Places of Sighting:
A number of colonies are known to inhabit two main areas in the national park, namely Teluk Paku and Teluk Delima. In general, the former is more accessible for tourists as properly guided foot paths and plank walks are provided by the park authority mainly for sighting these elusive monkeys. They can also be easily spotted around the mangrove forest just a few minutes away from the Park Headquarters.

Description:
Words cannot simply describe the uniqueness of this often-shy monkey species. Proboscis monkeys are endemic to the island of Borneo. That means they cannot be found anywhere else in the world except in zoo captivity. Such unique demographical fact puts this species in same league as the orang utans which are endemic to Borneo and Sumatra, and the kangaroos which are endemic to Australia.

Bako National Park is the home for slightly less than 200 proboscis monkeys. The number is not exactly staggering as they are tagged as "Endangered Species" by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Throughout the island of Borneo which consists of three sovereign nations, namely Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, there are probably less than 5,000 proboscis monkeys in total. Major environmental factors that affect their declining population are the usual suspects that we often read and hear - extensive forest burning by nomad farmers in Borneo, indiscriminate logging and to a certain extent, inevitable urban expansion.

These adorable creatures are locally known as Orang Belanda in Indonesia and Malaysia due to their resemblance to the colonialist Dutchmen who often spotted a long, protruding nose. In the Indonesian province of Kalimantan, the proboscis monkeys are also known as "bekantan". Scientifically, the species is known as Nasalis larvatus. Their biggest known physical attributes are the long protruding noses and the large bellies. The one-of-its-kind noses are most probably for sniffing edible food on the trees, although another theory has it that such elongated noses are for vanity reason by way of natural attraction between the females and the males. The bloated bellies are not exactly for mating selections though. They are abnormally large due to released gas inside their digestive tracts.

The proboscis monkeys are mostly known as arboreal or tree-dwelling, although scientific literatures have mentioned them as being amphibian as well due to their relatively unknown ability to swim. In Bako National Park, you will notice that they spend most of their time nesting between the mangrove tree branches. Occasionally, you may see some of them getting down on the mudflat for a few minutes before jumping onto another tree branch to scour for more young leaves, sour fruits and seeds.

The best time to see these unique monkeys are in the early morning and just before dusk. It is recommended that you be in position along the plank walks of the mangrove forest by then. The proboscis monkeys are elusive at best and extremely conscious of human presence in the area. Hence, visitors are often advised to remain still and quiet for a pleasant viewing time. Taking a good photograph of them is next to impossible though since they prefer to keep a safe distance from the nearest existence of any human beings. It goes without saying that my regular optical zoom camera was not able to capture great snapshots of them, although I bet other visitors with their expensive SLRs were able to snap a memorable shot to bring home.

In short, the proboscis monkeys are adorable and unique. They are certainly the main highlight of Bako National Park and their sightings should not be missed by anyone. That being said, proper education on conservation efforts should be propagated throughout the world to ensure that our children and grandchildren will be able to see this one-of-its-kind species just like we do today.