The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) survives only on the island of Borneo, split between Indonesian Kalimantan and Malaysian Sabah / Sarawak. The most reliable encounters happen at Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan, where multi-day 'klotok' houseboat cruises up the Sekonyer River reach Camp Leakey — the research station founded by Dr Biruté Galdikas in 1971. In Malaysian Borneo, the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre near Sandakan offers almost guaranteed viewing at twice-daily feeding platforms, while the Kinabatangan River delivers truly wild sightings alongside proboscis monkeys and pygmy elephants. The dry season (June to September) makes the jungle trails and rivers most workable.
