August 10,

We woke up by 0600. It was early enough we decided on another outing day. We had our Javas and delivered breakfast of “local cakes.” They were essentially donuts. We have not had donuts – well in a really long time. There were three different kinds. One bag had savory rolls with a partial hotdog inside covered with cheese; another bag had two kinds- a semi sweet bean paste one and a semi sweet coconut one; and the third bag had a small, lightly-sugared twist. They were good with the coffee, hot chocolate drinks, but not the healthiest for us.

We set out on our scooter around 0815. It was about an hour’s drive, out of town and through some of those Palm Tree Plantations. Where we are going is actually in a plantation. We arrived at the Labuk Bay Plantation and saw the signage to the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary. We paid 60 Ringgits each, which is $14.15. From the website (and a video we watched later) this sanctuary opened in 2000. In 1997-1998 an “El Nino drought and palm oil development close in,” caused “the desperate monkeys” to find food. The Proboscis Monkeys found the pantry at the plantation, and feasted on pancakes and coffee! The owners of the plantation- the Lee Brothers, took action starting a simple feeding program to help save the monkeys and converted part of their land into this sanctuary. Now Labuk Bay sanctuary area, of mangroves and forests, “houses one of the largest isolated population of Proboscis Monkeys.” I thought that was a pretty cool story.

Anyway, we arrived at Platform A feeding area. There are actually several platforms, stationed all around the viewing area. We were delighted to see there were already some Proboscis Monkeys here. Their noses are just so comical, proving God’s sense of humor, I suppose. On one part was a “family” or “clan”- an Alpha male and several females, many carrying babies and a few ‘tweens’ that have not been sent away yet. The other part is the young “Bachelors”. We stayed watching on the side with the family.The monkeys started coming in closer as the time drew near. I noticed there were Proboscis Monkeys only. Huh?🤔 I also noticed one of the females had a very enlarged goiter issue.

Anyway, there were around 14 monkeys – as a young boy counted and exclaimed this number. The staff brought out the food- a little late 0935. It was cut up bread (not the fruit and veg that was given to the Orangutans). The Alpha male proceeded to sit right in the middle of the platform and hoarded much of the bread. Other monkeys skittered about wherever the Alpha let them go. Some of the ‘tweens’ or moms would dart about into the Alphas cache and get verbally reprimanded with a kind of “hiss” sound. The Proboscis Monkey has a very distinct, different kind of “honking” sound. I know they aren’t geese or ducks, but if you just heard them without seeing them… Anyway, as we were watching, a female dropped her baby! It fell to the ground from the platform about 5 feet. A big gasp of disbelief came out from us onlookers. Then another female ran and snatched up the baby and carried it off. The female who had been holding the baby, looked down, but kept on eating as if nothing had happened. I can’t believe this was the mom – it offends my sensibilities.

Anyway, the monkeys stayed until the food was gone and then they cleared out after getting water from a tank nearby. When they left we all started trickling out. There had been a few buses of people, some cars, even a couple of taxis, but we were the only scooter, which we got back on and went to Platform B. It was separated by just over a kilometer (½ a mile). When we arrived here we watched the 1015 video. We missed the first 5 minutes, and stayed for ten minutes. The video went into stuff other than the monkeys and it anthropomorphised the monkeys a bunch, which I know we all do, but there are limits.

We went out to the viewing area. The platforms here were arranged in a semicircle around the viewing station. No monkeys were obviously present, but you could see them scattered about in the trees. There were two Oriental Pied Hornbills closer up and we were watching them. A staff member came out, laid out pieces of a banana on a dead tree, then stepped back, imitating the hornbill’s call. Within a minute the hornbills swopped down on the tree and feasted on the banana. That was unexpected, but spectacular to witness. Then watching them be able to pick up the banana bits in those “supersized beaks” of theirs, unreal that they can do it! The birds ate the whole banana and flew up into a tree a bit further away but still close. The staff person set out another banana, called the birds again, and left this time. The birds returned,finished this banana and then flew off. This must be done daily as well. It was great to see them up close, but I have mixed feelings about doing that. It causes a dependency issue. Anyway, this whole sanctuary and all the centers cause the same kind of dilemmas. But that is why I am here to see the wildlife feeding. It’s a hard call.

About then it was time to feed the Proboscis Monkeys and staff brought out bread and cucumber pieces, placed them on two platforms and then imitated the monkeys’ sound. They straggled in at first,but then they swarmed the two platforms. There were a large number of them, maybe thirty. The kid that counted at the other platform was not here counting. The first platform had an Alpha male in the center commandeering the biggest cache, surrounded by his “harem” of family. The second platform had a bunch of tweens, teens, and bachelors. This feeding went quickly. As the Alpha finished, he decided to jump at the viewing platform where many people quickly parted in grasps of disbelief and shrieks of fright. He just wanted to go through and like that was gone. The rest of the monkeys stayed to get the last bits. I tried to shuffle over to see where the male went, but there were too many people in my way to move quickly enough. I then saw a very different type of monkey, called a Silvered Leaf Monkey. About this time, one jumped very close to me. I had been taking a picture when the monkey did this. So I tried to move away, but kind got hemmed in with other people wanting selfies with the creature! One person even petted it!! This is not ideal and I basically pushed my way out. We people can be problems!

Anyway, we decided to leave now and went back to our scooter. It was just before noon. We headed back, going a bit slow because we needed gas… it was 11 miles. Thankfully, we made it there and filled up with 3.4 liters. It cost us 7 Ringgit – $1.65 for 0.898 gallons worth. Now we drove the other 15 miles back to Sandakan city. We tried to go to a wine shop but it was closed. We did find several restaurants around here and chose UP CASE Cafe. I had a hamburger with caramelized onions, sunny side up egg, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cheese and mayo served with French fries and a lemon iced tea. Jeff had a breakfast order of smoked duck breast, poached eggs, mushrooms, beans, toast, with a watermelon shake. It cost us 60.85 Ringgit, which was $14.38.

We then found a grocery store, went back to our place and stayed in for the rest of the day. I blogged and Jeff read. There was an evening rainshower. We did a WhatsApp with my mother and her husband, but we were exhausted and just texted our love to our church brethren. We turned in early – by 2100. Another amazing day, somewhere else.