After a short break following lunch, we set out to explore the nature reserve as the sun began to set.
When we arrived at the entrance of the forest, we took the opportunity to review the guidelines provided.
The nature reserve rangers' office was closed since it was past regular hours.
However, we could hear some noise coming from the floor above and suspected that the office had turned into a playground for the crested black macaques.
One of our primary objectives was to observe these primates in their natural environment,
and we were eager to see them up close.
They have reddish-brown eyes, prominent cheekbones, and a long tuft of hair on their heads, which is why they are called Sulawesi Crested Macaques. Unusually for primates, they possess a very short tail that is nearly invisible. This likely explains why they spend over half of their time on the ground foraging for food and socialising.
As darkness fell, we continued deeper into the forest in search of another primate species, the Tarsier. Near the entrance, we noticed a striking monument honoring Alfred Russel Wallace, which celebrated his significant discovery of the Wallace line in 1859, a boundary that separates the biogeographical regions of Asia and Indonesia.
As night took over, the forest trail buzzed with life, featuring many frogs and millipedes.
We successfully spotted our second target of the day, the Tarsius tarsier, one of the smallest known primates.
By this time, the crested black macaques had likely retreated to their safe resting places for the night.
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