Browse Tag

Borneo - Page 24

Why is there a badger on the old Sarawak coat of arms?

Published on

If you have never seen the old Sarawak coat of arms, you can spot it on the pediment above the pillars of the Kuching General Post Office on Jalan Tun Haji Openg.

There you will see the shape of an animal on top of a shield and the words “Dum Spiro Spero”.

Now comes the question what is that animal? It is actually a European badger, an animal that cannot be found in Sarawak.

If you are not familiar with a badger, remember Trufflehunter from The Chronicles of Narnia, one of Aslan’s followers?

Why is there a European badger on the old Sarawak coat of arms?

The White Rajahs were a dynastic monarchy of the British Brooke family. With the first ruler James, they founded and ruled the Kingdom of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946.

The heraldic arms of the Brooke dynasty were based on the emblem used by James. It consisted of a red and black cross on a yellow shield, crested by a badger.

This animal, in Middle English, was known as a “brock” and was also a nickname for people named “Brook” or “Brooke”. Hence the animal refers to the dynastic surname.

There are different kinds of badgers out there such as honey badger, American badger, European badger, Asian badger and Japanese badger.

The closest thing we have to the European badger (Meles meles) on the coat of arms is the Bornean ferret-badger (Melogale everetti). Although its only known certainty of location is on Mount Kinabalu and nearby regions in Sabah, it is suspected it can be found in Kalimantan and Sarawak too.

Sarawak old coat of arms
Sarawak’s old coat of arms (left) beside the one used today.
The current Sarawak coat of arms

Instead of a badger, we have our own Rhinoceros hornbill befitting the state’s nickname ‘Land of Hornbills’. The bird itself wears a shield on our current coat of arms. This design was established in 1988. The hornbill’s wings have 13 feathers representing all the Malaysian states.

It also features Malaysia’s national flower, the hibiscus.

Right below the hornbill is a banner bearing Sarawak’s motto “Bersatu, Berusaha, Berbakti” which means ‘Unity, Effort, Service’.

This motto was to replace Kingdom of Sarawak’s Dum Spiro Spero.

You might be interested in

10 interesting things to know about Balikpapan, Indonesia

Published on

Located on the east coast of Borneo island, Balikpapan is the industrial, commercial and financial center of Kalimantan.

It is the second most populous city in the East Kalimantan province of Indonesia, after Samarinda.

If you want to know more about this city, here are ten things to know about Balikpapan, especially on its unique history:
balikpapan 190894 1280 1
Water fountain at Bakapai Garden, Balikpapan. Credit: Pixabay.
1.The various stories behind its unique name

Those who understand Indonesian Malay might find the name ‘Balikpapan’ unique. ‘Balik’ means ‘behind’ while ‘papan’ is wooden plank.

Legend has it a king who was afraid of his daughter falling into enemy hands had bound her to several planks and sent her out to sea. Waves came and hit the planks, turning the daughter – who was still a toddler at the time – over. When the planks washed ashore, a fisherman found the daughter still bound to the board. The area where she was found was called Balikpapan.

Another theory is that the Kutai sultanate’s Sultan Muhammad Idris sent 1,000 planks to help the Paser kingdom build a new palace. They shipped the planks from Kutai to Paser through Borneo shorelines. Out of the 1,000 planks, 10 was washed away and resurfaced at a site which is now called Balikpapan.

The last theory is that it was named after a couple. Kayun Kuleng and Papan Ayun were the ancestors of Pasir Balik tribe, a native people of Balikpapan. The area that they lived is called ‘Kuleng-Papan’ and “Kuleng” means “Balik” in Paser language.

2. The city was part of an old kingdom called Kutai Kartanegara Sultanate

Before the late 19th century, Balikpapan was just a group of Bugis fishing villages which was part of the Kutai Kartanegara Sultanate.

Then in 1844, the Dutch came and defeated Kutai’s ruler Sultan Aji Muhammad Salehuddin. The event forced the sultan into exile, allowing the Dutch to take control of the whole sultanate including Balikpapan.

3.The booming oil industry in Balikpapan under Dutch Rule.

The first oil drilling in the city began on Feb 10, 1897 and the oil well which was called “Mathilda” has been commemorated by its very own monument. The date was set as Balikpapan ‘s anniversary.

Then in 1907, Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij (BPM), a subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Shell oil company made the city its headquarters. This caused many skilled workers and engineers from overseas to work there, resulting in the blooming of the economy.

More roads, warehouses, offices and bungalows were built in Balikpapan during this period.

4.The Japanese targeted Balikpapan during World War II due to its oil industry.

When the Japanese planned their offence during World War II, their main focus was usually on any city which had an oil industry, such as Miri (Sarawak) and Tarakan (Indonesia).

After they captured the oilfield at Tarakan from the Allies, they found that it was already destroyed.

So the Japanese force headed to Balikpapan in the hope that the oilfields had not been destroyed.

Knowing this, the Dutch commander Lieutenant Colonel Cornelis van den Hoogenband ordered the oilfield in Balikpapan destroyed, evacuating his staff to Samarinda on Jan 18, 1942.

When the Japanese finally landed in Balikpapan four days later, they were met with about 1,100 troops of the Dutch army.

However, this number was easily defeated by the Japanese who came with 5,500 infantry and 1,100 naval infantry.

5.In 1945, Balikpapan served as the site of the last major ground operation of World War II.

From July 1-21, 1945, Allied Forces from Australia, the United States of America, Netherlands and United Kingdom started a series of heavy bombing and shelling on Balikpapan.

This battle was one of the last to occur during WWII before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which effectively ended the war.

6.CIA once air raided the city back in the 1950s
Balikpapan 5
The coastline of Balikpapan has seen so many battles over the past century.

Although WWII ended in 1945, Balikpapan saw another battle in 1958. The US ran a CIA covert mission to undermine President Sukarno’s government by supporting right-wing rebels in Indonesia.

In 1958, the CIA then attacked Balikpapan and stopped oil exports in the area. This was to weaken the country’s economy.

The Balikpapan air raid subsequently caused Shell to suspend tanker services from Balikpapan.

To fight back, the Indonesian naval and air forces shot down a plane and captured its CIA pilot causing the Americans to withdraw their support of the right-wing groups.

