In the jungle
SISTERS HELP PROTECT ORANGUTANS IN BORNEO
■ Denise Delaney with two of her new delightful friends in Borneo.
THERE IS STILL a notable sparkle in the eyes of sisters Denise and Shirley Delaney as they reminisce on two months spent voluntarily working in the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Sanctuary in Borneo recently. Conditions might have been uncomfortable with biting insects a constant irritation, and a simple shower was a luxury, but none of that really mattered once Shirley and Denise found themselves holding a baby orangutan only a few months old.
They also became so familiar with some of the older orangutans, it almost seemed that the great apes looked forward to the daily visit from their Irish caretakers.
Denise, a health service worker who lives in Creagh Demesne, Gorey, raised money locally before she went out, as did her sister Shirley, who lives in Wicklow. They were eager to update their supporters on their progress, and to show how well their money was spent.
Following a visit to Borneo a few years ago, the girls decided to return to work in the the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilation centre to help in some small part to protect orangutans from extinction.
Shirley and Denise went about organising a number of fundraising initiatives, including a table quiz in Paddy Blues pub, Gorey, which was a great success.
Neither sister was prepared for the huge impact Sepilok had on them.
Your days were spent working in 98 per cent humidity with the constant threat of bites from various insects, leeches and the occasional naughty orangutan,' said Shirley. 'I do not like insects at all and usually this would be my worst nightmare but by the end of the two months I didn't want to leave at all.'
'When you first arrive you wonder how you will ever be able to tell the orangutans apart but just after a few days of working with them you realise that they are all very different, in particular in their behavioural patterns. Each volunteer had their favourites, but so too the Orangs had their favourite volunteers,' said Denise.
Thanks to the generosity of the Gorey and Wicklow people the girls were able to purchase some new cages for the baby orangutans and a new stove for the kitchen.
- Fintan LAMBE
