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Wildlife

6 nature attractions near Kuching city for you to discover

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So you are now in Kuching city and you are looking for an accessible, green place to go to.

Fret not, here are the six nature attractions near Kuching city you visit and enjoy a day out with Mother Nature.

1. Santubong National Park

Kuching city
Mount Santubong.

Santubong National Park is about 40 minutes drive from Kuching city.

Here visitors can climb to the top of Mount Santubong, take a dip in the waterfall or simply enjoy the rainforest.

There is no accommodation at the national park but there are handful of resorts and homestays nearby.

2. Kubah National Park and Matang Wildlife Centre

Come and explore Kubah Waterfall.
Come and explore Kubah Waterfall.

Kubah National Park is situated about 22km from Kuching city.

It is rich in floras and is a scientifically important site for palm trees.

One 1992 study by Katherine Pearce found that there are 86 species of palm trees in the area, 16 of them only found in Borneo.

You can choose to climb to the top of Mount Serapi or go for trekking in search of waterfall at Kubah.

Next to Kubah is Matang Wildlife Centre where endangered species such as orang utans are rehabilitated and released into the forest.

Beside saying ‘hi’ to the orang utans, visitors can also go for jungle trekking at one of the four trails here.

3. Sama Jaya Nature Reserve

Imagine New York’s Central Park but a thousand times smaller. (Okay, it’s only approximately eight times smaller. New York’s Central Park covers 341 hectares, while Sama Jaya Nature reserve spans 38.)

Much like Central Park, however, Sama Jaya is a small patch of forest in the middle of an urban area located at Stutong.

Just a 10-minute drive from Kuching City centre, the nature reserve is famous among joggers as it offers two jogging tracks at 870 metres and 1600 metres respectively.

As the jogging tracks wind through this urban jungle, do not be surprised if you spot some local wildlife.

According to Sarawak Forestry website, here you can find squirrels, shrew, fruit bars, frogs, lizards and monkeys.

Other perks this reserve offers is the Hiroshima-Sarawak Friendship Garden, forest biology museum and an ethno-botanical garden.

4. Wind Cave and Fairy Cave Nature Reserves

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Wind Cave and Fairy Cave Nature Reserves are located at Bau bazaar, just half an hour’s drive from Kuching city.

The two caves are located 8km from each other.

There are plankwalks available for visitors to explore the caves.

Keep your eyes open to spot various species of bats, squirrels and birds at these nature reserves.

5. Semenggoh Nature Reserve

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Here is another great place to visit the orang utan. It has a wildlife centre for the rehabilitation of rescued orang utan.

Semenggoh Nature Reserve is 20km away from Kuching.

The best time to visit Semenggoh is during feeding times. It usually takes place between 9 to 10am and between 3 to 3.30pm.

6. Bako National Park

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Bako National Park, one of tourists favourite spot to visit while in Kuching city.

Sarawak’s oldest national park, Bako National Park requires a boat-ride to visit but is still accessible from Kuching city.

It is a nature lovers’ paradise where visitors can opt for bird watching, beach-strolling or jungle trekking.

It takes about 45 minutes from Kuching to Bako market. From there, it takes another 20-minute boat ride to reach the park.

Here you can spot proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaque monkeys and bearded pigs roaming around the park.

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10 things you should know about Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak

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From Sept 1998 to May 1999, the Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak took place in the Malaysian states of Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor.

Overall, there were 265 confirmed cases with 105 deaths reported during the outbreak. The disease was as deadly as the Ebola virus, but attacked the brain system instead of the blood vessels.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) lists it as one of the viruses mostly likely to cause a global pandemic.

It also served as an inspiration for American movie Contagion (2011) and Indian movie Virus (2019).

The chain of contagion involving bats and pigs in the Contagion (2011) is reminiscent of the trail of Nipah virus. The movie similarly involved the disturbance of a bat colony by deforestation as the source of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, Virus (2019) is a medical thriller set against thr backdrop of the 2018 Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala.

Here are 10 things you need to know about the Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak:

1.They first thought it was caused by JE

The virus first hit pig farms in Ipoh, Perak where the pigs were found to have respiratory illness and encephalitis.

At first, Malaysian authorities thought Japanese encephalitis (JE) was the cause of the outbreak. Hence the authorities deployed early control measures such as mosquito fogging and vaccination against JE.

However, none of the measures was effective since more cases emerged.

2.How the virus was first discovered

If the disease was coming from mosquitoes, it would have infected people of all races and religions. But then only those from the Chinese community were catching the disease.

The key person who realised that they were dealing with a brand new virus was Dr Chua Kaw Beng.

In an interview with US media outlet NPR, Dr Chua recounted how he had discovered the Nipah virus.

Back then, he was still a virologist in training at Universiti Malaya. When he showed his discovery to one of his professors, they told him to throw it away.

