Meet the Macaques

Sep 252011
 
Bako in Borneo1

The monkey I saw most often on my trip was the macaque. Long-tailed macaques are not shy (although sometimes aggressive; be careful!) and that made for some wonderful closeup photos like at Ulu Watu, and this one (below) from Bako National Park in Malaysian Borneo.

Macaque monkey in Bako in Borneo

Borneo cover photo for the next Lonely Planet

Another photographer said this wildlife shot of a macaque should be the next cover of Lonely Planet Borneo – perhaps! I need to thank the photogenic monkeys that were so kind to pose for me.

Macaque monkey as loud as he can be in Bako in Borneo, Malaysia

The dentist asked him to open up and say ahhhh...

[yes the correct pronunciation is actually Muh-kok. Giggle.]

It wasn’t the first time seeing wildlife in my trip – the baby orangutans, baby elephants, and baby monkeys (macaques) in Borneo were adorable!  I also saw other types of animals up close – camels, tarsiers, proboscis monkeys, sharks, pythons, and more!

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Baby Monkeys in Borneo!

Aug 102011
 
Bako in Borneo-111

What’s the only thing more exciting than seeing animals in the wild?  Baby animals in the wild! Check out these photos of baby monkeys – baby long-tailed macaques:

Baby Monkeys! Photo of a baby long-tailed macaque in Borneo's Bako National Park, Sarawak region of Malaysia, Asia

These baby monkeys are macaques from my trip through eastern Borneo (Malaysia) in the island of Bako National Park, in the Sarawak region of Borneo.

Long-tailed Macaque monkey in Borneo's Bako National Park, Malaysia

I saw these Long-tailed Macaques in Bako National Park, in Malaysian Borneo. This below photo reminds me of the photos of monkeys in Bali.

Family of long-tailed macaques, including baby monkeys in Borneo, Bako National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia, Asia

Photo of a baby long-tailed macaque hanging on to the mother long-tailed macaque in Borneo | Bako National Park, Sarawak region of Malaysia, Asia

notice the little hands and feet grabbing on

 

Photo of an infant monkey - a baby long-tailed macaque held by the parent long-tailed macaque in Borneo | Bako National Park, Sarawak region of Malaysia, Asia

Best baby wildlife photography??  This trip has already produced opportunities to see baby elephants in Borneo, baby monkeys (macaques) in Indonesia, and baby apes (baby orangutans). Which set of baby wildlife photos did you like best?

I also saw other types of animals up close - tarsiers, macaques, proboscis monkeys, sharks, pythons, camels, and more!

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Monkey steals camera and takes Facebook-style self-portraits

Jul 062011
 
monkey-self-portrait

Who knew primates had photography skills?  A monkey stole a wildlife photographer’s camera, and then started taking pictures of himself, even smiling in the photos.  The crested black macaque monkey (black ape) swiped the camera and took self-portraits at arms length, like you’d see on a 15-year old girl’s Facebook page.

this crested black macaque (monkey) stole a camera and took pictures of himself

Monkey steals a camera and snaps his new profile pic

It happened when wildlife photographer David Slater was visiting a national park in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, he left his camera unattended and a crested black macaque monkey grabbed it and proceeded take Facebook-style monkey self-portraits. Who knew “black apes” took pictures? It’s actually a decent monkey self-portrait!

If you’re curious, I found out some interesting facts about these inquisitive monkeys below:

Black-Crested Macaque, Tangkoko National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia By Sean Crane

great shot of a Black-Crested Macaque. I love his expression  Read more... (444 words, 15 images, estimated 1:47 mins reading time)

Some crested black macaque facts:
  • They’re promiscuous - with both males and females mating multiple times with multiple partners
  • They live in groups, and tend to either be all males or be 4:1 females to males.
  • Their diet is 70% fruits
  • They’re extremely rare and critically endangered
  • They’re found in Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia, and some tiny islands near it
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Where do baby monkeys come from?

Jul 032011
 
Where do baby monkeys come from? | Monkey Sex in Ulu Watu, Bali, Indonesia

We were enjoying the view from the cliffs of Ulu Watu in Bali – it was a beautiful moment until…a slight interruption.  Just then it occurred to me that I was surrounded by monkeys…and they seized the moment.  I was photographing a monkey on the edge of the cliff, when another jumped on her from behind. Then two other monkeys having sex too. Then two more. Where am I??

Where do baby monkeys come from? | Monkey Sex in Ulu Watu, Bali, Indonesia

Mommy, where do baby monkeys come from?

These monkeys were in their natural habitat, so anything goes. Including this first photo. What, you’ve never seen monkeys having sex?

 

Macaque monkeys have a Discovery Channel moment at Ulu Watu, Bali Indonesia| Photo by Todd L. Cohen, 50and50by50.com

a Discovery Channel moment for the monkeys at Ulu Watu

Forget doggystyle – this is monkey style!

 

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At sunset, the monkeys take over

Jun 302011
 
At sunset, the monkeys take over | Malaysian Borneo | Bako National Park | Photo by Todd L. Cohen, 50and50by50.com

I just love this photo of a silhouetted macaque (monkey) on the dock of the island of Bako as the sun sets over the mountains in Borneo (Sarawak, Malaysia). It capped a wonderful day of wildlife photography.

