DocuProject

Farewell Indonesia

2008-07-26T12:18:00.000-07:00

I am now writing from Montreal Canada where I am staying at my newly married sister and her husband's apartment.

The blogging was certainly sporadic - I wish we had had the time to be more regular but there was just so much to experience and do. That along with the on and off internet connections made it a little difficult but I hope the stories we were able to publish were informative and entertaining.

Kim has gone her separate route which is taking her to Australia for a month and a half before she comes back to Toronto where we will reunite. We may get the opportunity to publish more of our experiences online but we have both left Indonesia for now. After meeting so many fascinating animals, human and non-human, and becoming involved in their lives the desire to return is only going to become stronger over time.

I am beginning to work my way through the footage and interviews I shot during my time in Indonesia, letting ideas ferment. I hope to have a rough cut in two months time in which a cohesive story is told.

I really would like to thank all of the people who allowed me to film their work and were so forthcoming in interviews. I hope that once this documentary has been completed I will be able to follow up on events and stories there in the future and that the friendships made there will continue.

Toothless and Happy

2008-07-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

Last week my close friend Karina and her fiancé Jan came to visit us at the rescue center in Ciapus. They are on vacation and stopped by at the beginning of their 3 week trip through Indonesia. Luckily Karina is a dentist/orthodontist and Jan is a human doctor specializing in surgery. “Luckily” because we had a slow loris at the center, “Kim”, with a severe abscess between her left eye and the left upper jaw that was caused by an infected tooth. When slow lorises get caught from the wild to be sold on the pet markets the traders often clip their teeth so they cannot bite potential customers. The pulpa, especially of the canines often gets infected and can cause the animal to die. Even though this happens quite frequently there are not many people out there who know a lot about loris dentistry and there is very little to non literature about this matter. Especially when it comes to primates it can be very helpful to combine forces and consult human doctors and dentists. Karmele has treated this kind of infection before , but was happy to get a second and third opinion from Karina and Jan and so we did the procedure together. Karina pulled the infected tooth and Jan opened the abscess, drained it and used two stitches to keep the incision open until it starts to heal. The sad thing about this is that a loris with hardly any teeth left has little chance of being reintroduced into the wild. The good news is though that Kim is doing really well and has been introduced to a young loris male, “Chico”, who shares her fate and the two of them have fallen in love. They will be moved to a large enclosure at the center and will stay there – toothless but happy…

Macaques - love thy neighbour

2008-06-28T02:36:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Karmele was contacted by the forestry department in Bogor who informed her of two pig tail macaques in need of rescue. At that time a Malaysian film crew was staying at the center which came to Indonesia to film 5 episodes of their documentary series “Keep It Wild” which will be broadcast in Malaysia as well as Indonesia. The director/writer, Siew Lyn Wong, told us that this series “…is making history…”, being the first of its kind produced in Malaysia featuring endemic wildlife to raise awareness about conservation and animal welfare issues. So the crew, and of course my all time favorite filmmaker Ethan Reitz, came along to film the whole experience.
Both macaques that we were going to pick up were adult males and had each been kept by their owners for almost ten years. The first one, Bobby, had been living in a small cage at the entrance of a large hotel. Now the manager wanted to get rid of him because a guest, an artist, had complained about Bobby’s erections and masturbation - I think: good on him! Not only is there not much else to do in the isolation of 10 years in a 4 cubic meter cage and is actually part of natural behavior – but if this is what eventually got him out of there – go Bobby! The other one, Bendot, had been a little better off. He had been kept in a larger cage, also in isolation but judging by his friendly reaction to his owner he at least had been treated kindly. Bendot’s owner seemed to be a wealthy man who readily told us that he used to own several exotic animals, including gibbons, orangutans and siamangs. All of which he was able to give to the zoo when he heard that these animals could transmit diseases to humans and started to get worried about his grandchildren – so the animals had to go. But it is not easy to find a place for an adult macaque because they are being sold everywhere and the buyers want babies. Luckily for Bendot this guy found out about IAR Indonesia. Sooner or later he would have probably been put down otherwise.
As opposed to Robin’s cage these cages had doors but it was not much of a surprise to find that neither owner had the keys to the locks that probably had never been opened in the past ten years. As to be expected from the two different situations and cages we found Bendot in a pretty good condition but poor Bobby was, in addition to his disturbed and aggressive behavior, in poor shape. His coat was filthy and he had eczema on several areas of his body. The long bones especially of his upper arms showed deformities as a result of rickets. Rickets is caused by a vitamin D deficiency, due to the lack of sunlight as well as a lack of adequate calcium in the diet. Even though I have seen worse cases of rickets in macaques at the center, it makes me sad to think that not only has he been kept with no direct sunlight and been fed deficiently but this might cause him to lose his chance to be released. But even if he can not be returned into the wild he will still have a much better life at the center in Ciapus where he can be socialized, move around in larger cages filled with enrichment, get a healthy diet and health care for the rest of his life.