Instead of listening to his professor Dr Chua, he packed it up and brought the sample into the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the US. Under the pretext of studying mosquito-borne diseases, Dr Chua sealed the virus in his suitcase and hand-carried it on a flight to the US.

There, Dr Chua used CDC’s powerful microscopes to study the virus.

It turned out it was a type of paramyxovirus that actually came from livestock.

The minute he realised how dangerous the virus could be, Dr Chua made a phone call to Malaysian officials.

This time, the government listened and took the most drastic measure. The government deployed Malaysian army for the country’s largest animal culling.

In the end, almost one million pigs were shoved into pits and shot.

What Dr Chua did to bring the virus to the US might be unethical and even against the law (transporting a sample of a virus in your hand carry without authorisation is illegal) but if he did not do what he did, there might be more casualties from the outbreak.

3.What are the symptoms of Nipah virus infection

The symptoms of Nipah virus infection range from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory and fatal encephalitis.

Initially, the infected people develop symptoms such as headache, muscle pain, vomiting and sore throat.

These symptoms can be followed by dizziness, drowsiness and neurological signs that indicate acute encephalitis.

In severe cases, the patient can progress to coma within 24 to 48 hours after experiencing encephalitis and seizures.

While the incubation period is believed to range from four to 14 days, there are reports of an incubation period as long as 45 days.

Once infected, the primary treatment for humans is supportive care.

Depending on different factors such as effective epidemiological surveillance and clinical capability, the fatality rate is estimated at 40% to 75%.

4.What is the natural host of the Nipah Virus

Scientists have found that fruit bats of the Pteropodidae- particularly species belonging to the Pteropus genus are the natural hosts for Nipah virus.

However, there is no apparent disease in fruit bats caused by the virus.

5.How the virus is transmitted

The virus was subsequently named after Kampung Sungai Nipah where the sample of the virus was taken.

During the outbreak in Malaysia, most human infections resulted from direct contact with sick pigs or their contaminated tissues.

But how did pig farms became the Nipah virus factories in the first place?

About a decade after the outbreak, scientists found that pigs had been getting Nipah virus for years. They most probably picked it up from fruit bats.

Since the outbreaks were small, nobody really noticed because the pig farms were smaller.

As the farmers changed the way they raised pigs by packing them into tight areas so they could produce more meat, the virus could multiply even faster.

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A depiction of how the Nipah Virus spreads from animals infected by it to communities of people. Credits: Creative Commons.

6.Is there any vaccine?

According to WHO, there are no vaccines available against Nipah virus infection to date. Nonetheless, WHO has identified Nipah as a priority disease for the WHO Research and Development Blueprint.

As for treatment, intensive supportive care is recommended to treat severe respiratory and neurological complications.

The good news is that as of March 2020, it was reported that there is a set of newly potential vaccines against Nipah virus.

Developed by the University of Parma, Italy, the vaccines generated a strong immune response in pigs. This is promising news for protection against the Nipah virus.

7.What are the prevention and control for the Nipah virus infection?

Based on what happened in 1999, routine and thorough cleaning and disinfection of pig farms may be effective in preventing infection.

If an outbreak is suspected, the animal farms are to be quarantined immediately.

Culling of infected animals followed by close supervision of carcasses is also necessary.

8.The aftermath of the Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak

First of all, pig farms in Malaysia became a lot of cleaner after the outbreak. Farmers now keep pigs isolated from other animals and people.

Most surviving pig farmers of the outbreak have turned to palm oil and cempedak plantations.

In Kampung Sungai Nipah, visitors can go back in time to learn about the outbreak at Sungai Nipah Time Tunnel Museum.

There, visitors can listen to survivors’ stories and how their lives changed since the outbreak.

9.Nipah virus outbreak in other countries

Since 1998, there have been at least 15 more outbreaks of Nipah virus, all whicj occurred within Bangladesh and neighbouring parts of India.

The outbreak areas lie within the range of Pteropus species.

One of the outbreaks took place in the state of Kerala, India in 2018. The virus was traced to the fruit bats found in the area. While the outbreak was contained and declared over on June 10 that year, the virus infection managed to claim 17 lives.

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Transmission electron micrograph (TEM) depicted a number of Nipah virus virions from a person’s cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Credits: Public Domain.

10.The most important lesson from the Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak

Dr Chua and fellow researchers Dr Looi Lai Meng wrote a paper on the lessons from the Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak in 2007.

According to them, from political to law regulation, there were plenty of lessons to learn from the outbreak.

Yet, there was one particular lesson that we needed to be reminded over and over again and applicable to every other outbreak.

