In Search of the Red Ape

by John MacKinnon

Book by Mackinnon, John

Genres: Nature

248 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Michael P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

John MacKinnon was the first naturalist to properly observe orangutans in the wild. This fascinating, sensitive, insightful account brings us closer to this too rare and wonderful species that is now losing so much habitat. In terms of human values, orangs are the sweetest of the apes. I love them, and I loved MacKinnon’s account.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Along the lines of Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey's work, but with Orangutans. I read it back in the 80s but it holds up pretty well as a story of a naturalistic observation study. A lot of good info about the animal world as well.

[Sandy Millin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this nearly 15 years ago as part of my preparation for a trip to Borneo, during which I had the immense privilege to work as a volunteer behind the scenes at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre for 5 days rebuilding a bridge there, all as part of a longer four month project. In total I spent eight weeks living in the jungle in Sabah, and eight weeks teaching in a primary school in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak. It was an amazing experience, and reading the book again brought some of it back, especially the persistence of the leeches!
Having said that, many of John's experiences were very different to mine, especially in terms of the abundance of wildlife he saw. While I did see a few creatures in the wild, this was normally on night drives organised by local rangers, with the occasional bird. The most common animals which we saw, other than leeches and ants, were the amazing lace butterflies normally near the river and hornbills flying over morning and evening. I suspect this is due to the amount of regular human activity in the area, and also the fact we were in secondary rainforest, which while still fairly dense was a shadow of what it had been. We spent a few days trekking through primary forest, and it's very different, especially in the undergrowth - this would have been much closer to John's experience.
It was fascinating to read his accounts of the life he saw and his close observations of the orangutans. Though occasionally some of the attitudes expressed betray the time he was writing in, you cannot fault his clear passion for the research, and worry that the future for the orangutan is still not looking bright, as the march of the oil palm wipes out rainforest, in conjunction with the logging that was already taking place when this book was written.

[Kate Millin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second reading of this book. It is interesting to read again many years after I first read it (it was published in 1974). It is sad to hear how things are changing. In the book John says that wild orang-utans breed every 2 years. I happen to be watching a programme about Chester Zoo at the same time - on there they were surprised when a female had another baby just over 3 years after her last one as now they breed every 8-9 years in the wild. John does say they manage their breeding patterns in the wild to match the availability of food, but surely this is too long a period for an animal that takes a long time to mature.

Food for thought.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. I loved the descriptions of the forests of Borneo and Sumatra. Hearing about local customs was interesting too. What an awesome adventure!