7. The unique multi-cultural society of the city

Looking at East Kalimantan’s overall population, the most populous ethnic group in the province is the Javanese. Coming in second is the Bugis who live in coastal and urban areas. Meanwhile, the third largest ethnicity is the Banjar who live mostly in the city of Samarinda and Balikpapan.

Although the Dayak is only the fourth largest group, their cultural heritage, such as costumes and handicrafts, are widely displayed in Balikpapan in places like shopping malls and airport.

Balikpapan 2
Balikpapan 6
Balikpapan 7
Balikpapan 8
Balikpapan 10
Balikpapan 11
8.It is among most liveable cities in Indonesia

Thanks to its well-maintained facilities and environmental wellbeing, Balikpapan was voted the best city for living in 2013. It was also voted as the Most Loveable City for 2015.

9.The city’s mascot is the sunbear

The city is home to orangutan, sunbear, deer, proboscis monkey, gibbon, pangolin and plenty of endemic birds.

Of these animals, the sun bear was picked as Balikpapan’s mascot. Unfortunately, the population of sunbears in the area is maybe 50 or less.

Balikpapan 9
Orangutan can be found in the forests near the city particularly at Wain River Protected Forest.
10.It offers plenty of tourist attractions

Being a seaport city, Balikpapan has many beaches including Manggar Beach, Segara Beach Monument Beach and Kemala Beach.

Other tourist attractions include Wain River Protected Forest, a crocodile farm called Teritip and Bukit Bangkirai rainforest.

For Sarawakians, the city is just two flights away from Kuching. Visitors can fly from Kuching to Pontianak and then take another flight to Balikpapan.

Balikpapan
The city’s airport.

You might be interested in

A visit to a salt production house in Long Midang of Kalimantan

Published on

When it comes to picking the most ‘health-giving’ mountain salt for your clean diet, forget about Himalayan pink salt. Here in Borneo, we have our very own salt from the central region of the island.

While on Sarawak the side of the Bornean border, salt springs are aplenty in the Kelabit Highlands, Kalimantan’s are located in the Krayan Highland.

Besides paddy planting and livestock rearing, the Lundayeh people of Krayan Highland in Kalimantan rely on salt processing from these springs to boost their income.

Salt production in Long Midang 2
The humble-looking salt production house in Long Midang.
Salt production in Long Midang, Kalimantan

Located in the Krayan Highlands, Long Midang is the closest settlement across the Malaysian-Indonesian border from Ba Kelalan, Sarawak.

The salt production there has been going on for generations. Its production house is a humble building of wooden planks with zinc roof and cement floor.

There were two salt springs there, but both have been converted into concrete wells. Oddly, flowing next to the salt springs is a small freshwater stream.

According to local guide Alex Ballang, traditional custom requires that any visitors who enter the production house must wash their faces with the saltwater first. Plus, the saltwater is believed to be good for the skin.

Salt production in Long Midang 3
There is a freshwater stream right next to the salt spring.
Salt production in Long Midang 10
A first-time visitor needs to wash their face with the saltwater before entering the production house.
Salt production in Long Midang 9 1
The saltwater is also good for the skin.

Furthermore, visitors are also welcome to dip their fingers into the saltwater, especially those curious about whether the saltwater is really salty.

Salt production in Long Midang
You are welcomed to taste the water from the salt spring.

The Long Midang community comes together to run the salt production. According to Alex, each salt-maker household takes turns utilizing the salt spring for a continuous period of two weeks.

Inside the production house, there are two hearths made from stone and clay where the boiling of saltwater takes place.

Alex said, “They used metal drums cut lengthwise to use as pots. Since they are not stainless, they usually last up to only three months, tops.”

He assured though, that the drums are replaced before they get rusty.

Evaporating, drying and packaging the Krayan Highlands salt
Salt production in Long Midang 7
The three metal containers made from metal drums.

In Long Midang, three metal containers were used for the salt evaporation process. Each metal container were at different stages of boiling the salt brine.

The farthest container from the hearth opening contained the freshly poured in brine, while the first container near the hearth contained the boiling brine. The middle container where the heat was the highest had the almost saturated brine.

Alex explained that the brine would be transferred from the farthest to the first, then to the middle container where the final crystallised salt was collected.

Salt production in Long Midang 5
The salt brine being transferred from the farthest container into the first one.

If the family members took turns continuously boiling the brine for 24 hours, they could produce up to 20kg of salt in a day.

After the crystallised salt is collected, they still need to put it under the sun to dry. The drying process usually takes up two hours depending on the weather.

Then came the packaging process. In Long Midang, the salt was packaged in plastic or the traditional way, which is with palm leaves.

Salt production in Long Midang 4
The opening of the hearth.
The benefits of Krayan salt

Alex pointed out that the salt from Krayan highlands was rich in iodine, hence making it high in demand from the locals as well as neighbouring Malaysians.

Another benefit for the local community is that this salt production is a boost to their daily income.

Although the salt spring seems to never run dry, enabling the Long Midang community to produce salt all-year round, Alex shared that the community was slowly losing their source of firewood.

While there was a constant source of firewood in the past, it has been slowly depleting over the years.

“Perhaps, someone could come up a cost-effective alternative for the locals so that they can continuously boil the salt brine without using wood from the forest,” he said.

Salt production in Long Midang 6
The family members take turn to keep the fire burning.
DSC 0389
Alex (right) explaining about the salt production in Long Midang.

You might be interested in

20 things to do during the Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III

Published on
/

For those who dream of an authentic adventure through Borneo, the Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III will take you on a truly unique adventure where you can relive history, experience culture firsthand and appreciate the stewardship of nature .

Organised by the Alliance of the Indigenous Peoples of the Highlands of Borneo or Formadat, this year the event will be happening from June 27 till July 10.

Overall, there are seven packages for participants to choose from, ranging from moderate to strenuous level.

For five days to two weeks, participants will roam the jungles of the Borneo highlands in a cross-border adventure that will take you to Long Semadoh (Sarawak), Long Pasia (Sabah), Ba Kelalan (Sarawak), Bario (Sarawak) and South Krayan (Indonesia) and Krayan Induk (Indonesia).

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 2
A view of the hilly landscape and paddy farms from a plane.

The event is limited to 50 participants only. Each stage of the Eco Challenge comes with activities that take participants on a journey in the footsteps of the ancestors of the highland peoples.