Chua and Looi stated, “Almost 75 per cent of emerging infectious diseases over the last century zoonoses, having jumped the species barrier to infect humans. The far-reaching effects of environmental mismanagement (such as deforestation and haze) cannot be overemphasised, as this can lead to encroachment of wildlife into human habitats and the introduction of zoonotic infections into domestic animals and humans.”

Basically, more humans are exposed to viruses that naturally exist in wildlife because we keep on encroaching into their habitats.

American politician Stewart Udall once said, “Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.”

Once we humans fail to protect the environment and wildlife, we fail to protect ourselves.

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Sarawak once exported over 60 tonnes of pangolin scales in the 1950s

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Did you know that it was legal to export pangolin scales in Sarawak back in the 1950s?

Pangolin (Manis javanica) was hunted for its scales and then exported through Kuching.

This unique animal has large, protective scales covering their skin. It is the only know mammal to have this feature.

They live in hollow trees or burrows. Pangolins are nocturnal and tend to be solitary. They only meet to mate. Their diet consists of mainly ants and termites, which they capture using their long tongues.

According to a report by Tom Harrisson and Loh Chee Yin, from 1958 to 1964 Sarawak exported more than 60 tonnes of pangolin scales.

Harrisson and Loh found in their study that each pangolin’s exportable scales average about 3 catty (1.8kg).

Here comes the sad part; since the maturity of the animals does not effect the value of their scales, so the traders back then even exported scales from younger pangolins.

The researchers calculated based on the weight of the pangolin scales that there over 50,000 pangolins were hunted for their scales in just seven years!

Where did these pangolin scales came from

Harrisson and Loh wrote, “Ninety-nine per cent of the scales exported from Sarawak came from Indonesian Borneo.

“They were being smuggled over mainly to the border towns of Krokong in the First Division and Lubok Antu in the Second Divison, while shops in Tebakang, Serian and Simanggang also bought any amount offered to them for sale by local people or by Indonesians, in quantities ranging from 50 to 500 katis.”

The pangolin scales that came to the dealers in pieces packed in gunny sacks.

For scales that came in with the skin attached usually fetched a poorer prices. This is because they need to boil them first to extract the scales.

“As they reach the shops, they are checked to make sure they are dry, and genuine and then repacked for export to Singapore or Hong Kong, where they are probably cleaned and sorted for re-export to mainlain China,” Harrisson and Loh stated.

The purpose of pangolin scales trades

Pangolin scales were wanted for their so-called medicinal values. They believed it had anti-septic values, stimulated blood veins and sped up the chemical reaction of any medicine.

There were two methods of application.

Firstly, raw pieces of scales were used for scratching itchy skin. It was believed that this would prevent further infection which usually follows if the affected part is scratched by fingernails.

Secondly, pangolin scales were ground into powder and then mixed in with other herbs boiled in water for the patient to drink.

Back then, dealers paid from $200 to $300 per picul or 100 kati for scales or $70 to $90 per pikul for scales still attached to the skin.

These prices also depended on the demand from China.

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The price of pangolin scales depended on demand from China. Credits: Pixabay.
Protecting the pangolin in present day Sarawak

In October 2019, Sarawak Forestry Corporation announced its plan to have the pangolin upgraded to the “totally protected” category.

Totally protected species in Sarawak may not be kept as pets, hunted, captured, killed, sold, imported or exported or disturbed in any way, nor may anyone be in possession of any recognizable part of these animals.

To this day, the pangolin population is still threatened by deforestation and poaching for its flesh and scales.

According to World Conservation Society, pangolin scales are made of keratin which is the same thing that makes our human fingernails and hair.

Hence, eating pangolin scales has no medicinal value whatsoever as it is like eating your own fingernails or hair.

Read more:

Sarawakians were once encouraged to catch shark commercially

How the Bornean Rhinoceros was hunted into extinction in Sarawak

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Get to know these 12 animal species named after Charles Hose

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Charles Hose was not just a British colonial administrator, he was a prominent zoologist and ethnologist. He also contributed to the discovery of oil in Sarawak.

Hose first arrived in Sarawak in April 1884 when he was first posted in the Baram area. He was then made the Resident of Sibu on June 1, 1904.

Between April and June 1904, Hose led a force of 200 Kayans in Belaga on an expedition to attack the Dayaks on Bukit Batu.

This group of Dayak allegedly had committed murders against other tribes for three years.

During his tenure in Sarawak, he had explored most of Sarawak’s mountainous districts, especially in the far interior of Baram area.

He collected many species of flora and fauna and then presented them to the British and other museums.

Thanks to his contribution to science, he was conferred an honorary degree by the University of Cambridge.

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A fort in Marudi named after Hose.
As for his work as a zoologist, several of these animals species were named after Hose:
1.Hose’s langur (Presbytis hosei)

In Sarawak, it lives in the lowlands and hill ranges, including the Dulit range and Usun Apau plateau.

