Durian
The centre of ecological diversity for durians is the island of Borneo, where it is prized by the local people, a passion shared by the orangutan population. Along with D. zibethinus, other edible species of Durio such as D. dulcis, D. graveolens, D. kutejensis, D. oxleyanus and D. testudinarium are sold in local markets in Borneo.
See Duria Palace | Durian.net
Mawang
Rafflesia blooms
Rafflesia has the distinction of being the world's largest flower. The genus Rafflesia gets it name from Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of the British colony of Singapore.
The flowers smell like rotting meat, hence its local names which translate to "corpse flower" or "meat flower". The vile smell that the flower gives off can sometimes attract flies. It is parasitic on vines in the genus Tetrastigma (Vitaceae), spreading its roots inside the vine. The fruit is eaten by tree shrews and other forest mammals. Rafflesia is an official state flower of Sabah in Malaysia, as well as for the Surat Thani Province, Thailand.
Trek the jungle paths to view the Rafflesia in its natural habitat.
Rafflesia Destinations
| Gunung Gading National Park is located near the town of Lundu, Sarawak. Lundu is about 2 hour drive from Kuching. Visitors need to call the National Park Booking Office or Forest Department for permits and to check if the Rafflesia is in bloom. | |
| This education center for the rafflesia is located in Tambunan, about 65KM from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Also known as Tambunan Rafflesia Reserve. | |
| Conserved on private land owned by Mr Kundong. | |
| The Raya Pasi mountain is located in the Singkawang regency. |
Conservation Organizations in Borneo that are responsible for the survival of Rafflesia:
See Rafflesia Brief Reference
Tropical Pitcher Plants (Nepenthes)
See Pitcher Plant blog posting.
Pitcher Plants Destinations
| The garden is located at Kota Padawan town which is about 10 miles from Kuching. Nominal fee will be levied per entry. The garden closed on Monday. | |
| |
Bako National Park is about 45 minutes drive from Kuching. You need to take another 30 minutes boat ride from the Bako village jetty to the park. Thereon, you need to trek to an area called Telok Keruin to appreciate the natural habitat of pitcher plants.. |
| Beside caving activites, Mulu National Park is known to have 10 types of pitcher plants and other flora and fauna. The park is about 30 minutes air trip from Miri. Alternatively, you may take a ten hour river trip from Miri to Mulu. Due to the distance, overnight stay at the park (resthouse and resort) is required. | |
| The Lampir Hill National Park is located about 30km south of Miri Town. Short day trips to the park are possible. | |
| From Lawas .... | |
| The mountain variety of pitcher plant can be found in Kinabalu National Park. See the largest pitcher plant (Nepenthes Rajah) at Mesilau Nature Conservation Centre (about 2 hours return hike from the Kinabalu National Park HQ). | |
| The insurmountable Maliau Basin, Maliau Basin Studies Center,
Maliau Falls and Lake Linumunsut are sites in the Maliau Basin Conservation Area. About 9 species of pitcher plant can be
found at the Maliau conservation area. These include Nepenthes cf. mirabiles, N. gracilis, N. hirsuta, N. lowii,
N. reinwardtiana, N. stenophylla, N. tentaculata, N. veitchii and N. veitchii X N. stenophylla. Maliau Basin entrance is situated about 40 km east of Pensiangan in southern Sabah. It is now easily accessible from Tawau and Keningau. It is about 190 km from Tawau. From Keningau, it takes about 4 hours. The best mode of transport is by 4WD. Four-wheel drive is essential as the latter part of the journey is on logging roads. |
Conservation Organizations in Borneo that is responsible for the survival of pitcher plant.
See Flickr: Pitcher Plants Pictures Gallery #1 | Pitcher Plants Pictures Gallery #2 | Pitcher Plants Species | Nepenthes
Pepper Vine and Berries
Sarawak pepper has gained international recognition by chefs and gourmets as one of the favorite pepper ingredients due to its distinctive flavor and taste perfected through years of government funded agro-research. The state of Sarawak produces 95% of Malaysian pepper hence the trade name, Sarawak Pepper. Over 90% of the 25,000 tonnes produced annually is exported to some 40 countries around the world.