During a trip organised by WWF-Indonesia to the Krayan Highlands (Apr 2-5), KajoMag and several other media practitioners from Indonesia had the opportunity to experience some of these Eco Challenge activities.

So here are 20 things to do when you join the two-week long Heart Of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III:
1.Come and appreciate the beauty of Heart of Borneo highlands’ biodiversity
Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 12
Pitcher plants are commonly found at these central Borneo regions.

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III will take participants through the Maligan, Kelabit and Krayan Highlands.

These highlands offer unique flora and fauna as they stand about more than 760m above sea level.

Though divided by political boundaries, the Heart of Borneo Highlands share the same beautiful landscape and biodiversity.

From pitcher plants, orchids to other various vegetation forest, hiking through the highlands is definitely different from passing through hot and humid Borneo lowlands.

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 14
Locally known as Anggerik Hitam (black orchid), this plant is also found in Sumatera and Borneo.
2.Experience the culture of indigenous people living in the Heart of Borneo Highlands
Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 4
Experience the rich culture of Lun Bawang and Lundayeh people of Borneo Highlands.

The Heart of Borneo Highlands are home to the indigenous Lun Bawang people in Sarawak, or Lundayeh as they are called in neighbouring state of Sabah and Krayan highland in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Besides them, the Kelabit and Sa’ban people have also been living in the highlands for centuries.

In the Ba Kelalan highlands for example, there is a population of around 1,030 people, with the majority being Lun Bawang.

Meanwhile located 1,110m above sea level in the Kelabit Highlands, the majority of the 1,200 people who call the place home are the Kelabit people.

Coming down to the Kalimantan side of South Krayan, there are about 2,400 people of the Lundayeh and Sa’ban with a small of group people.

Over the course of Heart Of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III, participants will have the opportunity to visit some the villages of these indigenous people.

3.Take a thing or two about the traditional knowledge of the local people
Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 18
Harvested dried ant nest.

Speaking of indigenous people, the Eco Challenge will give participants the opportunities to learn more about them and their heritage.

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 17
A hot glass of ant nest tea.

Hence, take this chance to learn about their traditional knowledge, especially in medicine. For instance, did you know that you could make tea out of dried ants’ nest? This happens to be a particular delicacy among some of the Lundayeh people in Krayan, and it is believed that this tea can lower blood pressure and be beneficial to your heart.

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 16
The traditional method of boiling ant nest.
4.Enjoy the local fruits and vegetables
Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 8
Tarap or terap ( Artocarpus odoratissimus ).

There’s a saying: “Only lazy people go hungry in the jungle”, showing how important the jungle is as a source of food.

The Borneo Highlands are like free grocery shops that Mother Nature offers for the local people.

By 4 o’clock in the afternoon, you can see some of the women with their traditional woven baskets at their backs looking for wild ferns and vegetables to make dinner.

Heart Of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III gives participants the perfect opportunity to enjoy the local fruits such as tarap and wild ferns such as sayur pakis fresh from its source.

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 11
Ellias showing how you can eat one of the edible orchids.
5.Listen to the local legends
Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III
A hill in Krayan which was named after Yuvai Semaring. Legend has it Yuvai watched out for his enemies from the top of this hill.

Although the Lun Bawang/ Lundayeh people are separated by international borders, they still share the same roots, including legends.

It doesn’t matter if you are on the Malaysian side or Indonesian side, each has its own legend of Upai Semaring (spelled Yuvai Semaring in Indonesia).

Believed to be as tall as a giant, this local legendary hero has traces all over the Heart of Borneo Highlands.

The local Lun Bawang and Lundayeh people believed he was their protector defending them from their enemies, especially headhunters from other communities.

6.Visit ancestral burial grounds
Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 20
One of the ancient burial grounds at Terang Baru.

Besides local legends, the Lun Bawang and Lundayeh peoples also shared similar ancestral burial rituals.

Hence, you can find ancient burial grounds in both countries. Nobody is 100% certain who some these tombs belonged to, but everyone is sure they belonged to important figures in their communities.

One of the stages of the Eco Challenge is to visit an old burial site called ‘Lengutan Anak Adi’ to see the ancient remnants of skeletons and broken jars.

This is because like most ancient communities in Borneo, jars were important as a a secondary burial tool in sending off their dead.

7.Take a look at the rock art of Heart of Borneo Highlands

Another important archaeological site included in the Heart Of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III is an ancient stone carving site by the legendary giant Upai Semaring.

Although there are similar carving sites found in the Krayan Highlands, the one included as part of this Eco Challenge itinerary is the one found in Ba Kelalan.

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 6
A stone carving made by Upai Semaring in Long Midang.
8.Have a taste of the local cuisine

Since participants will have the chance to stay at homestays together with the local people, it serve as a great chance for them to have a taste of local cooking.

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 9
The brown rice of Krayan highlands.

If you had the chance, give biter (vegetable porridge) or any of their traditional cakes a try. They are definitely a new gastronomic experience!

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 10
Biter, a traditional cuisine of Lundayeh people made from rice and vegetables.
Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 5
A variety of Lundayeh cakes.
9.Enjoy the beautiful scenery of paddy farms

While half of the beauty of Borneo Highlands landscape comes from the misty highlands, another half comes from its vast paddy farms.

This scenery is something one should experience on your own to appreciate its serene beauty.

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 21
10.Learn about how mountain salt is processed
Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 13
Salt processing at Long Midang.

Have you ever wondered how people living miles from the sea such as the Kelabit and Krayan Highlands get their salt from in ancient times?

All thanks to Mother Nature, these people did not rely on trade to buy salt to season their food.

There are salt springs spread out in several locations all over the highlands. The communities then came together to process them for personal consumption as well as to sell as an extra source of income.

Though there are several villages had its own salt processing house, the participants will visit the one in Long Midang near Indonesia-Malaysia border.

11.Watch how the local people make soap

Again, have you wondered how the olden communities washed themselves? During this Heart Of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III, participants will have a chance to make a quick stop at a local soap production site.

There, the locals use Tenem tree essential oil extracts to make natural soap.

12.Pick up an indigenous musical instrument or two
Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 7
Ellias Yesaya, Head of The Cultural Field School playing bamboo flute.