According to Hans P. Hazebroek and Abang Kashim bin Abang Morshidi in National Parks of Sarawak, there were reports of sightings of Hose’s langur at Similajau National Park in Bintulu.

However, this might be an isolated population.

As for Niah’s lowland forest, Hose’s langur has no longer been seen where it was previously known to occur.

This animal is most often found in groups of six to eight animals. Additionally, each of this group comprises of one male, several females and their offspring.

They feed on seeds and leaves. It has four species namely Miller’s grizzled langur (Presbytis hosei canicrus), Everett’s grizzled langur (Presbytis hosei everetti), Hose’s grizzled langur (Presbytis hosei hosei) and Saban grizzled langur (Presbytis hose sabana).

2.Hose’s shrew or Bornean pygmy shrew (Suncus hosei)

This poor animal is often listed as the Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus) but they are actually a distinctly different species.

This species of shrew is endemic in Borneo particularly in northern Sarawak and northeastern Sabah.

Since there is little information about this animal, it has been listed as a Data Deficient species by IUCN in 2008.

3.Hose’s pygmy flying squirrel (Petaurillus hosei)

This nocturnal animal can be spotted in a nest hole in a dead tree of dipterocarp forest. Here in Borneo, Hose’s pygmy flying squirrel has been spotted in Sepilok in Sabah, Baram and Niah in Sarawak as well as in Brunei.

It is similar to the lesser pygmy flying squirrel but smaller in size and has totally pale checks.

4.Hose’s palm civet (Diplogale hosei)
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An illustration by Joseph Smit. Credits: Public Domain.

Oildfield Thomas was a British zoologist who worked at the Natural History Museum. There he described over 2,000 new species and subspecies including Hose’s palm civet.

Thomas described it in 1892 a year after Hose collected the first specimen in Sarawak.

The interesting part is the first living specimen was only collected in 1997 and released after two months. That is almost a century after Hose collected it!

Besides Sarawak, Hose’s palm civet can also be found in Sabah, Brunei and Kalimantan.

5.Four-striped ground squirrel (Lariscus hosei)

Here is another species discovered by Hose that is completely endemic to Borneo. It is scattered around Sabah at Mount Kinabalu as well as mountains in northern Sarawak. This include Mount Dulit, Kalulung, Batu Song and the Kelabit highlands.

Just like Hose’s palm civet, it was Thomas who first described this species in 1892.

6.Fraser’s dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei)

In 1895, Hose found a skull on a beach in Sarawak that he donated to the British Museum. Many years later in 1956, an expert in cetacean Francis Fraser examined the skull.

His discovered that it was a new genus of a dolphin. So the common name of the dolphin was named after Fraser while the specific name was given in Hose’s honour.

As it turned out, this dolphin can be found in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean.

How about heading to the beach and collecting some bones or skulls? Who knows you could end up like Hose and have a species named after you years after your death?

7.Hose’s frog (Odorrana hosii)

While most of the animal species named after Hose were endemic to Borneo and rare, this one is more common than the rest.

It is a species that can be found in Southeast Asia including the Malay peninsular, Borneo, Tioman, Phuket, Bangka, Belitung and Java.

Perhaps the facts that it is more tolerant of pollution and more adaptable to secondary forest makes this frog plentiful in our environment.

8.Hose’s tree frog (Philautus hosii)

Also known as Hose’s bush frog, this species lives at the lowlands and hilly regions of Indonesia, Malaysia and possibly Brunei.

Charles Hose
A portrait sketch of Charles Hose. Credit: Public Domain.
9.Hose’s toad (Pedostibes hosii)

This toad is distributed in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and southern Thailand. It habitats subtropical or tropical moist lowlands forests and rivers.

Its more known common names are Asian yellow spotted climbing toad and Boulenger’s Asian tree toad.

10.Hose’s broadbill (Calyptomena hosii)

Unlike other birds in the genus Calyptomena, Hose’s broadbill is known for its distinct blue belly.

It is endemic to highland forests in northern Borneo.

11.Black oriole (Oriolus hosii)

In September 2011, photographer Tony Sawbridge visited Paya Maga in Ulu Trusan, Lawas. There he was able to catch the Black oriole in a photo.

Sharing his experience of capturing the Black oriole, Sawbridge told The Guardian, “It required a 4-wheel drive trip to see it, followed by a hike into site known to some local people, then two nights camping in the rainforest. We were told that were the first Westerners to see the bird in over ten years.”

This bird is one of the least known of the orioles and can only be found in Sarawak.

Hose was the one who collected the first specimen of this bird on Mount Dulit, at the head of Baram river.

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Joseph Gerrald Keulemans illustrated this image of Black Oriole in 1893. Credits: Public Domain.
12.Hose’s Mongoose (Herpestes hosei)

Hose’s Mongoose is a subspecies of the short-tailed mongoose (Herpestes brachyurus) but it is sometimes considered a separate species instead.