Macaques are the most widespread non-human primate genus. The twenty-two macaque species currently recognized are ranging from northern Africa to Japan.
Macaques may easily be the most abused primates on our planet. Because of their evolutionary success, which led to their wide distribution and reflects their adaptability, many macaque species are not endangered. Very often they adapt by learning how to coexist with humans. Sadly this coexistence is seldom peaceful. When humans expand their habitat through growing cities, transmigration to uninhabited regions or the destruction of forest and other ecosystems for agricultural use, macaques, unlike many other species, which will simply disappear with their habitat, learn how to survive of human waste and crops. The invading humans however often feel like the macaques are the invaders and declare them a pest. In Indonesia for instance farmers will often get permits to kill the animals if they raid their crops. Ironically the similarities to humans read into animal appearance and behavior is what often triggers empathy which is called anthropomorphism. In the case of the macaques a lot of the similarities seem to trigger quite the opposite – fear and threat. Sadly it is the macaque’s survival skills, which makes them in many ways similar to humans that put them into an often lethal competition with us. The fact that they are perceived as pest in Indonesia is also reflected in the annual quota for capture of wild long tail macaques that was just last year raised by 100% and allows now for more than 5000 long tail macaques to be captured from the wild and put into breeding programs or to be sold off as pets. Officially only the 2nd captive generation can be exported to 1st world laboratories but in reality the bred and captured monkeys are being mixed and sold overseas. Several species of macaque are used extensively in animal testing facilities around the world.
For anyone who takes a closer look at macaques will quickly realize that they are intelligent, highly social and fascinating animals.
Even among primatologists macaques are not very popular. With their wide abundance and a lack of outstanding features such as size or a particularly “cute” face or belonging to the biological family Hominidae (great apes) along with humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, macaques don’t exactly have a large fan community - except for with those who have worked with them. Karmele developed her deep appreciation for macaques while volunteering at the sanctuary for exotic animals, Stichting AAP, in Holland. When she came to Indonesia she volunteered and worked in different centers including for the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS). Karmele enjoyed working with orangutans but felt that they were getting a lot of attention and international support unlike the generally under appreciated and unprotected macaques. That is why the IAR rescue center in Ciapus is the only rescue center in Indonesia specialized in these primates.
As for me – I love macaques. I have to say that I knew very little about them when I came out here but the enthusiasm of Karmele and her staff has been contagious. Especially after getting to know a few of the groups and individuals it is very sad and concerning to learn about the threats and torture their fellows are facing worldwide. Aside from the animal testing macaques are very often kept as pets in Indonesia. They are not so much companions as status symbols and often sit in tiny cages, isolated from their kind, suffering from malnutrition, showing stereotypical behavior and aggression. Sooner or later they either die or bite their owners who will either kill them or give them away – hopefully to a rescue center. Most rescue centers will not take the macaques due to their low status and general lack of funding. Karmele made it her goal to rehabilitate the animals, re-socialize and release them - which is quite an undertaking I have learned.

Rescuing Robin Hood

2008-06-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

(Story from Friday June 06, 2008)

There is a constant stream of communication going on between IAR workers, locals, the department of forestry, other rescue centers and anyone else with an interest about local events, developments, politics and the location of illegally kept animals. As an outsider who will only be here for a short time, doesn’t know the language and customs and is otherwise out of the loop it can be a challenge to keep up with what is going on. Luckily Karmele and the team have been very helpful with keeping me up to date, filling in the details and back story to different events and making sure I can come along and shoot. After that it’s up to me to make sure I get enough footage to tell the story. It can be exhausting trying to make sure the lens is clean, the sound is on, the iris is set, the shutter speed, the focus! Oh no! The focus! And then I forget to press the record button… damn! But I’m getting better and this Friday we had a really interesting case: a critically endangered Javan Gibbon was being illegally held somewhere in a village near the IAR headquarters.

Karmele had a contact, an address and we were going to go pick it up but then suddenly it fell through. She received word that the Gibbon was no longer there. There was a lot of frustration that the department of forestry had not acted more swiftly to either pick it up or authorize IAR to do so and now it was gone. She didn’t know if it would ever be located again.

Then suddenly she received a call on her cell phone and we were back in action. We jumped into two vehicles, the burgundy IAR mini bus and a truck for transport and took off.

Even with four batteries I am constantly running behind making sure I have enough charged. One of them doesn’t hold a full charge, two are larger and last longer and one holds a charge but is quite small. I find myself making frantic equipment checks along the way and thus far (knock on wood) haven’t made any really bad mistakes. The worst so far was I ran out of tape and had to overwrite something but I had already backed it up to disk so it wasn’t so bad.

We drove through a maze of back roads and about forty minutes later met up with Argito who directed us to the house of the man holding the Gibbon. He was apparently looking after it for his brother. Argito and Asman had spotted it and inquired about it and he had expressed a willingness to give it up. Perhaps he feared the fine that he could receive for holding a Gibbon captive.

