Borneo April 2015: Primates, Pygmy Elephants and much more….

[TonyQ]

We booked a guided night walk on our first evening. It starts in the twilight – we walk past the feeding platform and two Orang Utans are present (our guide said one was a wild one visiting for free food).

 

We walked along forest walkways, past an old Orang Utan nest,

 

We continued through the forest to a place where Red Giant Flying Squirrels regularly fly. They climb to the top of a tree and then launch themselves, gliding some distance to another tree. We were excited to see two or three fly (but were not quick enough in the low light to get any pictures!).

 

Continuing through the forest we saw this snake.

Edited May 26, 2015 by TonyQ

[michael-ibk]

Lovely Orang Utans! You mentioned they can be dangerous, do they attack/bite?

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@TonyQ

 

Ooh! You photographed a green snake!

Kudos for that image. One often sees slender green snakes featured in books, but relatively few are photographed for use in trip reports.

Perhaps easily overlooked in shaded forest environments.

The image jumped out at me.

Which is not at all intended to in any sense slight the charms of the Orang Utans.

Thank you so much for including the snake in Eden.

Tom K.

[egilio]

Very enjoyable report! Looking forward to the pygmy elephants!

[jeremie]

I particularly like the pictures of the orang utan nest building and the sun bears portrait.

If the Sepilok center certainly guarantees really nice shots, I would prefer trying to find some wild specimens.

Did you see some wild orang utan later during the trip?

Are sun bears commonly seen in Bornean Malaysia?

 

Some friends of mine went in Borneo few months ago and were completely shocked to see the almost all the coastal areas were devastated and forest replaced by palm trees. What was your feeling about it?

Edited May 27, 2015 by jeremie

[TonyQ]

@@michael-ibk

Thank you. Almost all of them stay away from people - but they are very strong. There have been some instances of them trying to get food from tourists which is why food and drink are not allowed. You are not allowed to take bags in (other than small handbags) - I had to put my camera bag in a locker.

 

@@Tom Kellie

Thank you - I don't know what sort of snake it is!

 

@@egilio

Pygmy elephants coming very soon (and then again a bit later!)

 

@@jeremie

Thank you. The next sections look at our trip to the Kinabatangan River and Danum Valley where the animals are genuinely wild. We only had one glimpse of a wild Orang Utan (at Danum Valley) but were pleased with our sightings of other primates. Sun Bears are not seen very often I think.

Much of the forest in Sabah (the Northern part of Borneo) has been destroyed and replaced with Palm Oil plantations. Palm Oil now appears in almost all processed food in the west. Some areas are protected (Such as Danum Valley, a strip along the Kinabatangan River, Tabin),and there are moves to join up these areas with wildlife corridors. The biggest threat to wildlife in Borneo is deforestation and it is a real worry. (I will talk about this a bit more later in the report)

[kittykat23uk]

Hi @@Tom Kellie@@TonyQ

 

I believe this snake is a baby Wagler's pit viper! I did not see one myself but I instantly thought from the head snap it must be a viper and a quick google search brought up this interesting page all about this beauty:

 

http://snakebuddies.net/2013/07/17/snake-temple-home-of-the-waglers-pit-viper/

 

So you can see they change quite a lot as they grow, hence this one is very young!

[TonyQ]

@@kittykat23uk

Thank you for that identification - it does indeed look like the baby

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie

Thank you - I don't know what sort of snake it is!

 

~ @@TonyQ

 

It's such a lovely shot, emphasizing the snake's graceful sinuosity.

Slender green snakes have interested me throughout my life, demonstrating as they do natural selection's penchant for cryptic coloration.

Thanks again for posting it.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Hi @@Tom Kellie@@TonyQ

 

I believe this snake is a baby Wagler's pit viper! I did not see one myself but I instantly thought from the head snap it must be a viper and a quick google search brought up this interesting page all about this beauty:

 

http://snakebuddies.net/2013/07/17/snake-temple-home-of-the-waglers-pit-viper/

 

So you can see they change quite a lot as they grow, hence this one is very young!

 

~ @@kittykat23uk

 

Many, many THANKS for the excellent identification!

Both students and myself highly appreciate such accurate reptile identifications.

It was fortunate that @@TonyQ chanced upon a young pit viper.

With Appreciation,

Tom K.

[TonyQ]

The Kinabatangan River

 

The next section of our trip would take us from Sepilok to the Kinabatangen River. We were picked up by a bus with other tourists and taken on a short drive (About 40mins) to Sandakan. We travelled to village on the edge of the town which was built on stilts over the sea. We walk through the village to a jetty and board our fast boat that will take us along the coast and then up river.

 

 

House on the river

House and boats

 

After about an hour and a quarter we reach Abai Lodge at about 2.30pm. The lodge is on the river and looks very nice. Our room is basic, fan cooled but fine. We rest for a bit then head down to the dining area for a freshly made banana fritter and a cup of tea and meet up for our afternoon boat trip.

[TonyQ]

Our guide is called Landrico, but known as Junior. (we find out later that he was a guide for the BBC team that made “Expedition Borneo” about 10 years ago). The boat is low in the water and has two rows of seats. There are 7 other people in our boat plus Junior and the “driver”. On the first trip, we have the front row – we change places on each “drive””.

 

Junior said that there were elephants in the area and we would go to look for them! We crossed to the other side of the river, and after about 10 minutes

 

Our first glimpse of an elephant – seen through bushes

One eventually walks through a clearing

Elephants disappear and reappear. At times we are too close .. but eventually we have good views of a number of individuals and also glimpses through the undergrowth of others.

 

Edited May 28, 2015 by TonyQ

[jeremie]

Wonderful elephant sighting!

[TonyQ]

You can just make out the ears of a baby below the adult's head (well protected!)