At sunset, the monkeys take over. Bako National Park, Borneo, Malaysia

I’m always very critical of my work so I can improve. This isn’t a great technical photo (above) – the lighting and focus aren’t quite how I’d like them, but I just love it. Maybe you will too


Photos of these silhouetted macaque monkeys were from Malaysian Borneo, in the impressive Bako National Park.

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Up close with Borneo’s Proboscis Monkey

Jun 112011
 
Proboscis Monkey eating lunch (leaves) at Bako National Park in Borneo, Malaysia February 2011

I was fascinated by Borneo’s Proboscis Monkeys, not just because of the rare chance to observe and photograph an endangered species in the wild (only found in Borneo), but also because the seem so human-like.  Imagine a monkey with a distinctive huge nose (a male proboscis monkey’s nose can reach up to 7 inches in length!) and a pot belly, that often walks upright (rare for mammals) and sits a little like humans sit.  Their name, Nasalis larvatus, literally translates to “long nose,” and you can see why (below):

Proboscis monkeys, the most distinctive looking primates on the planet | Bako National Park in Borneo | Malaysia

Proboscis monkeys, the most distinctive looking primates on the planet

Sometimes Proboscis Monkeys seem so human-like!  This proboscis monkey was frantically eating as if he hadn’t eaten for days! Take a look in this video clip from my time in Malaysian Borneo:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cEUei77r9o&NR=1

Bako National Park also has bearded pigs, which greeted us upon entering the island. So when we heard a typical pig sound later in the day, we were surprised to hear these honking sounds coming from proboscis monkeys.

Proboscis monkeys live on a special diet of leaves, flowers and seeds of vegetation found only in rivers, mangroves, and peat swamps

Proboscis Monkey in Bako National Park, in Borneo, Sarawak, Malaysia  Read more... (610 words, 15 images, estimated 2:26 mins reading time)

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Rainforests, wildlife, waterfalls, sandstone cliffs, & beaches in Borneo’s Bako

Jun 102011
 
IMG_2548

Hiking through Bako National Park turned out to be an unexpected highlight of my trip.  It’s a 10.5 square mile island with rainforests, secluded beaches with sandstone cliffs, waterfalls, jungle streams, and lots of wildlife (including about 150 of the aforementioned rare proboscis monkeys).

The coast line was beautiful – millions of years of erosion of the sandstone have created a coastline of steep cliffs with brilliant colored patterns formed by iron deposition.

Monkeys were everywhere – mostly Long-tailed macaques and silver leaf monkeys. And of course the highlight was seeing rare probiscos monkeys . We also saw lizards and bearded pigs.

 

Bako National Park also has nearly every type of vegetation found in Borneo (25 distinct types). In a couple of days of trekking through the jungle trails, you can see “Beach vegetation, Cliff vegetation, Kerangas or heath Forest, Mangrove Forest, Mixed Dipterocarp Forest, Padang or Grasslands Vegetation and Peat Swamp Forest,” according to the official site.

Consider this a sneak preview of the sunsets I saw in Borneo – the ones in the next few posts were even better!

   Read more... (207 words, 15 images, estimated 50 secs reading time)

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Disagreeing with Nat Geo

Jun 092011
 
Bako Borneo-46

Proboscis monkeys: “they’re graceful, they can swim, and they’re in trouble,” according to National Geographic. I agree with the latter two of those statements. They’re surprising good swimmers and deforestation is certainly endangering their species. But graceful??

After a few days of observing them in the wild, I respectfully disagree (at least with the few dozen that I saw at Bako National Park in Borneo / Malaysia).

This proboscis monkey (below) started to swing from one branch to another, not realizing it couldn’t support his weight and promptly dropped to the ground, bounced, and tried it again with the next branch. You’d think that years of evolution might help them in this area. They only have 10.5 square miles to explore, so I’d assume they’d get to know the terrain fairly well. Even worse, the larger proboscis monkey behind him followed his lead, with the same result.

[I'm going through the videos I shot and will post the live action demo then]  Read more... (191 words, 11 images, estimated 46 secs reading time)

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Proboscis Monkeys in Borneo: never seen monkeys like these

May 282011
 
Probiscus Monkeys

What’s a Proboscis Monkey? Since they’re only found in Borneo, you probably haven’t seen them before, so I’ll start with some photography from my trip to Bako National Park, in the Sarawak region of Malaysia in Borneo (full post on proboscis monkeys can be found here).  Like my orangutan encounter the day before (including baby orangutans!), I was just steps away from these rare creatures, giving me plenty of opportunity to observe and photograph. I did plenty of both!

 

After seeing what Probiscus Monkeys look like, and I was fascinated and wanted to learn more about them. I’ll share what I learned in the next posts, which will include proboscis monkey facts and proboscis monkey photos.
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Slideshows: Monkeys in Bali

Jan 082011
 

Both photo galleries from our day with the monkeys on the cliffs of Ulu Watu are below  – click SL for slideshow, and FS for full screen mode.  Read more... (649 words, 10 images, estimated 2:36 mins reading time)

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