Pepper Farm Destinations
| You may visit pepper farms near Tapah bazaar en route to Serian town or en route to Gunung Gading National Park. Serian is about 40 miles from Kuching. Gunung Gading National Park is about 120KM from Kuching. |
See Pepper Products | Pepper Marketing Board Malaysia | International Pepper Community
Brooke Birdwing Butterfly
See more Rajah Brooke Birdwing image #1 | image #1 | image #1
Orang Utan *Totally Protected Species*
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The Orang Utan (Malay term meaning Jungle Man) is an instant crush for
anyone who sees it in its natural habitat. Cute, adorable and disturbingly human-like, it
has to be nature's ultimate humor!. The Orang Utan is native in Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan.
Also locally called "Mawas" or "maias".
Orang utans are omnivorous, feeding mainly on forest fruits, shoots, leaves and tree bark, but they occasionally eat small lizards, insects and bird eggs. They are very long-lived (up to 60 years in captivity) and mature slowly, producing one infant roughly every 4-5 years. This slow reproductive rate, and the need for densely packed trees to facilitate their movement, had made them highly sensitive to habitat loss. They are also threatened by hunting for the illegal pet trade. There are two subspecies of orang-utan: the Bornean orang-utan Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus and the Sumatran orang-utan Pongo pygmaeus abelii. Members of the Sumatran subspecies tend to be larger and lighter coloured than those from Borneo. Tourists can sight the Orang Utan at close range at Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary and Rehabilitation Center which is about 25 KM from Sandakan, Sabah. Orang Utan rehabilitation centers: |
Fast Facts Type: Mammal Diet: Omnivore Average lifespan in the wild: 30 to 40 years Size: Standing height, 4 to 5 ft (1.2 to 1.5m) Weight: 73 to 180 lbs (33 to 82 kg) Protection status: Endangered Size relative to a 6 ft (2 m) man: |
See description of Orang Utan.
See Orang Utan Image #1 | Image #2
Proboscis Monkey *Totally Protected Species*
Sighting of the Proboscis Monkeys is guaranteed, because they have one fixed habit, that is, they always sleep overnight in trees immediately above river banks. Knowing this, tour operators arrange daily evening or early morning river joy rides either along the Kinabatangan, Sabah's longest river, or its tributaries, especially the Menangol.
See Proboscis Money Image #1 | Image #2.
Borneo Gibbon *Totally Protected Species*
Family: HYLOBATIDAE
Gibbons are slender totally arboreal primates which, like other apes, lack a tail. They can travel very rapidly in canopy of rain forest, swinging by their long arms.
Measurement: HB 420-470, HF 128-150(7 specimens). Wt 5.0-6.4 kg.
Identification: Basically grey-brown but with a wide range in coat colour and pattern. No tail. Most often detected by the loud, bubbling call of the adult female, heard during the first hours of daylight and carrying for a distance of over 2 km under suitable conditions. H.m. funereus: usually mid grey-brown, with black underparts, and with a blackish "cap" on top of the head: sometimes nearly all black. Hands and feet coloured as the upperparts. A population of mixed colours occurs in the Lanjak-Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary in southern interior Sarawak.
Ecology & Habitat: Diurnal and completely arboreal. Unlike monkeys, gibbons usually cease activity about two hours before dusk. Usually found in small groups of one adult male, one adult female and one to three young. Each group depends on a territory of 20-30 ha. Diet consists of ripe fleshy fruits, young leaves and small insects. Normally found only in tall and selectively logged dipterocarp forests.
Distribution: Confined to Borneo in the lowlands and hills, up to 1500 m on Gunung Kinabalu. H.m. funereus: occurs in the north, south to the Saribas region of Sarawak and the S. Karangan region of East Kalimantan. H.m. muelleri: recorded between S. Barito and S. Karangan. H.m. abbotli recorded between the Saribas region and S.Kapuas in West Kalimantan.