This mongoose is similar to the short-tailed mongoose but with more reddish-brown and short hair.

Furthermore, the claws are straighter and more slender compared to Herpestes brachyurus.

The only known specimen of this species was collected in Baram way back in 1893.

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How the Bornean rhinoceros was hunted to extinction in Sarawak

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In the beginning of 20th century, the Bornean rhinoceros was common in Sarawak.

Also known as the Eastern Sumatran rhinoceros or Eastern hairy rhinoceros, it was one of the three subspecies of Sumatran rhinoceros.

Its subspecies name (Dicerohinus sumatrensis harrissoni) was named after British anthropologist and Sarawak museum curator Tom Harrisson.

Compared to other Sumatran rhinos, the Bornean rhinoceros has the darkest skin and the fur on its calves is much denser.

Unlike the other two subspecies, the Bornean rhinoceros is markedly smaller and its head size also relatively smaller.

Rhinoceros in Borneo during prehistoric times

When sea levels fell during the Late Miocene period, between five and seven million years ago, Sundaland probably stood above the sea once again.

These mammals included primitive rhinoceroses, elephants, and monkeys. In detail, these forests may have looked somewhat different from the forests we see today.

According to Hans P. Hazebroek and Abang Kashim Abang Morshidi in National Parks of Sarawak, many animals that were widespread across the Asian continent may have reached Borneo at this time.

When the sea level rose during the early Pliocene Epoch, Borneo turned into a huge island again. So the mammals that reached Borneo stayed here and continued to evolve in isolation.

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The primitive rhinoceros most probably came to Borneo five to seven million years ago.
Edward Banks’ account on rhinoceros hunting in Sarawak during the 1930s

While the primitive rhinoceroses survived their journey into Borneo, most of their descendants did not survive long enough on this island.

Over the past century, this animal was highly threatened by hunting, poaching for their horn and habitat loss.

Even during the 1930s, Sarawak Museum Curator Edward Banks described how the rhinoceros population in Sarawak had been greatly reduced.

In an article published on The Sarawak Gazette on Aug 2, 1937, he wrote, “Fifty years ago anyone who shot a rhino was rather disappointed; he couldn’t eat it all, it was too far to carry home, and the most that could be obtained from it was an occasional sword hilt made from the horn; these can still be obtained at a fabulous price.”

According to Banks, a rhino in the 1930s may fetch anything up to $300-$400. He pointed out, “Its horn being the most useful part but the blood and flesh also fetch a price, solely on account of the supposed aphrodisiac properties appreciated by the Chinese.”

Banks also highlighted areas in Sarawak that had high number of rhinoceros populations included Ulu Rejang, Ulu Baram and Ulu Trusan.

“There are almost none now and in fact after a prolonged visit to the Ulu Trusan into a once populous rhino country, I saw only once a trace made about three years ago and nothing else under five years ago,” Banks wrote in 1937.

He continued, “A once populous rhino district has been wiped out by the Dayaks and one can only feel that it is a good thing that no rhinos have strayed in during the last five years and attempted to repopulate the district as they would have assuredly gone too.”

Hunting Bornean rhinoceros

The museum curator also commented on how different ethnics hunted these rhinoceros. The Punan was “an uncontrollable curse until he had finished all the rhinos”. Meanwhile, the Kayans and Kenyahs “were, as usual, reasonable, shared their beasts out among themselves, and made them last, until they finally took up a little over the garden wall poaching.”

Nonetheless, the ones that brought more harm to the rhinos were the wandering bands of professional Dayak hunters.

Banks described them to be really persistent, stating “..(they) stay on the beast’s tracks from fifteen to twenty days until they catch it up.”

Even during the 1930s, there were no bands of hunters because there were no more rhinos.

Back then there were only few individuals on Mulu, Murud, Laiun and Tibang mountains. If there were odd ones that showed up in Baram and Trusan, there were the strays coming over from the Kalimantan side.

Hazebroek and Abang Kashim also pointed out, “It is reputed that the last rhinoceros in Mulu was hunted and killed just before the Second World War. Once these magnificent animals must have been quite common in Mulu. As indicated by Berawan guides, large pools on some ridges of Gunung Mulu presumably represent their wallows.”

Sarawak’s last rhinoceros is at Pulong Tau?

Pulong Tau is an area flanks the Bario highlands. It straddles part of the headwaters of the Baram, Tutoh and Limbang rivers.

In 1986, the National Parks and Wildlife Office staff sighted rhinoceros tracks and wallows in the area.

Then in 1997, they disovered rhinoceros tracks again but there were no sightings of the animals.

Regardless, the Malaysian government declared the Bornean rhinoceros to be extinct in the wild in Malaysian Borneo.

