Image of the month - February 2026

This mother and baby were at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Borneo. The centre's primary mission is to rehabilitate and provide a safe haven for orphaned and injured orangutans, who are one of the world's most endangered primates. 60 to 80 orangutans live independently in the rainforest reserve and approximately 25 orphaned orangutans are housed and cared for in the nurseries. The main nursery can be viewed from behind glass which is not great for photography. Outside there are feeding platforms where the wild Orangutans come in with their young, but these are typically mobbed by tourists.

This was the case when I was patiently sitting for this shot. With about 200 people on the viewing platform the Orangutans were rather shy and mostly sat with their backs to the crowd. One of the minders announced to the crowd that the big alpha male had made his way to the glass fronted nursery, and to my delight everyone disappeared from the platform leaving just me and one minder. The Orangutans visibly started to relax and this mother and baby turned to face me. I was very happy to sacrifice a shot of the male from behind glass to watch this fantastic scene in complete peace. I need not have worried about missing the big male though as the following morning gave me one of my most memorable wildlife close encounters ever – a shot that I will post next time.