If you want to see great apes in the wild, Sumatra’s rainforest is one of the most accessible places to do just that. Seeing orangutans in the wild, along with silver Thomas leaf monkeys, pig-tailed macaques, and a diverse range of birds like hornbills, will leave you with a renewed appreciation for the beauty and ingenuity of other species.

This picture of a Komodo Dragon was taken on November 01, 2006. It is one of the best pictures of the giant lizards that I have ever taken, although I have been visiting Komodo National Park almost every year since April 1988.

The rhinoceros is critically endangered! Approximately 200 years ago, at the turn of the 19th century, there were an estimated one million rhinos. By 1970, the count was about 70,000. Today, there are fewer than 24,000 remaining in the wild. If there is no change in our appreciation of this magnificent animal – if we do not take action to stop poaching and support the protection of our rhinos – the five surviving species (white rhino, black rhino, Indian rhino, Sumatran rhino and Javan rhino) will become extinct in the wild in our lifetime.

Less than one month remains before winners are drawn for Wild Asia’s 2010 Responsible Tourism Awards, a competition that celebrates the noble efforts of small- and medium-sized hotels and tour operators in Asia for their focus upon responsible tourism practices. The fourth of six finalists to be visited by the Wild Asia team is the Sarinbuana Ecolodge, a small accommodation located in a rainforest village in the northwest of Bali, Indonesia.