In March 2016, however, a young female rhino was captured on the other side of Sarawak border in East Kalimantan. Hence, this gives us hope that they still exist in the wild.

Is it fair to say that Sarawakians were the ones who drove the rhinoceros into extinction in our own backyard? We believe so.

In Banks’ own words, “It is not too much to say that the rhino has been immolated to provide the Chinese with babies, the Dayak hunters with patent leather shoes and their girlfriends with silk umbrellas.”

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Saying hello to the proboscis monkey in Tarakan’s Bekantan and Mangrove Conservation Park

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While we call it’ ‘monyet belanda’ in Malaysia, in Indonesia it is called ‘bekantan’. The proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) is endemic to Borneo and can be found in all three countries on the island.

But it can also be found on the island of Tarakan, in the eastern part of Borneo in North Kalimantan province of Indonesia.  

Here visitors can see them at the Bekantan and Mangrove Conservation Park, about 1km from the city center of Tarakan.

The Bekantan and Mangrove Conservation Park

The park is a conservation effort led by Tarakan city’s local government. In the beginning, the area only spanned three hectares, now it has increased to 22 hectares.

It was officially opened on June 5, 2003. Besides a conservation place for proboscis monkeys, it also served as the green lung for Tarakan city.

At first there were only two proboscis monkeys living in the park, now they have about 35 individuals.

Over the years, these proboscis monkeys have become used to human visitors, so it is easier to spot them and catch them on camera.

Plus, their reddish brown fur and unusually large noses make them easier to spot among the mangrove trees.

The best times to visit the Bekantan and Mangrove Conservation Park are between 11am to 2pm. This is because these are the extra feeding times for these bekantan.

Being seasonal eaters, these animals eat mostly fruit from January to May and leaves, especially mangrove leaves during June to December.

But the park rangers still feed them fruit with extra nutrients like bananas.

What to bring to the park

Visitors can walk around the park along its walkways that make it convenient to bring young families around.

Besides proboscis monkeys, visitors can also watch out for other animals such as crabs, birds, monitor lizards, squirrels, and mud fish. During high tide, you might even spot see snakes swimming through these mangrove roots.

Since the park is located near the city, visitors cannot escape from urban noise pollution, especially with noises coming in from a nearby school.

But with plenty of mangrove trees around, it is still a good place to see some greenery.

Although you can take photos of proboscis monkeys from a distance of 5m, it is still best to bring long-focus lenses to take their photographs.

Be respectful toward these animals and do not provoke them. Ever.

In Indonesia, proboscis monkeys are protected by Law Number 5 of 1990, Article 21, paragraph 2, which states that it is prohibited from capturing, injuring, killing, storing, possessing, maintaining, transporting and trading protected animals in living conditions. Anyone who intentionally violates the provisions of Article 21 paragraph 2 can be punished with a maximum imprisonment of 5 years and a maximum fine of Rp100 million (about RM28,000 or USD 7,000).

Besides Bekantan and Mangrove Conservation Park, proboscis monkeys can also be found in 16 protected areas in Indonesia.

These include Danau Sentarum National Park, Gunung Palung National Park, Kendawangan Nature Reserve, Kutai National Park, Lesan Protection Forest, Muara Kama Nature Reserve, Mandor Reserve and Tanjung Puting National Park.

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Animals that have gone extinct from Niah Cave, Miri

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While 40,000-year-old human remains and rock art might be the highlights of Niah’s archaeological site, many tend to overlook the cave’s prehistoric fauna.

When archaeologists dug up the site, they found more than just pottery. They also found bones attributed to remains of food as well as charcoal from the fires they used to prepare the food.

Based on findings by Tom Harrisson, Dirk Albert Hooijer, Lord Medway (now the 5th Earl of Cranbrook) and Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koeningswald, they found bones of animals that no longer exist.

Here the animals that have gone extinct from Niah Cave:
1.Tapir (Tapirus indicus)

The tapir has not only gone extinct in Niah Cave but from the whole of Borneo island.

A compilation of specimens from cave excavations in both Sabah and Sarawak reported that Malay tapirs once occurred in northern Borneo. They were roaming around this part of the island from the late Upper Pleistocene, ca. 45,000 years ago through Holocene to near recent dates.

The reasons that they are no longer found here are due to climate change during the post-Pleistocene era, together with restoration of the humid tropical rainforest environment which would have reduced the extent of available habitat favourable to the species.

According to research, it is possible that the final disappearance of the tapir from the island was a recent phenomenon, perhaps occurring over the last 500 years.

Now, they are found mostly throughout the tropical lowland rainforest of Southeast Asia, including Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

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2. Asian giant pangolin (Manis paleojavanica)

Recently, pangolins have made headlines for being the most trafficked mammal. Sadly, their ancestor species were most probably extinct due to humans too. The giant pangolin was 2.5 times the size of the Sunda pangolin.