Apparently the Gibbon had started behaving aggressively towards him so he had had it moved. He climbed into the mini van with us to take us to where the Gibbon was being held. I noticed the man, who I estimated to be around 50 years old, was wearing a grey “Polisi” (Police in Indonesian) t-shirt. I wondered whether this was meant to convey some sense of authority. When Karmele told him I would be shooting video he assured her in Indonesian that filming “wouldn’t be necessary”.

We turned off the pitted, pot-holed little road onto an even smaller, more decrepit one-lane road and drove for another 15min. or so to a small village. In a courtyard under a leafy tree there was a wood and chicken-wire, garbage strewn cage holding the Silvery Javan Gibbon, Robin Hood.

I’m not sure where he got his name from or whether those who gave it to him knew the story of the man who stole from the rich to give to the poor but I found it to be an interesting moniker for a captive wild animal held by what appeared to be a rather well-off man in a very poor rural village. In fact, recalling the “Polisi” t-shirt, it reminded me of Robin Hood’s imprisonment by the Sherriff of Nottingham.

The whole crew except for me got out and took stock of the situation while I stayed in the car, discreetly filming. After a few minutes Karmele came and told me to come out and film and just go back to the car if anyone made a stink about it. I came out and filmed and no one said anything. The man holding Robin captive looked a little nervous but with the whole village looking on he probably felt somewhat flattered at the attention.

He demonstrated how the children had tormented Robin Hood with bamboo sticks and how he had behaved aggressively toward them. I wasn’t able to follow all of this but judging from the filthy cage, purpose built without a door, and Robin’s underfed condition it was clear that we were rescuing him from a miserable situation.

Despite this we found Robin to be surprisingly friendly toward humans. Someone had obviously at some point treated him relatively kindly, although in respect to the fact that he was being held captive at all he had been gravely abused. Gibbons live their entire lives in trees, swinging from branch to branch, flying meters at a time through the air with balance and elegance and putting them in a cage is torture.

I filmed as the IAR team lifted the cage into the back of the 4x4. We shook hands all around and the villagers gave us a wealth of brilliant Indonesian smiles. Then we piled back into the vehicles and drove off back to IAR headquarters with Robin nervously prowling his swaying cage.
Robin had developed diarrhea in his agitated state during transport. There was little way for him to know he was on his way to an improved situation and he was probably terrified. He was unloaded and left to calm down. During the course of the afternoon he received some enrichment in the form of leafs and branches, food and water and what little comfort people could give; we stopped by and he would hold out his hand to be held or present his back to be scratched. Gibbons form monogamous pairs in the wild and so he understandably craved some contact.

The next day he we would bring him to the Javan Gibbon Center where they specialize in rehabilitating, re-socializing and reintroducing Gibbons to the wild.

Bringing Robin Hood back to the Forest

2008-06-18T00:43:00.000-07:00

(Story from Saturday June 7, 2008)

Because those who had built the cage had not found it necessary to give it a door Karmele decided to sedate Robin and then break the cage down. She told me she would wait until he offered her his hand, which he often did when people approached. Then she would inject him with the sedative. She requested that I wait around the corner until she had his hand as Gibbons are very sensitive and the presence of many people would alert him that something was going on. She said she would call me when she had his hand.

I waited with my camera on. She came back and said “Sorry! I already did it!” Once she had his hand she decided to administer the anesthetic quickly because after a failed attempt he might be very difficult to calm. I didn’t want Robin to experience any more stress than necessary so that was fine with me. I filmed him as his eyes glazed over and he slowly collapsed to the floor of his cage.

In fact administering the anesthetic had been no problem at all and he hadn’t even pulled away. He then reached out to people immediately afterward with little sign of fear or stress.

The keepers quickly ripped one of the walls away and Karmele carried him into the clinic for a quick examination. He was found to be in fairly good condition although very skinny. There had been other examples of Gibbons being held in cages so small the joints couldn’t properly develop or where calcium deficiencies caused horrible deformities.

He was then moved to an aluminum transport cage to wake up. I hesitated as long as possible to give my reserve batteries the chance to charge and when Karmele said let’s go and we loaded the aluminum cage into the mini-van to take Robin to the Javan Gibbon Center.

First we drove into the city of Bogor, then we took the highway North East, then on to smaller roads up to somewhat higher ground and we stopped at the gates of a resort situated at the edge of a National Park. From here we transfer to a 4x4 truck. The cage with Robin goes in the back of the canvass covered pickup and Karmele, Argito, Karthi and Kim sit on bench seats on either side. I follow in a smaller two seater 4x4 so I can film. We drive up through the resort and some farm land and then turn on to a narrow rutted track leading up into the hills. The road here gets so bumpy that I was usually either filming the floorboards or the ceiling and when I could focus for a moment or two to look through the windshield it was smeared with dust.

After a circa 30 minute drive we halted and the driver turned the pickup around and backed it up to the beginning of a foot path. One of the workers from the Javan Gibbon Center single-handedly lifted the aluminum cage with Robin in it onto his shoulders and we trekked through the forest to the Center.

