Orangutans at Kutai National Park attract tourists

Kalimantan orangutans have attracted domestic and foreign tourists visiting Preveb at the Kutai National Park (TNK) in East Kutai District, East Kalimantan.

"The number of visitors, especially foreign tourists, increases significantly every year. Most of them are interested to see orangutans," the head of the national park management area I in Sanggata, Kutai Timur District, Hernowo Suprianto, said here on Monday.

He said Preveb has a total of 25 wild orangutans and a variety of flora and fauna species typical to Kalimantan, including clouded leopard, golden cat, tarantula and many kinds of low tropical rainforest plants.

Suprianto said Prevab can be reached by driving a four-wheeled vehicle from Samarinda, capital of East Kalimantan province, to Sangatta, capital of East Kuta district, for nearly six hours. From Sangatta, visitors continue their journey to Kabo Jaya village and then to Prevab by boat for nearly 20 minutes.

"Most foreign tourists usually spend three nights exploring Prevab forest area, place of wild orangutan sanctuary. But sometimes they cannot find orangutan as this mammal often hides when seeing humans," he said.

Data from the Kutai National Park show 750 tourists visited Prevab in 2012, consisting of 540 foreign tourists and 210 domestic tourists. 

Most of the foreign tourists (126) visited Prevab in August 2012 while most of the domestic tourists (81) visited the area in December, he said.

"They not only watched orangutan but also conducted research on some species in the park," Suprianto said. (Antara)