A visit to the Krayan Highland during this Heart Of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III would not be complete without a visit to the Cultural Field School, Terang Baru.

It is a space for cultural celebrations and to learn traditional music and dances.

From string instruments to traditional percussion, the school gives its visitors a rare opportunity to learn the musical heritage of Lundayeh people.

Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 19
The Cultural Field School
13.Say a prayer at Prayer Mountain

While taking a tour around Bario Valley, visitors will have the opportunity to trek to the top of Prayer Mountain.

During Bario Valley stage, visitors will also have a chance to visit the oldest longhouse settlement in Bario as well as the biggest green energy farm in Sarawak.

14.Learn a thing or two about World War II history in the area
Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III 3
Local guide Alex Ballang pointing out the helipads built by the allied forces during WWII.

Unknown to most people, both Kelabit and Krayan highlands played an important role during the Second World War against the Japanese.

Talk to the local guides or villagers, some might still have stories which part of the highlands were used as helipads for allied forces and how Tom Harrisson and several Z Special Unit operatives parachuted onto the plateau.

15.Enjoy the beauty of sunrise and sunset from different angle everyday on the highlands
DSC 0102
You could always wait for the morning mist to be lifted.

For this, it does not matter if you sign up for the five-day or the two-week challenge. Since the participants are moving from one stage to another, you can enjoy the beauty of the sunrise and sunset from different angles everyday through out the event.

While sunrise is usually difficult to see because of the thick morning mist at the highlands, one could still enjoy the scenery on how the mist is slowly lifted revealing gorgeous view of the highlands.

Plus if the weather is good, each view sunset is just unique and breathtaking on its own.

DSC 0614
Catch this sunset at Krayan highlands
16.Pick up a set of binoculars and do some bird watching

It doesn’t matter if you are an amateur birdwatcher or not, these Borneo highlands are the perfect place to do some birdwatching, so don’t miss out on that.

There have been sightings of rare and endemic Dulit frogmouth (Batrachostomus harterti) as well as the Black Oriole (Oriolus hosii) in the area. Perhaps you might be the lucky one to spot them during this
Heart Of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III.

DSC 0045
You never know what you might spot while trekking at these highlands.
17.Come and take a stroll on the rocky beach of Borneo

From the mountain to the sea, Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III has it all!

One of the final stops of the challenge is a trip to Tusan Beach in Miri. The beach is famous for its horse-like rock formation and the blue tears phenomenon.

18.Visit one of the oldest human settlements in Borneo

While in Miri, the participants will also make a short visit Niah National Park.

The star attractions here are the Painted Cave featuring prehistoric drawings and site where remains of human skeleton from 40,000 years ago were found.

19.Come and watch the Milky Way without the light pollution

Calling all stargazers out there! Imagine having to gaze on the Milky Way without any light pollution.

From KajoMag’s first-hand experience, one can look up at the sky and just stare at it for hours from the Borneo highlands.

It is a breathtaking sight that you can never get from the city. To enhance your experience even more, download a star chart app on your smartphone before you go and see how many constellations you can spot during the event.

DSC 0459
Enjoy the skies of Borneo Higlands without any light pollution.
20. Join to unwind and let the nature of Heart of Borneo highlands heal you

There are plenty of scientific studies out there that have proven being outdoor in the nature is one of the best medicine to improve your mental health.

It lowers your chances of getting depressed as well as the risk of having mental illness.

Furthermore, making trips to the forest can actually improve your immunity. So, what are you waiting for? It is time to sign up for Heart of Borneo Highlands Eco Challenge III!

For more information, download this brochure.

You might be interested in

Tom Harrisson on the discovery of “Ships of the dead” at Niah Cave

Published on

Major Tom Harrisson was many things. He was an explorer, soldier, ethnologist, guerrilla, museum curator, writer and archaeologist.

One of his biggest contributions to Sarawak was the archaeological exploration at Niah National Park in Miri.

In October 1954, Harrisson with his two friends, Michael Tweedie and Hugh Gibb spent two weeks examining that site. After they found evidence of human occupation, they decided to come back again. This time in 1957, the Sarawak Museum organised a larger expedition with the help of transport and equipment from Brunei Shell Petroleum and Sarawak Oilfields Ltd (Shell).

Together with his wife Barbara, the expedition team discovered Deep Skull. Estimated to be 37,000 years old, Deep Skull is the oldest known modern human skeleton. Iron-age rock paintings were also found at the Painted Cave in 1958.

The rock arts were believed to be similar to those of the living culture of the Ngadju in southeast Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.

Here Harrisson in his own words, vividly described the discovery of what mostly now known as “Ships of the dead” and ancient wooden coffins.
bebfa5cd2c0cdc3bc8018834322a19c7
Tom Harrisson. Credits: BBC.

“My wife was the first person to enter this part of the labyrinth. She was so moved that she came back to the camp and burst into tears. Here, is one of the strangest, loveliest and quietest death scenes an archaeologist can wish to see. High above the valley floor, in a cave mouth beautifully coloured with green, purple, orange lichens and mosses, there is a perfectly dry, dusty floor. Upon this floor there was, until we came, no trace or sign of man’s footsteps. The cave is not, indeed, of interest to the local people. For it is one of many where there are no edible birds’ nests to attract the nest collectors; and no bats to attract the guano collectors. Only the footprints of a family of Leopard Cats patterned the floor in many directions.

In a scattered line along this floor lay a number of what at first glance appeared to be ordinary river boats. They lay ‘beached’ pointing inwards, on the dry dust. Coming closer, one saw at once that they were shallower and shorter than boats and were really coffins, each made in two parts, both boatshaped, but slotted to fit together. With each, the lower “boat” had a queer bowsprit, carved in the face of sabre-toothed dragon or tooth-bared crocodile. These boats had originally been placed on posts, one at each end. But over the centuries, all except one had fallen over. Littered on the ground around where human bones of all sorts, and a conspicuous number of shells, mostly sea-shells bored with holes. All over the ground lay pieces of earthenware and stoneware pottery.

