for the monkey is "Dutchman."

We saw an orangutan mom laying on her back in the middle of her cage, observing us and the other handful of tourists upside down. She looked apathetic. It took us several minutes before we noticed the baby sleeping sprawled across her neck. She held the baby in her huge hand which covered two-thirds of the baby's body. If it were a human baby, I would guess it to be less than one month old. It looked very frail.

The most fascinating orangutan we called Houdini because of her attempts to escape. She managed to bend the bottom of one of the cage sections away from the floor. This gave her a four- or five-inch gap. It seemed just a bit shy of large enough. She reached out of the cage and grabbed some long planks and turned them and moved them in a very human way until she got one into the cage. She then proceeded to angle it like a lever and pry some more on the bent cage. For a moment it really looked like she would get out but then she stopped.

When she gave up on the board, she put her feet against the cage and laid on her back and pressed with all her strength but it still didn't give her enough space. We thought she was going to final get out when she started hauling her big, heavy concrete water dish over to the opening. It seemed she could just start wedging it between the floor and the cage and it would easily make a large enough bend. This, fortunately, did not occur to her while we stood and watched. Instead she just pushed the concrete thing around a little (without spilling any water). After that, she went to here other concrete water bowl and just sat down it. About a minute later she got up and tried something else.

She found a piece of wire and wrapped it around the bars of the cage in a very human manner. Also she kept grabbing the padlock on the cage but she didn't quite know what to do with it.

When the feeders came by, she tried to bend the cage back in place. She did it before they got there. But they noticed the wire. They unwrapped it and then rewrapped it around another part of the cage, to help the door stay shut. (Joan: if this is a rehab center, and the ultimate goal is repatriating the animals, why didn't they just let her go?) Five minutes after they left, she had the wire off again. We watched her for about 30 minutes and I finally decided she didn't really want to escape that much. It was more of a hobby.

If we hear about any people killed by a renegade orangutan in Borneo, we'll have a good idea what happened.

Feeding time was a bit of a disappointment. The rehab center lets the most rehabilitated animals loose in the woods and they usually come back around feeding time for the easy bananas. This provides a chance to see them without a cage. However, when we visited none of the animals were healthy enough to be on their own.

Two guys with a wheelbarrow full of watermelon parts, beans, bananas, and peanuts walk slowly from cage to cage throwing the food in to the cages. Some of the animals were more anxious for the food than others. The mom with the frail baby seemed the least interested. She continued to lie on her back looking at the feeders upside down. They took special care with her. They handed her peeled the bananas and handed them to her. She slowly reached out for the first one but not for any more. They peeled the rest and just tossed them towards her. I expected her to stuff the banana right down her throat but she just nibbled. She must not be well.

We had to walk about 45 minutes back to the bus stop. We took path through an arboretum. Some of the trees had labels naming them but all the trees looked about the same to me and the names were all very difficult.

Next: Boat ride to Sibu

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