The Center is situated in natural Gibbon habitat and captive Gibbons can hear the calls of their free roaming kin. The Center’s mission is to rehabilitate and socialize the Gibbons so that they can be reintroduced to the wild. For that purpose there are several stations, including quarantine, where Robin will have to spend his first 30 days, socialization cages where the Gibbons are introduced to each other in controlled circumstances, first having visual contact between separated cages, then contact with a barrier and finally sharing a cage, and lastly enclosures placed away from the center built around trees in the forest where the Gibbons can express their natural behavior in as close a simulation to the wild as possible before they are actually freed. A caged wild animal exists in a very unnatural setting which restricts and determines it’s behavior and it’s no different here for the Gibbons at the center. Here, however, they are on track to freedom and that makes all the difference. It is necessary to prepare them for living in the wild to first go through the sequential stages, starting with quarantine to make sure that newcomers don’t spread disease to the population, moving on to socialization so that they develop the necessary relationships and behavior to naturally cooperate with their own kind and finally the last stage where they can practice being wild Gibbons and the workers at the Center can observe and make the decision that the Gibbons are ready for freedom.

After years in captivity, most likely having spent their entire lives in cages which restrict their natural movement to next to nothing, it’s actually amazing that an animal could ever reach the point where they could survive in the wild. Watching the Gibbons here though as they swing elegantly through their large enclosures, performing feats of balance and acrobatics far exceeding the most accomplished human gymnast, I was convinced they had a fighting chance and that is, I feel, what everyone at the barest minimum deserves.

Out of the jungle

2008-06-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

We went with Karmele, Argito and Pa Herry up the river into the jungle. It was quite an amazing trip. We're now back in Palangka Raya and staying once more with Argito's family. Internet is pretty sketchy so more later! :)

What killed a leaf monkey?

2008-06-17T02:07:00.000-07:00

(Story from Saturday the 7th of June, 2008)

On the way back from the Javan Gibbon Center Karmele arranged via cell phone to pick up the body of a Leaf Monkey. Another rescue center operating in the region near Bogor had requested that Karmele carry out a post mortem on the deceased animal.

We waited in the parking lot of a gas station for a driver to come from the other rescue center with the frozen remains of the monkey.

Once the monkey was stowed in the back we continued on to the Botani Square Mall to purchase essential groceries like Nutella and white bread. After a decadent Starbucks cappuccino we finally headed back to IAR headquarters.

I was ready for dinner and bed but there was still the post mortem on the leaf Monkey. I had no idea where a post mortem fit in with my documentary but there was no way I was going to miss it, so I loaded a new tape and followed Karmele, Karthi and Kim into the clinic.

I got an official face mask for which I was immediately thankful as corpses, even frozen ones, develop quite an odor very quickly in the tropics. The results of the necropsy were fascinating even for the layperson. There were dark spots on the lungs, possibly collected residue from dust or exhaust in the air, similar to smoker’s lung and originating from living in a cage at a busy roadside. More dark spots were found at the beginning of the small intestine, some dead mucosal tissue. Under the microscope a parasite was visible but neither Karmele, Karthi nor Kim thought that was the cause of death.

The Leaf Monkey’s diet consists of, surprise, surprise, mostly leaves. For this purpose the Leaf Monkey, a “fore-gut fermenter”, has a special digestive system, with a large multichambered stomach, similar to that of a ruminant - for example a cow. Her stomach was severely bloated, a symptom of a condition similar to the colic found in cows or other ruminants, caused by ingestion of food containing too much sugar. Upon examination the contents of the stomach proved to be almost exclusively fruit. The bulging, reeking, stomach sack was filled with orange chunks of fruit instead of the green contents it should have had.

Rescue centers have a difficult time getting funding. When times are tough and money is scarce they may not be able to afford certain kinds of food. A cheaper, more abundant food may be substituted instead. It can happen that the special diet that a given species requires is more difficult to come by. Out of desperation the animals might be fed with what ever is available. A diet consisting mostly of fruit containing too much sugar probably killed this monkey.
Leaf Monkeys are social animals, usually living in large groups. There were only two in this rescue center so the remaining Leaf Monkey has been left alone. It’s sad to think her death might have been avoidable.

Kalimantan

2008-06-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

...long story short: too much to explain in detail at the moment but... we caught a plane (bucket of aluminum bolts) with Karmele and Argito to Argito's family's home in Palanka Raya in central Kalimantan. Karmele met a neighbour who had his eye on a tract of land at the headwaters of a river about a 5 hours' drive from here. He's been looking for support to have it protected. We're going to go up and take a look at the area, by 4x4 and then, if all goes well and there aren't too many logs in the river, by boat. We will hopefully be able to travel up to a jungle lodge he has built there and overnight in the area. If the area is anything like he has said then it is chock full of wildlife, plants, it is primeval forest, untouched but endangered by encroaching development.

At any rate - though we were able to drop in to this internet cafe here there probably won't be much opportunity to blog in the next few days. There are so many stories to tell and pictures to upload but that will have to wait until we are back in Chiapus.

Sorry about the irregularity of blog entries. We will try and make up for it in the coming weeks!