About 15m beyond the strange, cool, incaverned beach of boats, the ceiling of the cave arches deeply down to meet the floor. Between 5 to 9m along the wall runs a sloping, and in one place a flat, ledge for about 46m. Where the ceiling runs up again above this shelf or ledge, there suddenly became apparent lines and groups of patterns, in red. It took a little while for the eye to assimilate these, to adjust to the peculiar lighting conditions. It was then easy to realise that at long last we had found actual cave drawings in Borneo. None had previously been known; and very few indeed from anywhere in this part of the world. These drawings (of which we have so far identified rather more than a hundred) range in size from a few centimetres to 120cm. All are executed in what is almost certainly red haematite, perhaps applied with frayed bamboo or with reeds tied together, is the work of people all in the same mood, and of the same culture. They have painted crouched or squatting along the shelf or under the ceiling, quite uncomfortably. The reasons for choosing this particular place are (apart from the presence of the boat-beach immediately below?) that here the cave-ceiling is unusually clean, white, free of animal or plant materials; and that though difficult it is for once practicable to work on the ceiling from below.”

The Ships of the dead now

The boat-coffins have since been transferred to the Sarawak Museum, but the paintings of these ‘Ships of the dead’ can still be viewed on the wall behind the fence at the national park.

Just like Harrisson stated, these ‘Ships of the dead’ can be difficult to see unless you allow your eyes to become accustomed to the light.

They portray ‘dancing’ human figures, often on top of the boats with arms outspread. It is believed these ‘Ships of the Dead’ are longboats carrying the souls of the deceased on the dangerous journey to the land of the dead.

You might be interested in

Novelist Joseph Conrad and how his book “Lord Jim” was inspired by Sarawak

Published on

While W. Somerset Maugham drew inspirations from Sri Aman’s famous tidal bore, there was another British novelist whose works were inspired by Sarawak.

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was a Polish-British writer whose hero – Lord Jim (1900) – was famously based on the first White Rajah, James Brooke.

Besides Lord Jim, his other notable works are The Nigger of the Narcissus (1897), Heart of Darkness (1899), Typhoon (1902) and The Secret Agent (1907).

Joseph Conrad

Conrad in 1904 by George Charles Beresford. Credits: Public Domain.
Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim and S.S Jeddah

Lord Jim is a novel by Conrad originally published as a serial in Blackwood’s Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900.

Jim is a first mate on an old steamer Patna carrying Muslim pilgrims to Jeddah. When the ship hits something and begins taking on water, Jim and the captain together with two other crewmen jump into a lifeboat to save themselves, leaving the passengers behind.

A few days later, they are rescued by an outbound steamer. When they reach the port, they find out Patna and its passengers are safe. The captain is then put on trial for abandoning his ship and the passengers.

The circumstances in the opening of the book are inspired by an actual event which happened to the crew and passengers of S.S.Jeddah in 1880.

On July 17 of that year, S.S. Jeddah was sailing from Singapore bound for Penang and subsequently Jeddah. When it appeared to sink during a hurricane, the captain and some of the crew abandoned ship, leaving its more than 700 passengers behind. Although, the ship did not sink in the end, a court of inquiry was held for the captain.

In the first part of the book, the circumstances and actions of Jim’s character was inspired by the scandalous Augustine Podmore Williams. He was the chief mate of S.S. Jeddah who abandoned the vessel together with its captain and other officers leaving more than 700 passengers behind.

Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim and James Brooke

Meanwhile, the second part of the book was inspired by James Brooke’s real life exploits in Borneo. Brooke, who managed to set up an independent state of Sarawak, was fascinating for many people during those times.

In the book, Jim was a trade representative in Patusan, a fictional country on a remote island.

LordJim

Who grew up reading these Classics Illustrated Comics? Here’s a page from a comic adaptation ofLord Jim by George Evans in the 1950s. (https://cafart.r.worldssl.net/images/Category_3563/subcat_44275/LordJim.jpg#.XKRBOLbJSsw.link)

Away from European civilisation, the place is exactly what Jim needs because he is unable to forgive himself for what happened on the Patna.

On Patusan, Jim earns his respect from the locals by defeating Sherif Ali, a local bandit who extorts fees and steals crops from the locals.

He also protects the people of Patusan from the corrupt local Malay chief, Rajah Tunku Allang. Jim then leads the people of Patusan and they call him “Tuan Jim” or “Lord Jim”.

Sound familiar? In Sarawak, Brooke had assisted Pangeran Muda Hashim in defeating the rebels led by Datu Patinggi Ali. At that time, Sarawak was administered by Pengiran Indera Mahkota who was not a crowd favorite, just like the Conrad’s Rajah Tunku Allang.

Besides Brooke, Conrad also wrote many of his characters based on real people at that time. Stein in Lord Jim, for example, might have been inspired by Alfred Russel Wallace who wrote his hugely influential Sarawak Law paper.

In Lord Jim, Stein learned botany, occasionally sending specimens to his contact in Europe.

Moreover, Wallace’s book The Malay Archipelago (1869) was Conrad’s favorite bedside companion and used it for information in his book Lord Jim.

Was Joseph Conrad’s Patusan set at Batang Lupar?
Patusan

A map of the forts and villages of Patusan which appears in Henry Keppel‘s account of The Expedition to Borneo of HMS. Dido for the Suppression of Piracy (1846). Credits: Public Domain.

Conrad described Patusan as a remote backwater in the South Seas, forgotten by the rest of the world. Before Jim arrived to the country, it is ruled by various factions of native Malay people.

The famous theory of what inspired this fictional Patusan is that it might be the actual Patusan. It is a historical Sarawakian fort on the Batang Lupar river where the HMS Dido led by Captain Henry Keppel fought on behalf of Brooke in 1844.

The map of the forts and villages of Patusan was actually featured in Keppel’s account of The Expedition to Borneo of HMS Dido for the Suppression of Piracy (1846).

However, one theory pointed out that Patusan might actually by Berau which is located in East Kalimantan province in Indonesian Borneo.

This was because Conrad actually visited Berau four times during his career as a merchant marine officer.

Other than Borneo, another hypothesis theorised Patusan might be in the island of Sumatra, based on the passage route written in Lord Jim.

Nonetheless, Patrick Tourchon in a study “Joseph Conrad & Sarawak: How if Patusan were in Patusan?” strongly believed that Sarawak alone was on Conrad’s mind when he wrote Lord Jim.

Many disagreed with this theory because first of all, Conrad never actually visited Sarawak.

