Silvery Lutung Monkeys- Sabah, Malaysia
January 7, 2013 in Asia, Malaysia, Travelogue
WE ARE SO LUCKY!
Ezra says that we’re always lucky, and I think he might be right.
When we were at the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary yesterday we got a special treat.
A whole group of Silvery Lutung, or Silver Leaf, monkeys came swinging down out of the jungle for a visit. This rarely happens, as they aren’t officially supported or fed by the sanctuary, but they do sometimes come down for a visit.
Here is what we’ve learned about Silver Leaf monkeys:
- They are much smaller than orang utans or proboscis monkeys
- They eat mainly tough leaves and a few seeds and flowers
- Their stomachs have three chambers to help digest their fibrous food
- Their intestines are longer than those of other monkeys, for the same reason
- They live in a matrilineal society, meaning the mamas are in charge and they only allow one adult male per grouping
- They live only on Borneo, Sumatra and a narrow band of peninsular Malaysia (on the west edge)
- They think snake beans are a fantastic treat (what we fed them)
- The main threats to this species are hunting for meat and capture for the pet trade
I’m always wary of monkeys.
They look so human, but they are very definitely wild creatures, and they’re smart, which means they’ll make off with your things as quick as a flash. Those that become used to humans and hang out for food scraps can be especially bold and even dangerous. I would never try to touch a monkey on anything other than it’s own terms. In this case, the monkeys came to us. They sat down with us and ate the snake beans the sanctuary had on hand for them, and even held hands with us, and climbed on Ezra a little.
Ezra is always the one to get touched by the monkeys, we tease him that it’s because he hasn’t fully evolved!
It was a fantastic experience to be graced with their presence and taken into their world for a few minutes. We felt very lucky indeed. And yes, Ez was the one to end up with monkey poo smeared on his arm.
“It’s okay, Mom! It’s for science!”
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That would be so cool! Wish we were there!
What beautiful creatures. I love the close up pictures of the hands (paws?). And was that a monkey looking at a cat? Wonder what he was thinking. Thank you for sharing the experience. My boys are utterly jealous of Ez.
They are beautiful creatures and loved the pictures of them coming to all of you! How blessed! You all look great!
Count me in the “jealous of Ezra” group! Actually, I’m jealous of all of you because you all were able to interact with them. What an awesome experience to have!
I love these monkeys. My husband and I were lucky enough to have an encounter with a group of them in Malaysia a few years back. We also had green beans, and they knew it! I was standing off to the side, when I felt a tug on my skirt, and I looked down to see this beautiful face looking back up at me with eyes that just ‘know’, and with one hand on my skirt she was reaching out her other hand to ‘ask’ for a bean. Of course I couldn’t resist and handed one to her – what beautiful hands they have and their fingernails…it’s uncannily human-like. Did they have any babies with them? Their babies are red – like orang utans – and they’re just gorgeous! Lucky you!
Wow Tammy! Great story!! They are pretty amazing. No babies in the group we saw, sadly… perhaps next time?! 🙂
I like that picture with the monkey and the cat 😀
The monkey staring looking at the cat photo is a hoot! Such an incredible experience for you all. I’m so glad you are lucky, because I enjoy seeing all these photos and living vicariously through you!
[…] In which he gets lucky with monkeys, in Borneo… again […]