Eyes in the Dark

2008-06-05T03:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening I met a slow Loris for the first time. He required de-worming and so we made our way down to the Loris enclosure. They are nocturnal so the only chance I’ve had to observe them so far is sleeping. The first time all I saw was his bushy bottom sticking out of a box hanging in a tree. We spoke in whispers and observed his lower half. The second time I filmed a hairy ball with his tiny hands around the bars of his enclosure, sleeping the afternoon away in the warmth of the sun.

This time around we approached with headlamps with red gels which are easier on their huge yellow eyes. Filming was difficult but it was a treat to see this little creature. It’s very easy to see why they are popular as pets as they have all those “cute” attributes that humans adore. With huge, round eyes into which one can project all the innocence of the world, long soft fur, tiny soft hands with a grip like that of a human infant and a musky, infant like smell, slow Lorises look like sweet little aliens who just whirred in on a flying saucer from a jungle planet.

This young male weighed approximately 650grams – big for his age and well on the way to his adult size of around a Kilogram. Karmele gently pried him from his branch to inspect him. He seemed quite comfortable on her arm. She then held his head in one hand and orally administered the de-worming medicine with the other with a simple syringe.

Had his canines not been cruelly removed, likely by way of pliers and without any anesthetic, she would never have been able to handle him this way, she explained.

Lorises are omnivorous, hunting insects and small animals as well as consuming some fruit. Although we might project cuteness onto them they are wild animals and to fulfill their Loris existence they need to roam and hunt at night.

Lorises are aggressive, territorial and equipped with sharp canines for ripping and tearing flesh. This makes them remarkably ill-suited to be pets, all big-eyed cuteness aside, and this becomes apparent as they grow up and give their captors a nasty bite or two. In much the same way as baby Macaques are seen as ideal pet material and later grow to be an unpredictable, irritable nuisance, so it is with Lorises and thus the torturous tooth -removal.

Lorises end up at the rescue center when people no longer want to keep them or they are confiscated by the police or forestry. Like many wild animals Lorises are losing their natural habitat to development and logging. In addition to their being used as pets they are hunted to be used as an ingredient in a traditional aphrodisiac. The goal at IAR is to rehabilitate and reintroduce them into the wild. Unfortunately those without canines, or lacking the necessary skills to survive in the wild may have to be kept their life long in captivity.

On a more positive note, Lorises seem to retain their instincts in captivity and are good candidates for reintroduction to the wild. That’s supposing they have suitable habitat to return to.

Raising awareness of indigenous wildlife and their needs is one of the goals of the educational programs at IAR. They hope that an increased awareness will put an end to the market for Lorises and Macaques, among other wildlife, as pets.

While it’s a pleasure to be have the opportunity to film a Loris in his spacious enclosure it would be a far greater pleasure to see him zip off out of sight into the jungle. When she feels he has the necessary survival skills that’s exactly what Karmele plans to do.

2008-06-02T05:06:00.000-07:00

There is still no internet today. I’ve used up all the space on my portable hard drive and have arranged for a new one to be sent here. My gear is holding up very well so I’m pleased with that. (knock on wood)

Today I interviewed Marlene, who is here to set up an education program for IAR Indonesia. She studied biology and environmental education and works at a zoo in Denmark. She has some interesting insights into the dynamics of education and environmental awareness in Indonesia. There are specific differences between European and Indonesian school students which need to be taken into account in order to effectively communicate and evaluate the process.

My plan is to take what we’ve written to the warnet – internet café - and upload it this evening as we really have no idea when there will be internet.

Which brings us to today... we are here at the internet cafe about 10km from Curug Nangka which we got to via Angkot.

just talking

2008-06-01T05:04:00.000-07:00

Today Kim was feeling ill. I ended up hanging out at the local warung – a little shop which sells Nasi Goreng – spiced fried rice with egg – coffee, soft drinks and other snacks, and talking with Gunawan and Asman. From Gunawan I heard more stories of the rescue centers in Indonesia, some of the reasons behind political unrest in Indonesia and got to know him a bit better. Asman and I also talked a bit about this and that including the average age of marriage in Indonesia and Canada. He’s said he wasn’t yet married but at 23 has a little while. The average age according to him is 25 for men and 20 for women.

Post Jungle Java

2008-05-31T05:35:00.000-07:00

Relaxing at the warung at the foot of the mountain...

Into the jungle

2008-05-31T05:02:00.000-07:00

International Animal Rescue Indonesia is located in Bogor, in the village of Curug Nangka in the foothills of Salak Mountain. Today we hiked up into the mountain national park with the guide Senin, Karmele, Marlene and Kim. We saw a lizard and two eagles but none of the wild Macaques which live there. I suppose it's not too surprising since there were so many of us and we weren't being that quiet.

On Kim's back you see a bag full of trash which we found littering the trail. The jungle is deep, wet and lush and everything grows and decays at an astonishing rate; if a landslide opens up some raw soil or a tree is uprooted moss and ferns grow over it in no time. Maybe this is why it seems like a little garbage is harmless. In a place where natural forces like volcanoes, tsunami, typhoons, earthquakes and landslides are so much more common and have such immediate consequences for peoples' lives a little litter may seem insignificant. Of course plastic wrappers, rubber, alluminum, glass etc. will not decay but accumulate and pollute.