Tourchon argued, “But this only proves that Conrad’s knowledge about Sarawak came exclusively from books: a point nobody dreams of challenging, and which would rather confirm that Conrad left Patusan where he found it so as not to take any risk.”

Joseph Conrad and his letter to The Ranee

Scholars could continue to argue if Patusan was really located in Sarawak, but as what Tourchon wrote, they could not argue how the first White Rajah was partly the inspiration behind Lord Jim.

Conrad even gushed about Brooke in a letter to Ranee Margaret on July 15, 1920.

He wrote, “The first Rajah Brooke has been one of my boyish admirations, a feeling I have kept to this day strengthened by the better understanding of the greatness of his character and the unstained rectitude of his purpose. The book which has found of the first Rajah’s enterprise and even by the lecture of his journals as partly reproduced by Captain Mundy and others.”

Conrad also expressed his admiration on the Ranee’s autobiography. He continued, “It was never my good fortune to see Kuching; and indeed my time in the Archipelago was short, though it left most vivid impressions and some highly valued memories.”

“It was a very great pleasure to read “My Life in Sarawak”, recalling so many things (which, I, myself, have only half seen) with so much charm and freshness and a loving understanding of the land and the people. I have looked into that book many times since.”

He even admitted to Margaret that he wrote The Rescue, A Romance of the Shallows (1920) partly inspired by the Ranee’s book.

After all, drawing from inspiration and working on their own experiences is how many writers become great. For Conrad, who never visited Sarawak, he drew his inspiration from his reading experience.

You might be interested in

What went down during 1862 Battle off Mukah

Published on

Here is a piece of Sarawak history that could inspire the next movie installment of Pirates of the Caribbean.

It is called The Battle off Mukah, a naval engagement fought in 1862 between the Sarawak navy and the notorious Illanun pirates.

Sarawakian citizens along the coast of Mukah were kidnapped by the pirates, most probably to be sold as slaves. In response, the then heir apparent of the first White Rajah, the Rajah Muda Captain John Brooke led his force in two small warships to defeat these pirates.

The preparation for the Battle off Mukah

Harriette McDougall, the wife of the first Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak Francis Thomas McDougall, recorded the Battle off Mukah in her 1882 book called the Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak.

Though she herself was not there during the battle, her husband was one of the eight Europeans on board. There were two warships; one 80-foot steamer named Rainbow and a gunboat called Jolly Bachelor.

To prepare the vessels, planks were hung over the railing to raise the rear part of the ships where there were no bulwarks.

Then, they laid mattresses inside part of the ships to receive the shots and spears from the enemy.

Together with a few dozen soldiers and sailors, the two vessels began their journey from Kuching.

The Battle off Mukah

When they were somewhere off Mukah, they came across three of the Illanun perahus.

The water along this coastline was shallow and the Rainbow had the Jolly Bachelor in tow. Brooke’s battle plan was to release the smaller ship as soon as they were in a good firing position.

After confirming with his Sarawakian Malay chief that the vessels were pirates, both Rainbow and Jolly Bachelor went after them.

Brooke described the battle in a letter to James Brooke, his uncle and the first White Rajah “The first boat, a very large and fast one, took the lead and it soon became evident that she would cross our course and get ashore before we could be up to her.”

Then, the offence against the pirates began. The first pirate perahu got away. Brooke led the steamer to sink the second one. The Rainbow was about to chase the third pirate boat when it was ran aground.

But the guns onboard were still working so they pointed them to the third boat. This forced the pirates to abandon the ship without fighting.

Brooke ordered his men to rescue the survivors hanging on to the wreckage. Some of the Illanun pirates were so relentless; continuing to fight and attack the captives with weapons even in water.

During this time, one of the rescued pirates told them that there were another three boats on the way.

True enough after an hour or so, three enemy boats approached Brooke and his ships. The two parties exchanged fire.

In the end, two of the vessels were split in two as the Rainbow ran them over. Meanwhile, the final vessel was destroyed by gunfire and sank with a valuable cargo of gold and jewels.

The rescue of the captives

After the pirate boats were destroyed, they finally could focus on the rescue.

Brooke wrote, “In a moment, the steamer was surrounded by the unhappy captives floating on pillows built of planks and every thing that came to hand. Those that were Chinese holding up their tails to show their nationality, women with children clinging to them.”

According to Brooke, it was not difficult to distinguish the captives from the pirates as the captives had ropes around their necks.

Meanwhile, the bishop who busy treating the wounded captives said they were almost living skeletons.

When the Bishop asked them if their wounds hurt, the captives answered, “Nothing hurts so much as the saltwater the Illanuns gave us to drink. We never had fresh water; they mixed three parts of fresh with four of saltwater; and all we had to eat was a handful of rice or raw sago twice a day.”

And the wounds that these captives received were even more horrifying.

Harriette wrote, “One man came on board with the top of his skull as cleanly lifted up by a Sooloo (Sulu) knife, as if a surgeon had desired to take a peep at the brain inside! It took considerable force to close it in the right place. This man had also two cuts in his back, yet the next morning he was discovered eating a large plate of rice, and he ultimately recovered. Another poor fellow could not be got up the ladder because he had a long-handled three-barbed spear sticking in his back.”

The horror in Illanun’s captivity

The survivors also shared their horrific experiences on how they were attacked and taken captive by the pirates.

The Illanun pirates usually attacked those with valuable cargo. If the ships offered resistance, they killed everybody on board and burnt the vessels.

If the pirates spared their lives, they beat them with a piece of flat bamboo over the elbows and knees, and the muscles of arms and legs. The beating continued until the captives were unable to move.

When the pirates deemed the captives sufficiently meek and obedient, they were made to row.

They put one of their own fellow captives to keep them in check. But if he did not do his job properly, they would knife him and thrown him overboard.

If the captives tried to escape and jump into the sea, the pirates speared them in the water. The poor captives rowed day and night in relays.

To keep them awake, the pirates would rub cayenne peppers into their eyes and wounds.

The Aftermath of Battle off Mukah

Overall, there were about 165 people rescued from the pirates, including two British subjects. Among them were nine women and six children, most of them from Mukah or Oya. In every pirate boat, there were 40 to 50 pirates with 60 to 70 captives.

Sadly, many of them were killed by the pirates when they realised they were about to be defeated. The captives were taken from various locations; some were on their way to Terengganu from Singapore and some at the mouth of Pontianak river.