Lord Medway excavated bones of the Asian giant pangolin at the Niah Cave and then Hooijer identified it in 1960.

They found that it was similar to the extinct giant pangolin in Java island.

Furthermore, carbon dating suggests that the Niah bones are about 42,000 -47,000 years old. This coincides with the presence of humans in Borneo.

Researchers believed this was the first Borneo mammal to become extinct after the arrival of humans.

Species that are extinct from Niah Cave, but not from Borneo

Apart from these, archaeologists have also found bones of other animals which no longer can be found in Niah Cave. But they can still be found in other parts of Borneo.

These include the bearded pig (Sus sp.), orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), banteng (Bos Javanicus) and clouded leopard (Felis nebulosa).

The oldest orangutan teeth found in Niah Cave are larger than those of the biggest animals living today. These animals were possibly larger…but it is possible that maybe it was only their teeth that were larger.

Semenggoh 3
Seduku the Orangutan enjoying her banana while hanging from a tree at Semenggoh Nature Reserve.

Meanwhile, it is undetermined if the bearded pig we have today is the same species as its ancestors.

Just like the orangutan, the bones and teeth of the prehistoric pig are very much larger than the present-day Borneo bearded pigs.

In National Parks of Sarawak, Hans P. Hazebroek and Abang Kashim Abang Morshidi suggested the smaller body size of the animals is a trend during the latest stage of evolution of the Bornean fauna.

“This trend is possibly related to changes in the environment, from the more seasonal forests of the Pleistocene to today’s rainforests.”

However looking at the extinction of the tapir in Borneo and its presence in other regions, as well as the complete extinction of Asian giant pangolin, there might be unknown factors also influencing this stage of evolution.

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

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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.

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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’.

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Get to know two species of gibbons found in Borneo

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The Borneo orangutan is the only great ape found in Asia. Here in Borneo, it shares the rainforest with 12 other primate species including two gibbon species.

Although they more closely resemble monkeys, gibbons are actually called smaller or lesser apes, and like all apes, gibbons lack tails.

Compared to great apes, gibbons are small, exhibit low sexual dimorphism (meaning there’s not much difference in size or appearance between male and female) and do not make nests.

They are also known to be the fastest and most agile of all tree-dwelling, nonflying mammals.

Here are the basic things you need to know about the two gibbon species that can be found in Borneo:
1.Bornean white-bearded gibbon (Hylobates albibarbis)

It is also known as the Bornean agile gibbon or southern gibbon. Before this, it was considered as a subspecies of the agile gibbon (Hylobates agilis). However, based on DNA research it is classified as a completely different species.

They are commonly seen with grey or dark brown fur, a black face and white beard.

According to Borneo Nature Foundation, gibbons are harder to study than orangutans because they travel very quickly through the forest canopy and are difficult to habituate.

It is crucial to study more about this particular species of gibbon since it is an endangered animal.

Additionally, it is endemic only to southern part of Borneo, between the Kapuas and Barito rivers.

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Kapuas river in Kalimantan.

Additionally, the Bornean white-bearded gibbon is endemic only to southern part of Borneo, between the Kapuas and Barito rivers.

Sixty-five percent of their diet comprises fruit, while 23% is made up of leaves and insects.

They rely heavily on dense and tall forest areas for safety and travelling. Hence, logging and mining are huge threats to their survival.

Gibbon Behaviour Project by Borneo Nature Foundation is the only project in the world dedicated to the long term study of Bornean white-bearded gibbon.

They found out that the 2015 huge forest fires in Central Kalimantan had a long term impact of the gibbon population even two years after the incident.

After a large part of the forest habitat was lost to fire, the gibbons had to fit into a smaller space and forced to compete for more food and other resources.

Just like humans during home intrusions, some of these gibbons were moving to a new area after the fire and raising conflicts with other groups.

2.Mueller’s gibbon or Bornean gibbon (Hylobates muelleri)
Matang Wildlife Centre 10

Hylobates muelleri is one of the gibbon species that can be found in Borneo.

According to A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo by Junaidi Payne and Charles. M Francis, Hylobates muelleri is basically grey-brown but with a wide range in coat colour and pattern.

It is endemic to the island of Borneo and can be found in the northern and eastern part of the island.

In Indonesia, they are distributed in a number of protected areas including Betung Kerihun National Park, Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park, Kayan Mentarang National Park, Kutai National Park, Sungai Wain Protection Forest and Tanjung Puting National Park.

Meanwhile in Malaysia, Hylobates muelleri occurs in Pulong Tau National Park, Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary and Semenggoh Nature Reserve.

How do you spot this mammal in the forest? Payne and Francis stated that they are 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 2km under suitable conditions.