This is another situation where it's easy coming from a rich
industrial country to condescend. I wonder how much of our own pollution is either exported or swept under the landfill carpet, to still have almost as much negative long term effect on the environment as open sewers and burning garbage. I try to keep that in mind and be as sensitive to my own state of hypocrisy as possible. Still it's easy
to be frustrated when people spraypaint grafitti on the rocks next to the jungle waterfall, toss plastic bags of waste by the wayside and burn batteries and styrofoam in the gutters.

Getting busy

2008-05-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sitting cross legged in bed under the mosquito canopy while Kim takes a cold shower. Yesterday I rummaged around in a bag of bug repellent which Kim had accumulated over various trips to the tropics. I picked one out and sprayed it on my hands, neck and the back of my head before dinner. Then after dinner Kim held up a spray bottle and asked me if it was the one I’d used. Sure was. This is to impregnate clothing, she told me. It should never be applied to bare skin, never even applied indoors but only to the outer surface of clothing. Great. So I plunged under the cold shower. It was actually really pleasant.

Today Gunowan did a presentation on Raptors which seemed to please the kids immensely. He smiles and jokes a lot and very easily with them which really seems to hold their attention. I filmed again. I think now I have about 3 hours of footage of the presentations. That may be useful for IAR’s own promotional and educational work here if it can be put into a useful package.
Today we went into Bogor mostly to pick up a cel phone. It was a rather long and not so well-used day as my efforts to pick up another external hard drive for backup proved fruitless. We were at the big, American style mall again today. It’s an air conditioned behemoth with very friendly service.

On the way back we let the others drive on and stopped at an internet café to check emails. Then we had our first experience with an Angkot – the little blue and green mini-buses which are the local transportation. We gave our destination to the driver and climbed in. An older fellow in the passenger seat turned around, gave us a huge smile and asked us where we were from. He seemed quite tickled to hear Germany and Canada and asked us more which we unfortunately didn’t understand. As is often the case he apologized for not speaking English at which we apologized for not speaking Indonesian. I have a great deal of respect for people who put in the effort to learn the local language and I think it’s the real way to connect.

Back at the guest quarters a thunderstorm rolled in and the dogs who had barked accusingly at us before came and cowered at our feet.

Tuesday May 27th

2008-05-27T04:54:00.000-07:00

First day rather more collected. Trying to figure out my place here, who I can film, talk to. Kim had some success with Enrichment building little challenges for Macaques with nuts, honey and egg inside.

Sometimes the first day or two arriving in a new place I have this increased focus and energy with which to analyze and describe new experiences. The time directly following is so full of learning it becomes overwhelming to describe it all, I get caught up in the action and it becomes more difficult sitting down to express it.

I’ve been filming a lot in the last two days: three presentations with school children followed by planting trees, some shots of the general area and a little footage with the Macaques as they react to enrichment items placed in their cages. Filming in the cages is particularly difficult because two of three roofs are translucent green or blue which reflects onto the subjects. Not only that but the wires must be

It’s 7:10 pm here. Chants are ringing from the Mosques. The mosquitoes are making themselves felt. Geckoes, crickets and frogs fill the background with a chattering, chirping, burping buzz. During the evenings, after the first few hours of sleep I awake and my mind is spinning from question to idea back to question. I catalogue burning smells: sometimes I smell burning rubber or wood, sometimes plastic. They burn garbage here as there is no public disposal. Even outside the President’s palace there was a driveway with piles of refuse.

While piles of rotting waste and the burning stench are disgusting at least there is no avoiding the consequences of creating so much of it. Unlike the endless neatly tied bags we fill the bins with at home which disappear from sight and mind within a day or two.

The educational programs at I.A.R. Indonesia aim to increase the awareness school children have for the environment and their co inhabitants on the planet. It’s definitely moving in the right direction. The challenge is, however, a vast one.

Today Karmele and Marlene went to meet some captive Gibbons to see if they might find a suitable companion for Saar. I may be able to go to the shelter where they are sometime soon, something I really look forward to. I don’t know much about Gibbons except that they are amazing climbers. I remember watching them in awe at the Berliner Tierpark and of course Saar is a climbing prodigy.

It would be a great pleasure to be able film Saar meeting his new companion for the first time.

Since meeting Kim I had begun visiting zoos for the first since I was a very young child. I remember going with the whole family to the Seattle zoo and my parents’ disapproval at the shabby condition of the wolves there. Farley Mowat’s Never Cry Wolf was amongst my family’s book collection and they pointed out that these animals had all been taken from their natural habitat to live in small cages or enclosures. From that time I had avoided zoos on principle. Since Kim has a professional interest in animal health and a personal interest in their welfare I felt I would lift my ban to serve my own education.