The Illanun pirates who survived the battle and washed ashore were reportedly killed by the Melanaus along Mukah and Bintulu shorelines. Meanwhile, the Brooke government ordered the locals to give help to the captives who survived.

Of the Illanuns, 32 were taken alive with 10 of them were boys. Brooke gave the boys away to people to bring up with hopes they might be reformed. For the adults, some died because of their wounds while some were taken to Kuching to be tried and then executed.

Garay warships of pirates in the Sulu Sea
Piraguas piratas de los Joloanos c.1850 A depiction of garay warships used by Sulu pirates. Credit: Public Domain.

You might be interested in

What you need to know about Borneo’s only two macaque species

Published on

Unlike other primate species such as the orangutan or proboscis monkey known worldwide due to their endangered status, Borneo’s macaque species are infamously known as pests.

Despite their status as pests, surprisingly, there are only two macaque species residing in Borneo.

Check out what makes these two species of macaques unique primates to share the island of Borneo with:
1.Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis)
Macaque
Long-tailed macaque.

This primate is native to Southeast Asia. Although they are named the crab-eating macaque, they don’t live entirely on crabs for their diet. They are opportunistic omnivores.

According to Junaidi Payne and Charles M. Francis in A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo, a group of long-tailed macaques can often be detected by their calls. The most common call is being ‘krra!’ which might explain why it is called “kera” in Malay.

Fruits and seeds make up to 90% of their food intake. However, they also prey on insects, frog’s eggs, and small birds.

They are commonly found at the beach, mangrove areas and along the river. With more humans encroaching on their habitat, these mammals have become more adaptable, taking advantage of our facilities.

Some long-tailed macaques take food from garbage cans and even have no qualms stealing food from people.

With their opposable thumbs, they know how to open food containers or simply grab your food.

They often travel in groups of 20 to 30 but only part of the group can be seen at one time. Individual macaques tend to be less noisy than langurs when travelling through the tree canopy but groups are more noisy.

Sometimes you can even spot them running in a group at coastal beach such as at Bako National Park and Similajau National Park.

Macaque 2
A group of long-tailed macaques seen scavenging from a dumpster at Sarawak Cultural Village.
2. Pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina)
Cercopithecidae Macaca nemastrina
The Macaca nemestrina at Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia. Photo credit: Hectonichus [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Do you know that this is the only primate which often descends to the ground to flee from man?

In Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand, however, these pig-tailed macaques are trained to pick coconuts by their handlers.

They are distinctively known for their short tails, which look like pig tails. These primates are typically found in the jungle, and with increasing agriculture and human activities, plantations. Also known as Sundaland pig-tailed macaques, they feed on fruits, seeds, berries, fungi and small invertebrates.

Ecologically, scientists discovered that they play an important role as seed dispersers of rattan.

If you are not familiar with them, you might know them as ‘beruk’.

You might be interested in

The history of James Brooke’s schooner, the ‘Royalist’

Published on

If Sarawakians were to name one 19th century schooner that they may know, the answer would most probably be the Royalist.

(For Pirates of the Caribbean fans who said The Black Pearl, you’d be off by a century as the trilogy was set roughly in the mid-1700s.)

The Royalist itself was famously known to have played an important role in establishing British adventurer James Brooke’s foothold in Sarawak.

He bought the vessel in 1836 with money he had inherited from his father.

The Findlay

That being said, did you know that the Royalist was not Brooke’s first vessel?

Brooke always wanted to sail to this part of the globe. He was reportedly inspired by the book The Eastern Seas written by George Windsor Earl. According to Robert Payne in The White Rajahs of Sarawak, Brooke begged his father for a ship – any ship.

“At last, in February 1834, his father relented and promised to buy a ship for him and to furnish it with merchandise.”

Finally, he saw a ship he wanted in Liverpool. It was black, with a black hull and black mast.

Like any young man excited over a new ride, Brooke got excited and told his friend about it.

In a letter to Cruikshank, he wrote: “Me voila done! I have a vessel afloat, and nearly ready for sea- a rakish slaver brig, 290 tons burden- one that would fight or fly as occasion demanded, and made to pay her expenses The Indian Archipelago, the northeast coast of China, Japan, New Guinea and the Pacific is the unlimited sphere of our adventure.”

So, the ship (which was called The Findlay) sailed from England on May 6, 1834.

Unfortunately for Brooke, his captain (a friend named Kennedy) and first mate (Harry Wright) did not see eye to eye with each other.

Kennedy and Wright were constantly quarreling along the journey. Brooke then abruptly decided to sell The Findlay and its cargo.

The Eastern Seas 2
The Eastern Seas by George Windsor Earl.
The Royalist

Frustrated, Brooke returned to Bath, England where he spent his time fox-hunting and yachting. At this time, Payne stated that he “seemed to have no purpose in life.”

Finally, his purpose in life came in the form of a 142-ton topsail schooner.

When Brooke’s father died in December 1835, he inherited £30,000 (about £3,780,000 in 2019). He immediately bought a yacht, The Royalist. She was believed to be built in Cowes in 1834 as a gentleman’s yacht for Rev T.L Lane.

It was “armed with six six-pounders, a number of swivel guns, and every kind of small arms.”

The Royalist was a vessel of the Royal Yacht Squadron, one of the most prestigious yacht clubs in the world that still exists to this day.

Due to this, she could fly The White Ensign. This was a flag flown on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments.

In other words, the Royalist was accorded the same right as ships of the Royal Navy.

This time, Brooke had learned his lesson from The Findlay, so he chose his officers wisely. For his first journey on the Royalist, he took some of his relatives and friends to the Mediterranean.

During this journey, he even brought along his nephew John Brooke Johnson Brooke who later became Rajah Muda, his heir to the Kingdom of Sarawak. This was before Brooke disinherited him in favour of his younger brother, Charles.

They travelled to Malta, Bosporus, Halicarnassus (now Bodrum) and Rhodes. Then, they returned home in June, 1837.

For 18 months, Brooke studied where he was going and charted his journey.

In fact, his initial plan was to establish a settlement at Malludu Bay (now Kota Marudu, Sabah).

The Royalist sets sail to the Far East

After that long and studious period of planning, he was ready to sail the Royalist by the end of 1838.

