The World’s Largest Orang Utan Sanctuary

Enjoy the rare & thrilling opportunity to see an orang utan, “Man of the Forest” up close and personal.

Location

Situated in the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, 30 minutes drive (23 km) from the east coast town of Sandakan and 11 km from Sandakan Airport.

Introduction

Sprawls over 4,294 hectare of virgin jungle reserves rich in tropical rainforest and mangrove swamp, this sanctuary serves to rehabilitate orang utans that have been abandoned by their mothers, or were formerly in captivity. These orphaned orang utans, found from logging sites, plantations and illegal hunting, were rehabilitated until fit enough to be returned to the wild.

The Rehabilitation Process

The rehabilitation process starts as soon as an orang utan is admitted to the centre, with a thorough health examination followed by a quarantine period to eliminate diseases transmitted. Young orang utans would learn jungle survival skills such as the ability to find food, build nests and climbing trees in the “Nursery.” As soon as they are emotionally ready, the orang utans would then be placed in the “Outdoor Nursery” where freedom and independence are greatly increased. Eventually, most primates achieve total independence and become integrated into the Sepilok wild orang utan population.

Feeding

Visitors can witness the feeding process of the orang utan by the rangers at Platform A. Watching and capturing those moments of the charming and entertaining primate being fed with milk and fruits are a sheer delight.

Feeding Times: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Opening Hours

Daily:
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Friday:
9:00 am – 11:00 am
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Did you know?

Orang Utans have been scientifically found to be 96.4% similar to our human genes!