Painted Terrapin *Totally Protected Species*
Named the painted terrapin for the red stripe that appears between the eyes of the male during the mating season, it lays far fewer eggs than marine turtles (usually 10-12), and is now restricted to only one or two nesting beaches in Sarawak.
Green Turtle *Totally Protected Species*
Distributed throughout the tropics, green turtles spend their lives moving between seagrass beds and nesting beaches, sometimes travelling over 2,000 km to lay their eggs on their ancestral beach. They are extremely long-lived, and may take as much as 60 years to reach sexual maturity. Their slow rate of reproduction, combined with over-harvesting for meat and eggs as well as habitat destruction has made them an endangered species worldwide.
Turtle destination:
Sago Bettle
If not eaten, the sago grub matures into the beetle family Rhinchophoridae or large weevils. The orange-tiped feelers are characteristic of the adult.
See grub image here, also called Sago Grub (not a worm).
See bettles gallery from Goliathus. Other sago bettles and grubs images, courtesy of www.papuaweb.org
"Chameleon" Snake
The slightly iridescent serpent, was discovered in wetlands and swamps near the Kapuas River in Betung Kerihun National Park, Kalimantan in the Indonesian section of the island of Borneo.
See National Geographic News.
Rhinoceros Hornbill *Totally Protected Species*
Exclusively fruit eaters, hornbills mate for life and their nesting habits are unique. The incubating female seals herself into her tree hole nest with mud, leaving only a small aperture through which food is passed by the male. When the young hatch the female breaks out, but reseals the nest and helps to feed the young until they are ready to leave the nest.
Bay Cat*Totally Protected Species*
Locally known as "Kucing merah". The bay cat is about the size of a large domesticate cat with an extra long tail, it has two color phases The coat can be mahogany red or blackish gray on the back and flanks, but it is usually paler on the underparts, with some faint spots on the belly and limbs. A pale flash marks the inside of each eye and there may be faint dark stripes on the top of the head and the cheeks. The first half of the tail is conspicuously white underneath.
More details can be read here.
Bulwer's Pheasants *Totally Protected Species*
Males have bushy white tails and folds of brilliant blue skin on their faces. Females have brown folds of skin. The pheasants are found in the wild only on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo (tropical hill forests of central and northern Borneo) where it nests and forages on the ground and roosts in trees. It is a poor flier but a fast and nimble runner, using a combination of darting runs and flurried bursts of flight to avoid predators.
During the mating season the male produces a shrill, piercing cry and performs a tail-spreading, wattle-raising dance for interested females.
The survival of Bulwer's pheasants are threatened since its natural habitats are fast disappearing due to illegal hunting, logging and other forest activities.
The elusive Bulwer's pheasants are found in the wild in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan and Malaysian state of Sabah and Sarawak. Bulwer's pheasants can be view at some zoos such at Bronx Zoo (US), Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (US), San Antonio Zoo (US), San Diego Zoo (US), Jurong Birdpark (Singapore), Yokohama Zoo (Japan), Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden.
See National Geographic News.
Bornean Bristlehead*Totally Protected Species*
Straw-Headed Bulbul
A non-migratory bird, the Straw-Headed Bulbul tends to be arboreal and builds untidy, cup-shaped nests in trees. It is also the largest bulbul in South-east Asia. Can be considered as a rather dull-coloured birds, with olive-brown upperparts and streaky underparts, orange-ish cap, a black moustache and black stripe through and below the eye, its colour is its only shortcoming. Chief appeal of this bird lies in its distinguished ringing and melodious song.
It prefers habitats bordering rivers, streams, marshes and other wet areas, where seasonal flooding prevents the establishment of climax communities. These include secondary and disturbed primary evergreen forest, plantations, gardens and cultivation fringe, scrub and, locally, reedbeds and mangroves. It is most frequent in lowlands, but has been recorded (historically) up to 1,100 m and, locally (on Borneo and Sumatra), up to 1,600 m. It is sedentary, generally occurring in pairs or family parties of up to five.
