Camp Leakey

Welcome to the legendary Camp Leakey. The journey to reach this remote scientific outpost is an adventure unto itself. …

Stepping onto the wooden dock of Camp Leakey, you are immediately enveloped by the towering primary forest. This entrance path has been walked by some of the most dedicated biologists and conservationists of the modern era. …

As we venture further down the dirt trails radiating from the central camp, let us focus our attention momentarily away from the canopy and onto the dense flora that forms the walls of our path. This primary rainforest is a…

Moving deeper into the shadows of the primary forest, the environment takes on a more primal, untamed atmosphere. While our focus is rightly on the orangutans, it is essential to understand the broader food web that exists hidden…

Before we reach the famous feeding platform, let us pause in this clearing to discuss the extraordinary foraging abilities of the orangutan. To survive in the wild, an orangutan requires an immense amount of caloric energy,…

We have arrived at the final, and most iconic, feeding station of our journey. This is the historic Camp Leakey platform. …

The spectacle begins. The rangers have placed the daily allowance of bananas and milk onto the elevated wooden stage. …

As the afternoon wanes and the last of the orangutans ascend back into the darkening canopy to build their sleeping nests, our time at Camp Leakey draws to a close. We walk back along the trail, the air cooling slightly as the…