Their diets are mainly made up of fresh, ripe fruits, young leaves and small insects.

They are social animals, just like all primates. Plus, all gibbons are strongly territorial. Mueller’s gibbons usually can be found in small groups consisting of one adult male, one adult female and one to three young.

Each group defends a territory of 20-30 hectare. So, it is sad and depressing to see them after being rescued in a small, confined cage such as in Matang Wildlife Centre.

They wouldn’t be there in the first place if it weren’t for irresponsible human acts like keeping them as pets or wildlife trafficking.

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10 interesting facts about Indonesia’s Kapuas River

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Borneo has often been referred to as the Amazon of Asia thanks to its high density biodiversity. So if Borneo is the Asian Amazon, the ‘Amazon river’ of this island is none other than the Kapuas river.

Here are 10 interesting facts you need to know about Kapuas River, Indonesia

1.It is the longest river in Indonesia

At 1,143 kilometers in length, it is the longest river of Indonesia and the island of Borneo.

It is also the world’s longest river. The delta of Kapuas river is at Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan Province.

Kapuas river
An early morning view of Kapuas river from Semitau.

2.Wait, there are two Kapuas riverS?

There are actually two Kapuas rivers flowing from the same mountain range. One Kapuas river flows west into the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the other Kapuas river flows to the south, merging with the Barito Sea and ends at Java Sea.

3. Kapuas river originates from the Muller mountain range

Both Kapuas rivers originate from the Muller Mountain Range, located south of the Indonesian-Malaysian border.

The mountain range was named after Major Georg Muller. He was a soldier and even fought for Napolean Bonaparte when France attacked Russia.

So how did a European army end up in the middle of Borneo in the 19th century?

Born in Mainz, Germany in 1790, Muller joined the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in 1817.

He took part in the Dutch attack against the Sambas kingdom in 1818.

In 1825, he led an expedition to cross Borneo inland via Mahakam and Kapuas rivers. However, the expedition ended in tragedy when he and his party were killed by the local Dayak tribe.

4.There are two national parks on its river banks

Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum are the two national parks located at Kapuas river banks.

Together with Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary in Malaysia, Betung Kerihun has been proposed as a World Heritage site.

Meanwhile, Danau Sentarum National Park lies in the upper Kapuas river tectonic basin some 700 kilometers from its delta.

5. It is an important source of water and mode of transport

If you spend an early morning in any town located next to the river, you can catch some of the local people doing their daily chores.

You can see young children in large groups before going to school while the women do their washing on the wooden jetties.

Although roads are available to connect most parts of West Kalimantan, the Kapuas river is still the major waterway connecting the centre of Borneo with its western coast.

6.The Kapuas river and its flora and fauna are any researchers’ dream subject

Many researchers believe there are still many new species to discover in Borneo, especially small creatures

The most recent fascinating species found in the river is the Kapuas mud snake back in 2005. German and American researchers discovered it accidentally when it was put in a dark bucket and changed colour 20 minutes later.

The snake has chameleon-like behaviour which allows it to change its epidermal colour spontaneously.

In addition to that, tropical rivers are unlike rivers in temperate zones. To this day, researchers are still gathering more information on hydrology and geomorphology of tropical river system.

7. It has a high density of fish species

There are about 300 fish species recorded in the river basin. The most iconic one is none other the super red arowana fish. It is only found in Kapuas river and is a famous species in the aquarium trade.

Sadly, the species is continuously decreasing because of wild poachers and low productive rates.

8. There are other remarkable species too

Apart from the super red arowana fish, there is one striking fish species found in Kapuas river.

Only officially described in 2008, the eight-banded barb (Eirmotus insignis) is a small zebra-striped fish which measures about 3.6cm in length.

It was found between the towns of Sanggau and Putussibau, among overhanging tree roots and aquatic vegetation.

Where can you find the world’s first lungless frog? In Kapuas river, of course! The Bornean flat-headed frog breathes entirely through its skin.

Scientists first discovered the frog in the middle of Kapuas river basin back in 1978.

9.The longest bridge in Borneo crosses this river

The Tayan Bridge is the longest bridge in Borneo spreading over 1,975 meters. It crosses the Kapuas River in Sanggau, West Kalimantan to connect West Borneo with Central Borneo in Indonesia.

10.You can take a tour upriver from Pontianak

It takes up to two days on the deck to travel up Kapuas river from Pontianak depending on your mode of transportation. In Pontianak, there are travel agencies which can help you to plan a trip upriver if you are feeling adventurous. Plus, there are plenty to see along the river from local villages with different architecture to wildlife that might pass your way.

Go to the furthest upstream and you would find yourself in Tanjung Lokang. Located about 13 hours from Putussibau town by speedboat through Kapuas river, the village belongs to the Dayak Punan.

It is the last village in the Borneo jungle when you are heading east across the island.

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