He was famously quoted from his diary stating, “Could I carry my vessel to places where the keel of European ship never before played the waters, could I plant my foot where white man’s foot has never been before – could I gaze upon scenes which educated eyes have never looked on – see man in the rudest state of nature – I should be content without looking to further rewards.”

Finally, the Royalist sailed from Devonport on Dec 16, 1838 with 19 crew members.

On June 1, 1839, Brooke arrived in Singapore where he remained for a few weeks. It was here that Brooke finally heard about Sarawak.

Payne wrote, “He learned that the antimony ore, which gleamed with a dull silvery gleam and which he could see being unloaded in Singapore harbour, came from Sarawak. He learned, too, that the Rajah (Pangeran Muda Hashim) was fighting some obscure rebels in the interior. There had been no mention of Sarawak in his prospectus. Now he was on fire to enter Sarawak.”

At that time, the future king never thought he would became the first White Rajah of Sarawak.

The Royalist arrives in Sarawak

So Brooke made his preparation, readying gifts such as silk, cloth, sweets, preserved ginger, gunpowder to present to Pangeran Muda Hashim.

Even during the 19th century Made-in-China items were famous as Brooke prepared a huge box of toys from China for Pangeran’s children.

On July 27, the Royalist left Singapore and heading toward Borneo. Then on Aug 11, they laid eyes on Mount Santubong for the first time.

Three days later on Aug 14, the Royalist sailed slowly up Sarawak river passing through mangroves and nipah palms along the riverbank.

“At night, less than two miles from Kuching, he dropped anchor. At first dawn the Royalist rounded a bend in the river, and at seven o’clock came in sight of Kuching,” Payne wrote.

And the rest is history.

The Eastern Seas
A small replica of The Royalist on display at The Brooke Gallery at Fort Margherita.
The royal shipwreck

Two years after Brooke became the first White Rajah of Sarawak on September, 1843, the Royalist was recorded in Brunei.

Then, it was reported that the Royalist was sold as a trading vessel early in 1844 but still retained her name.

On Dec 11, 1854, the schooner was wrecked near Kawhia, New Zealand. Her captain then, a man named Tavernor wrote a letter on Dec 12, 1854 to Charles Davis reporting on the wreck.

“I had done my best to save the vessel from destruction; but afterwards my whole thought was how to save our own lives, but fortunately the tide and serf left us sufficiently for us to get onshore safe. We then commenced to get everything from the wreck that we possibly could, it then being 6 o’clock, and the tide making fast, this morning we cut her fore-mast and main-mast away, saved them with sails and yards, and a little timber, whether we shall save more I cannot say all the timber and most part of the wheat, the vessel is now a total wreck.

The Royalist was 86 tons register, and had on board 1,700 bushels wheat, and 14,000 feet sawn timber, at the time she went ashore.”

Captain Tavernor (Dec 12, 1854)
The Resurrection of the Royalist

In September 2018, the Royalist made headlines as it would make a return to Kuching after 180 years.

Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg announced that the replica of the Royalist, with the exact scale of the original vessel will be placed at the Brooke Dockyard.

This would be after The Brooke Trust and Hollywood were done using it for their shoot in the upcoming White Rajah film.

You might be interested in

5 things you need to know about Bako Buntal Bay

Published on

Most travellers visiting Sarawak might not have Bako Buntal Bay as part of their itinerary….unless they are avid birders.

Located about 40km from Kuching city, this vast bay area is an ecologically important site for birds.

The Bako Buntal Bay covers roughly 3,590ha from Mount Santubong at its west to the sandstone plateau of Bako National Park at its east.

Here are five things you need to know about Bako Buntal Bay and why we need to protect it:
Buntal Esplanade 6
The observation point of Buntal Esplanade.
1.Bako Buntal Bay is one of 55 IBAs in Malaysia

IBA stands for Important Bird and Biodiversity Area, an area identified and agreed as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.

These sites are identified by BirdLife International. It is a global partnership of conservation organisations that work to conserve birds and their habitats.

Currently, there are over 12,000 IBAs worldwide with 55 of them located in Malaysia.

This number includes 18 in Peninsular Malaysia, 14 in Sabah, 22 in Sarawak and one oceanic island.

2.It is the first East Asian-Australasian Flyway Site in Malaysia.

Malaysia became a partner of EAAFP in 2012. Then on Aug 23, 2013, Bako Buntal Bay was recognised as the first East Asian-Australasian Flyway site in the country.

A flyway is a route migratory birds follow every year from breeding ground to non-breeding sites across different countries and continents.

There are nine flyways of waterbirds in the world covering an area of roughly 350 million square kilometers.

That being said, the birds of Bako Buntal Bay belong to the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. They migrate from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere and back every year.

3.Buntal Bay Flyway Network is an important site for wintering birds.

The East Asian-Australasian Flyway spans over Russia, Japan, China, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

So these birds stop at this bay as a wintering and refueling site for this particular flyway.

About 25,000 migratory birds are lured to Bako Buntal Bay between October and April every year to escape winter in their habitats.

After flying long haul from the northern countries such as China and Korea, here is where they stay for two to three weeks to feed and rest, before making their way southwards to New Zealand or Australia.

Bako Buntal Bay
The bay is a vast mud and mangrove area.
4.Rare birds have been sighted at Bako Buntal Bay.
Spotted Greenshank
Nordmann’s Greenshank. Photo credit: tunpin.ong [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

There are at least 27 species of migratory birds make a pit stop at Bako Buntal Bay.

According to EAAFP, most of them are threatened species including Nordmann’s Greenshank, Asian Dowitcher and Far Eastern Curlew.

In 2009, two rare bird species sighted at Bako Buntal Bay made headlines on the local news. There were the globally-threatened Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) and Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus).

5.At least 10% of the world population of threatened Chinese Egret stop at Bako Buntal Bay.

The Chinese egret (Egretta eulophates) is a a threatened egret species from east Asia. They usually breed in Russia, Korea and mainland China.

The total population of this bird is estimated at 2600 to 3400. According to Sarawak Forestry, the highest number recorded of Chinese egret at Bako Buntal Bay is 40, that is more than 10 per cent of its population.

Bako Buntal Bay 2
The bay at low tide.

You might be interested in

1 … 22 23 24 25 26 … 35