Mr. Uil is Camp Leakey’s most experienced Dayak guide. His marriage to Charlotte Grimm, an American who had volunteered at Camp Leakey several years earlier during his first visit to Borneo, added to his status. Uil’s job was to monitor the young Dayaks as they took us to their assigned areas in the rainforest in search of wild orangutans.
Uil and I immediately bonded as soon as we met while talking about the rainforest around Camp Leakey. A veterinary degree is highly respected in this part of the world, and mine laid the foundation for my special day with him.
We had kayaked together earlier in our trip looking for proboscis monkeys to photograph.
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0vv8moc6/dvm360/08cb8a08778e0d221224c1cb52d4c573a7f57a47-1080x1205.jpg?fit=crop&auto=format)
I stood out one morning when he pulled me away from the group on the way out and told me we would both spend the day alone. Spending time with him was the highlight of my trip. His knowledge of the flora and fauna of the rainforest, his birthplace, was impressive. I am impressed by a person so in touch with nature.
The Borneo rainforest presents inherent dangers that only an experienced Dayak would be aware of. With all the unique wildlife like bearded pigs, barking deer, malaria-causing mosquitoes, poisonous plants, and venomous snakes, safety is obviously a concern. Although bearded pigs and venomous snakes are very dangerous, fortunately it is rare to encounter one.
It didn’t take long to find one in the rotting vegetation.
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0vv8moc6/dvm360/0959588258a4e00012d5af1b0a224df092890b35-1080x975.jpg?fit=crop&auto=format)
It’s the insects, arachnids and arthropods, which are in great abundance and the animals you are most likely to encounter. The main animals Mr. Uil told me to watch out for were centipedes, whose painful bite can last for days. Even trees and vegetation can pose a potential hazard, as tree sap can burn and cause blisters on your skin if you inadvertently brush against them while walking past them.
The irritating sap can be buried deep in the bark and difficult to spot when you brush against it.
More importantly, the sap falls on the leaves where you might sit or touch the ground.
Not all tree saps are toxic, as evidenced by this milky white sap (known as latex) that oozed from a rubber tree when Mr. Uil cut it with his knife.
Among all the wild and potentially dangerous saps, animals and plants, can you guess what the biggest danger is in the Borneo rainforest? These are falling tree branches from rotten wood in the abundant overgrowing trees. Fortunately, the closest we got was the sound of one of these branches crashing to the ground, deep in the rainforest, which caught our attention during one of our hikes.
Uil and I walked further into the rainforest as we explored Tanjung Puting National Park. My outfit for my day with Mr. Uil was my weight lifting gloves and a long sleeve t-shirt. Long sleeves prevent exposure to tree sap, scratches and insect bites. The gloves allowed me to hold on to thorny branches for added balance in the thick undergrowth.
Even though it was hot and humid, wearing a long-sleeved shirt was a good decision.
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0vv8moc6/dvm360/745bdca7c5c30b4b1a2d4497bb5c804229239646-1080x884.jpg?fit=crop&auto=format)
Mr. Uil did 2 fascinating things together on our special day. One was to pluck a leaf from a tree, put it in your mouth and blow on it. It made a high-pitched sound as the leaf reverberated. He was calling for a barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac), and sure enough, he appeared shortly after. This deer literally barks when frightened by a predator. After discovering this toxic sap on the leaves, I passed up the opportunity to learn this deer calling technique, thank you.
The deer appeared, but it all happened too quickly for my manual focus camera to take a photo.
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0vv8moc6/dvm360/60bcf03752f99850bc08e16d4945191777324f7c-1080x719.jpg?fit=crop&auto=format)
Another fascinating skill I learned was how to build a homemade trap that could catch almost any animal so we could eat it in case we got stuck or lost. He first used a large knife to cut small branches for the frame, then one branch to make a pointed stick. Then he shaved some smaller branches for his rope version. It was ingenious, although I wasn’t sure if it would provide us with dinner (I was glad we had our cooked rice with us).
He built it in no time, a testament to his experience.
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0vv8moc6/dvm360/cb8b0a1040bd0407e55b5fdda007a64cb0ce3d42-1080x896.jpg?fit=crop&auto=format)
It’s time for lunch break. Did you notice the socks on Mr. Uil’s camouflage pants to prevent leeches?
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0vv8moc6/dvm360/4611e0d195ee1f5c164e16be7b307100ac9da78a-1440x940.jpg?fit=crop&auto=format)
Besides sharing my photos in articles, presentations and on my website, another reason I take photos during my travels around the world is to relive the experience years later. Writing this article and seeing these photos from over 30 years ago allowed me to do just that.
In future articles, I will return to my trip to Borneo 21 years later my trip in 1991, with a focus on orphaned babies and how they are reintroduced to the rainforest. I have to warn you that once you see these babies, you will book a flight there!