 

A youngster

 

 

We were with them about 25 minutes - I think here were 2 other boats in all the time we were there. We were thrilled to see them so well and so early in our trip to the river

[TonyQ]

Borneo Pygmy elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis)

 

It was believed that the elephants were remnants of a domesticated herd given to the Sultan of Sulu in the 17th century. However WWF found using DNA analysis that the elephants in Borneo are genetically distinct and may have separated from those in mainland Asia about 300,000 years ago.

 

It is thought that there are fewer than 1,500 Borneo Pygmy elephants, mostly in Sabah.

 

They are smaller than other Asian Elephants (Males 2.5m compared to 3m). It is said that they have rounder heads, bigger ears, straighter and longer tails (but I haven’t compared!).

 

They are another creature threatened by deforestation. Sometimes Palm Oil plantations have been built across their migration routes – and they divert through villages causing problems for the people living there.

 

Sometimes arguments about whether an animal belongs to a different sub-species or not, can be a bit academic. However in this case, allocating the Pygmy Elephant to a different sub-species appears to have made a difference. The elephants were viewed as something ordinary and a bit of a pest by some people. Knowing that this animal is uniquely Bornean appears to have generated some pride and more willingness to protect it. Some efforts are being made to preserve or build wildlife corridors of protected forest to ensure animals can move around. Let us hope this wonderful animal can survive!

 

[michael-ibk]

Wonderful sighting. Definitely noticed the longer tail, however the ears actually seemed to me to be smaller.

[kittykat23uk]

Gripped! We only had fleeting sightings at night in Tabin.

[xelas]

Thank You, @@TonyQ !! The elephant we have not seen on our trip to Borneo, so glad I can see them now.

[TonyQ]

@@michael-ibk

Thank you - I think you may be right about the ears!

@@jeremie

Thank you -They are wonderful animals

@@kittykat23uk

It does show the importance of luck - especially in a rainforest-type environment. We were very lucky with these (and again later!) but you had much better sightings of some other animals than we did!

@@xelas

Thank you - it is where luck comes in.

[TonyQ]

We travel peacefully along the river - it is very relaxing

Little Egret

Darter (Anhinga – Snake Bird)

Wild Pig

Brahminy Kite

First glimpse of Proboscis monkeys

 

Junior guides our boat goes up a little channel and the late evening sun is shining beautifully

 

 

With a baby (just visible!)

 

 

Apparantly they frequently come to trees near the water in the evening

 

Fairly distant Red Leaf-Monkey (Maroon Langur)

[TonyQ]

We then stop for a sundowner (although the tradition here is tea/coffee with a biscuit!).

 

We continue with a spotlit journey, seeing a Leopard Cat (too quick for photo!), a crocodile, a Buffy Fish Owl

A collared kingfisher

 

And then a real treat. Fire flies group together on individual trees, their lights flashing on and off – turning the tropical tree into visions of a Christmas tree.

 

Back to the lodge, a decent meal and a very yellow full moon.

[xelas]

@TonyQ: Proboscis monkeys, do they still nickname them "Red Hot Chilli Pepper"?!

It was tea and biscuits for us. The coffee was just ..., well something warm and black. but tea ... superb!!

The sunset photo ... !!!

Edited May 29, 2015 by xelas

[kittykat23uk]

@@TonyQ I believe the kingfisher is blue-eared.

[Atravelynn]

"One of the young bears we saw had been found by forest rangers who heard shots, rushed to the scene and found the youngster next to its dead mother." Probably most of the bears there have similar sad stories. At least there is a sanctuary to help with their survival and that of the species.

 

On a more uplifting note our Forest in Early Morning Mist could be a water color or a poster or both.

 

The elephants were a tremendous sighting. It seems like you saw them very easily. I can imagine your excitement with that first glimpse of one behind the branches. That pic is a good perspective.

Can you tell me your planning for trying to see Pygmy Elephants and how typical your excellent viewing was? How are they doing as a species?

 

You mentioned palm oil plantations blocking migratory paths. Anything else--good or bad--on the palm oil that you learned?

 

More luck with the wild pig. Looks like you just caught him before he sneaked into the forest. Nice going with the Proboscis monkeys, very nice light.

 

Leopard cat, now that's a rare one.

 

Sunset and moon are a fantastic end to your day.

Edited May 30, 2015 by Atravelynn

[TonyQ]

@@xelas

Thank you. We didn't hear the name "Red Hot Chilli Pepper" but it may stil be in use! I agree that the Sabah tea was superb.

 

@@kittykat23uk

Thank you -identification help is always welcome as I am definitely not a birder!

 

@@Atravelynn

Thank you for your kind comments. I don't really know how easy it is to see the elephants. I think they are seen regularly, but they do cover quite large distances so it is probably easy to miss them. I think luck is involved - and (spoiler alert) we were very lucky a couple of days later, seeing a different group of elephants. I think in this case (the ones shown so far) a couple of other factors also helped. Abai Lodge is the only lodge in this section of the river - the guides on different boats obviously talk to each other when in the lodge (they don't use radios). The lodge also has good relations with the village across the river (we will visit tomorrow) and I think they also give information about where elephants have been seen. The elephants spend a lot of time in forests, so would be difficult to find, see or follow. The big advantage of being on the river is that the elephants do come to it to drink and I presume bathe - so they are more in the open. They also seem to be fairly indifferent to boats. When we first made contact, I thought we were too close to them and likely to put pressure on them (based on African vehicle experience), but surprise surprise, the guide who had been working there for 10 years knew better than me . I suppose that they know that the boats can only be on one side of them and that they can easily move away if they wish.

 

How well they are doing as a sub-species I don't really know, but I think (hope) there is a will to protect them.

 

(I will collect some thoughts on Oil Palm and return to it later)