A popular caged birds throughout Southeast Asia, its natural talent in singing has further increased its popularity - and therefore faces constant pressure from birds aficionado.
Western Tarsier *Totally Protected Species*
The unique feature of the Western Tarsier is not only the eyes, but also its other features such as extremely long fingers which have pads on the tips and its toes - flattened nails except for the second and third toes; these end with claw-like nails. Because of these cute features and appeals to humans, tarsiers are often captured as pets. However, because they require live food, tarsiers die within days of capture.
Found in dense strands of bamboo, jungles, coastal forests, dense vegation, primary and secondary rain forests, shrubs, plantations and even in some settlements and gardens this animal is listed in CITES Appendix II - CITES Appendix II includes those species that, although not necessarily threatened with extinction, may become so unless trade is strictly regulated in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.
It is interesting to note that Tarsiers are monogamous and when female tarsiers are ready to mate, they emit high-pitched sounds to available suitors. These sounds have a characteristic pitch. During courting, partners often chase each other while making distinctive soft sounds. But when mating begins, they maintain complete silence. It reaches maturity at the age of one year and have a gestation period of approximately six months - a heavy burden for such a small animal! Tarsiers give birth to a single offspring, one fourth of the mother's weight, 20 to 31 grams and babies are active on their first day of life, and after 42 days they are ready to hunt! Tarsiers hunts at night, after the tarsier has spent the entire day sleeping in dense vegetation or in hollow trees. Favourite sleeping position is upright against a tree trunk or branch, using the tail for support and it sleeps in different places in their territory each day, and arise from slumber at sundown or during early evening, when insects are most active.
They sometimes carry their offspring in their mouths and when the mother went out to hunt, are usually left in deep vegetation while the mother hunts. Tarsiers keep in constant contact with their offspring through high-pitched calls, yells and noises. Tarsiers' eyes, which can weigh more than their brains, are essential in their capture of their prey and because of their big eyes they are known to hunt at night excellently. Also, their ears are very sensitive, and they can hear long distances.
In the case of Tarsier, size does not matter! It can protect itself well despite it small size. Upon detecting a predator, a tarsier closes its eyes until the predator is almost directly on top of it. At this point, it opens its huge eyes and bares its sharp teeth in an effort to scare off the predator. They are also known for their extraordinary leaping abilities. On average they can leap 2m in distance and up to 1.5 m in height. During the course of a leap, they twist their bodies in the air as they extend their fingers to grasp a branch. Tarsiers' long tails are used for support and balance during the leap and afterward. Their long fingers give them the ability to grasp almost any surface.
Tarsiers' leaping abilities are correlated with their unique hind leg structure. Their forelegs are shorter than the exceedingly long hind limbs, and in fact, their name, tarsier, means elongated ankle area. Tarsiers leap with their tail head upwards.
Tarsiers can also walk on all fours. When doing this, they prefer to keep their tails pointed downward.
Tarsiers are territorial; males mark their area, which is approximately 1 hectare, with urine on branches or with a special secretion from their epigastic gland. Tarsiers are extremely vocal and make loud shrieks with their partners. In fact, they call in harmony, with each partner making its own distinct sounds. Mainly insectivorous, but they are known for their carnivorous habits, which include eating small animals like lizards, crustaceans, bats, and even scorpions and poisonous snakes. Tarsiers must have access to free water to drink.
Moths of Borneo
Visit The Moths of Borneo site.
Irrawaddy Dolphin of Borneo
Irrawaddy dolphins have been sighted in the Santubong area and groups are regularly sighted at Buntal, Muara Tebas and other rivers and estuaries close to Kuching, suggests that there could be a significant population near Kuching, Sarawak. Irrawaddy dolphins are also found upstream of Mahakam River, Kalimantan.
Visit Dolphins of Sarawak blog spot.
Read Pesut Mahakam Conservation Program 2005 report.