FirstLook: A Mother’s Kiss
For more than eight hours, we navigated the Sekonyer River in a wooden boat, cruising through Tanjung Puting National Park in the Central Kalimantan region of Borneo, Indonesia. After docking, we walked about an hour in the lush rainforest. Then, our tour guide and ranger, Adut, placed corn and yams on top of a wooden table.
It was not long until orange-haired Bornean orangutans began to approach the table. More than five were carrying babies. Seeing so many newborns was, Adut informed us, highly unusual. He conjectured that the park’s closure and resulting prolonged quiet due to the pandemic may have contributed to an optimal primate mating environment.
Observing the orangutans, I saw how intimately bonded the mothers were to their babies and how deeply they seemed to express love in every movement with them. As I watched a nearby mother and infant embrace, I photographed this magnificent moment as the mother was tenderly kissing her child’s neck.
Orangutans are listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, mainly because of habitat loss—in Indonesia they have lost 80 percent of their forest area. Sanctuaries like the Tanjung Puting National Park are helping to preserve their lives and future. And while I was happy to see so many new families among them, it impressed on me the urgency of finding ways to thwart deforestation.
—Beawiharta
@beawiharta
You may also be interested in...
Spotlight on Photography: Arabs In America
In 1975 AramcoWorld dedicated an entire issue to celebrating the lives of Arab Americans and their impact—from renowned heart surgeon Michael DeBakey to White House correspondent Helen Thomas to entertainer and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital founder Danny Thomas..jpg?cx=0.5&cy=0.5&cw=480&ch=360)
FirstLook: A Market’s Port of Call
After the war in 1991, Kuwait faced a demand for consumer goods. In response, a popular market sprang up, selling merchandise transported by traditional wooden ships. Eager to replace household items that had been looted, people flocked to the new market and found everything from flowerpots, kitchen items and electronics to furniture, dry goods and fresh produce.
Spotlight on Photography: Relive the 1980 Grand Prix Through Michael Turner's Racing Photos
Amid the roar of racers zooming toward the finish line in London during the 1980 Grand Prix, longtime auto-racing photographer and renowned artist Michael Turner trained his lens on a Saudia-Williams FW 07.