One of the things I’ve learned about is “stereotypical behavior”, repetitive motion like pacing, head swinging, nail biting, continuous scratching. It’s the same kind of behavior associated with psychologically disturbed humans and comes from the same kind of alienating experience, such as being abused, locked in a very small space, isolated etc. Stereotypical behavior is not exhibited by healthy animals in the wild. Watching the Macaques at I.A.R. who often come from homes where they were abused as pets, you can still see signs of stereotypical behavior.

Hazy jet-lagged catch up day

2008-05-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

I.A.R.’s guest house is a bamboo thatched paradise bungalow with a covered eating area. We are guarded by a friendly pack of extremely clean, healthy looking ex-street dogs. They take a little time to get friendly but they will become very loyal we are told.

We made it out of bed and up to the IAR headquarters around 9a.m. The baby Gibbon Saar, whose name means ‘Lost’, is learning how to climb and is incredibly cute. It’s pretty easy to see why baby apes are so popular as pets. They’re hardier and more interactive than human babies of the same age, running, climbing, making faces, shy and very sociable, they react differently to different individuals and integrate you in their play. Of course they are wild animals and when they are older they become impossible to handle, sometimes aggressive, difficult to predict and impossible to provide a good home for and that is one of the reasons for the cages full of unwanted adult Macaques.

A spicy breakfast of Nasi Goreng and sweet coffee helps get my blood out of stasis. Karmele arrives with a pack of happy dogs and she takes us on a tour of the facility. There is a lot to see and keep track of.

One main focus at the moment is enrichment for the Macaques. Enrichment means improving the quality of life of the animals by providing them with stimulation in the form of challenges and an interactive environment. It is a growing trend in zoos to put more resources into enrichment and it is essential to help prepare the animals for reintroduction to the wild. Asman and others are constructing objects out of wood, burlap and rubber from tires and straps, which are hung from the ceiling of the cages. They swing freely and provide a robust, organic form with an interior to practice their natural instinct to hide.

Other forms of enrichment are puzzles with an edible prize inside – something which provides a challenge suitable to the perseverance and intelligence of the animal, in other words not so difficult that he gives up but not so hard that he gets it right away. A piece of bamboo, stopped at both ends and containing some choice nuts is an example.

Enrichment takes many forms I am told but that is a quick introduction for people like myself who aren’t in the know.

The Slow Lorises are nocturnal and so we just catch sight of their bushy bottoms sticking out of a sheltered box nestled in a shady tree.

A group of elementary school students arrived around 10a.m. to get some animal welfare and environmental awareness education which includes some information on endemic species. Afterwards they planted some trees. Indonesian school children are quite well-behaved. At the gates of the complex some poor children who weren’t in school were peering through the fence while the school children had a soft drink. Karmele asked that they also be invited in.

We head down to the guest quarters for lunch and then Endang and Iing took us into Bogor to register with the police, go to the bank and hit the shopping mall for some essentials we didn’t pack.

One police station wasn’t enough – we had to go from the local to the regional station but we just ended up waiting in the car. After a confusing mix-up at the till where I was charged three times for batteries, refunded once and received one pack and then finally received cash back we decided to hit Starbucks. The prices are as European as the flavours.

The drive back is long. Since I don’t speak Indonesian and Endang doesn’t speak a lot of English our communication was a bit stilted but in the end we talked about football – he plays in goal and his hero is Olli Kahn or King Kahn, keeper for Bayern Muenchen.

In the evening we are serenaded by the frogs and geckoes again and chat with Marlene, a Danish biologist building the education program.

What’s better than a free rock concert?

2008-05-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

24^th. of May wake up with a thousand things to do, one of them, pack for Indonesia. Others include sell my car or give it away, apply for health insurance. I know some of these things won’t get done.

Kim has her own similar list. She may manage to finish hers.

Kim’s friend Mark kindly stores some of our boxes and drives us to the airport where we miraculously check in and send off the last mail. Then it’s into the machine that is modern travel. If we’re lucky it’ll spit us out alive on the other end.

Munich is crisp, clean and there is little activity. Frankfurt is where we board the long haul flight with a stop-over in Singapore. Crossing from one terminal to the next via sci-fi blue lit transit tunnel.

We board the 747-400 on time. Shiny, sleek, modern aluminum-skinned hi-tech transport taking us from the sterile, cool, silver grey, steel and glass halls of rainy Frankfurt, belching kerosene exhaust the entire way to land in dirty, noisy, chaotic, colorful, humid and hot Jakarta. This is not the time or place to explore the symbolism of taking such a polluting form of transportation in such a clean elegant package from western Europe to subtropical Asia but it lingers in my mind.

I manage to sleep most of the way which is rare. Singapore is a half hour stop and then it’s one more thundering take-off, over the sea to Jakarta. The terminal is low-ceilinged, decorated with Indonesian art. The cleaner in the toilets turns on the tap and hands me a paper towel before asking for a tip. All I have is change from Singapore. He doesn’t look impressed.

The line for Immigration is long but we are quickly processed. All of our luggage is already on the baggage belt and we throw it onto carts. We get through security with a cursory check of the laptop.

In the letter from Karmele did it say go to the left or the right? I think it must have been right. To the right there is a huge crowd of people, some with signs for passengers expecting pick-up. I glance to the left. A just as big a crowd there. I’m pretty sure it was right so we go right. Right was wrong. No one there. I walk back through and take a look at the crowd to the left. I don’t see any International Animal Rescue signs or anything with Kim or my name on it. We go upstairs to go to an internet café to find Karmele’s number. She says there are people waiting to pick us up and they’ll meet us at McDonald’s.

Gunowan, Asman and one other are smiling at the entrance and we take off through the airport crowd. People are smiling, frowning, reacting. Children are especially curious, grinning and waving. It’s noisy, chaotic, though not so chaotic as it might be. I film for a minute or two but it’s dark as we enter the parking lot and I think it’ll be better to film once I know people a little better. The sun goes down around 5:30 in the evening here.

The drive through darkened Jakarta is surreal. The city is huge. Skyscrapers with company names glowing, gigantic billboards, hotels and high rises in the smoky distance, insane drivers and crawling traffic all make for a numbing impression. After a little friendly chat we sit in silence for a while and then it’s hard to keep my head up.

It takes a long time to leave Jakarta and there seems to be little gap between the city of Jakarta and the city of Bogor. To the left Gunowan points out the botanical garden and the president’s palace, which is full of deer, apparently a non-indigenous kind.

We climb up in to the mountains. First we drive through twisting roads which narrow and then it’s onto a small, single lane paved track and then we arrive at the gates of the I.A.R. Indonesia guest quarters. The cook, Ibu Oti has left some great food for us which we wake up long enough to eat. Then we spread the mosquito netting and surrender to jet-lag, with a tree frog concert for a lullaby.

So what’s better than a free rock concert?

A tree frog concert!

24 hours...

2008-05-23T01:09:00.000-07:00

It's the breakfast blog! It's been incredibly hectic and not everything will get done! Kim has applications to get out. We haven't packed! It's Friday! But other than that everything is fine...

Fine, fine, fine. We have anti-malaria drugs, we have an extra battery pack, we have, shit, we just don't know what we don't have and won't till we get there but surely you can get everything you need there. Probably at half the price. We'll see.

It's now the evening blog. Just did a quick interview with Kim. I'm going to go see how much of what I've learned I've been able to integrate by doing a quick video capture and looking at the footage.

Blog almost ready

2008-05-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

All we need is some more content!

Information about the animals that I.A.R. works with and their projects at the rescue center in Indonesia can be found here.

The last week before departure: Munich

2008-05-20T02:03:00.000-07:00

Last week I took a 6 hour crash course from my film making mentor Michael Frank, managing director of M.Project, who stuffed my head full of information. His girlfriend, Nina Grützmacher, my sister-in-law to be, photographer, schooled me on outdoor lighting. Kim and I then flew to London and took a bus and train down to Uckfield, headquarters of International Animal Rescue (IAR) to meet with Alan Knight and Interview him.

The interview turned out surprisingly well despite my making several technical mistakes. The composition was good, the sound was clear. Alan does a good interview speaking concisely and forcefully. It was a great start. Pictures and other film footage from I.A.R.'s projects in India and Indonesia gave me some ideas of how I could proceed there.

We then spent the night in London with our friends Radford and Nicole. The following day I followed memories from 10 years ago through the streets of the City where I'd worked for two months as a motorcycle courier, walking from London Bridge, over Tower Bridge, past the tower of London, up Holborn to Covent Gardens. On Monmouth street I found the coffee shop which I remembered serving the best coffee in London. Then it was down to Trafalger Square to the Texas Embassy Cantina where I'd worked as a bartender, through Queen's Park to Victoria station where we caught a bus back to Stanstead and a Ryanair flight to Duesseldorf - total time from Germany to the U.K. and back: 40 hours.

We're doing a lot of air travel. Since there are direct connections between pollution, habitat destruction, decline of biodiversity etc. it seems counterproductive to travel so much but networking requires human contact across the globe. There are levels of communication that are difficult to achieve via email.

We spent the night in Bochum and took a car Cologne where Michael took a look at the footage I'd shot in Uckfield, filled my aching head with still more information and then we took off for Munich.

Just came home from the Tropical Disease Institute where Kim and I took a Tuberculoses Test. We've gone through a battery of immunizations, required by International Animal Rescue mostly to insure the safety of the animals we'll be working with.

I'm gathering all the extra equipment I might need during filming, extra battery pack, portable hard drive, separate camera level to replace the one on the tripod which broke etc.

I've purchased the book 'Shut up and Shoot' by Anthony G. Artis and am looking forward to doing a little reading. It seems to have some good tips and tricks. It also has a picture of the Panasonic DVX100 on the cover - my camera. That gives me a good feeling.

Beginnings...

2008-05-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

Flying to London tomorrow to meet Alan Knight of International Animal Rescue. Brainstorming questions to ask and trying to learn to say please and thank you in Indonesian.