CHASING WILD CATS IN BORNEO (SABAH). APRIL 2024.

[Atravelynn]

You did more than chase the cats.  You found 'em!  And much more.  As a couple of ST reports inspired you, this action-packed report will certainly inspire others.  You were wise to book when you could get your guide of choice.  April turned out well.  Splurging for the thermal imaging monocular also likely increased your success.  Thanks for the hint on that device.

 

Your excellent shots cover felines, birds, reptiles and more, but the shot of you and your wife in front of the vehicle really displays your enthusiasm and passion for this kind of adventure. Another accomplishment of your guide, I bet.

 

Nature documentary stuff here!

[johnweir]

At Tabin Wildlife Reserve we saw several species we had already recorded and photographed. One of our target species the Sabah (Grey) Grizzled Langur was not realised despite a concerted effort but we did manage a sighting of some North Borneo Gibbons (also known as East Bornean Grey Gibbon). We were told that a Gibbon sighting was almost guaranteed if we did the early morning guided walk in the resort grounds. For the first morning apparently in months the Gibbons failed to turn up, we heard them but could not catch them up despite walking miles. We went back to our chalet for a rest and within minutes there was a knock on the door and our excited guide indicated that several Gibbons were actually above our chalet in some very tall trees. Getting decent images proved impossible due to vegetation cover and direct sunlight.

NORTH BORNEO (GREY) GIBBON, asleep directly above our chalet we could have enjoyed 3 hours longer in bed had we known they would eventually pay us a visit.

At least we had a sighting and some record shots. Being in the company of Gibbons is always an exhilarating and noisy experience. Wonderful primates.

 

Our night drives were described as extended night drives and usually started around 20.30 and finished around midnight. (Tame after Deramakot). We also went out late afternoons 16.00 until 19.00, the following images were taken during these drives. I will try to reflect the diversity of wildlife we enjoyed whist at Tabin Wildlife Reserve. On one of the night drives we enjoyed an extraordinary sighting, I will concentrate on that later in this section of my report. I would point out that we saw numerous Sunda Leopard Cats, usually at dusk crossing the track between the main rainforest and the palm oil plantations surrounding the reserve. It has been reported that the smaller Cats in particular find hunting rodents easier in the plantations than the forests, due to lack of ground cover.

 

BROWN WOOD OWL.

 

PAINTED MOCK VIPER. Non-venomous. They are described as ambush predators associated with vegetation overhanging waterbodies. That is exactly what this one was doing, it was positioned on a thin branch overhanging a small pond. This one was circa 60cm in length and was relatively thin bodied.

 

BORNEAN COLUGO. This was a good sighting as it was relatively close to the track. Probably a male based on colouration. They are referred to in Borneo as Flying Lemurs, they are very unlike the Lemurs we have seen. 

 

WATER MONITOR, it was good to see one swimming and not in a tree.

 

 BARRED EAGLE OWL, it is always great to see an owl resting during the day. I am not a 100% sure about this ID. Please advise if I am wrong, it does appear to have ear tufts.

 

RHINOCEROS HORNBILL.

The same species taken at night, we didn't see many Hornbills resting at night in fact I think this was the only one.

 

PIG-TAILED MACAQUE. Very common in Tabin more so than Long-tailed Macaques. Quite nervous.

Juvenile female.

Dominant male.

We unfortunately woke this one up. It was spotted sleeping in the pam oil plantation.

 

WHITE-CROWNED HORNBILL.

 

Another RED GIANT FLYING SQUIRREL, what is unusual is that it was the only one we saw during the daytime, 16.30. The image is also a good example of how most of the smaller mammal sightings appear without the use  of a zoom lens.

RED GIANT FLYING SQUIRREL. As normally seen.

 

GREATER MOUSEDEER, briefly seen in the resort grounds.

BLACK-AND-RED BROADBILL. Not a particularly good image as it looks like a bird with 2 bills, it is actually 2 birds.

 

ISLAND PALM CIVET, as previously seen at other locations visited.

Certainly the most common Civet sp. at Tabin.

 

BUSHY-CRESTED HORNBILLS. The only Hornbill species we saw that gathered in groups rather than pairs.

Bushy-crested Hornbills, these 10 were part of a flock of 32 individuals.

 

 

FILE-EARED TREE FROGS.

 

CRESTED SERPENT-EAGLE.

 

ORIENTAL PIED HORNBILL.

 

A VERY UNUSUAL AND RARE CIVET SIGHTING.

On one of the night drives at around 21.30  a Civet was spotted foraging in a palm tree at the side of the track, forest side. When we started to get a good look at it I initially thought it was a Masked Civet, due to its white face. However other morphological features did not fit with the species. The body colour was wrong, Masked Civets are rufous coloured and it also lacked a white tip to the tail. 

The unusual Civet, most of the images in this section appeared in a short report on mammalwatching.com when I was appealing for some ID suggestions. Feedback from a variety of scholarly sources and interest in this mammal has been incredible. We left the sighting with Civet sp? in the notebook. The guides were at a loss, I sent Mike the images he thought it was 'weird'. Initially hybridisation was mentioned, but there appears to be very little recorded data on the subject, it was eventually thought to be most unlikely. Numerous suggestions were made and a concrete ID began to take traction when Jen Hooper  (The Civet Project), Daniel Wilcox (IUCN SSC Small Carnivore Specialist Group) and Jon Hall (MW.com) got involved. Thanks to them for their efforts.

BORNEAN STRIPED PALM CIVET. This species was repeatedly mentioned, but it has a black face (as above) and usually has stripes on its back. Ours had no stripes and was plain dark grey on its back with a light grey belly. 

The unusual Civet.

Compare this Civet with the one below.

This was taken in Deramakot and is a typical Bornean Striped Palm Civet. Shortly after we got home Mike sent me the image below which was taken in Tabin 10 days after we left.

Is this the same Civet we saw? It certainly could be. However it appears more heavily built. I think it is fatter in the face than our Civet. 

 

Eventually after much discussion the general consensus of opinion as expressed by Daniel Wilcox was: " It is most likely a Small-toothed Palm Civet (Bornean Striped Palm Civet) . The Sundiac forms of this species are very different from those found in e.g.Thailand. I am confused though; all the forms of STPC I have sen in Malaysian Borneo are dark-faced: why is this one so light in colour? I know a potential hybrid has been suggested (with Masked Civet); the levels of hybridisation between Civet sp aren't really known, so it is a possibility. The length of the tail and the shape and position of the ears strongly indicates Small-toothed Palm Civet but it is definitely odd for the species. To counter the hybrid suggestion, there is a lot of basically undocumented variation within Civet sp. populations, and this could easily be a previously unknown pelage variant for STPC.

So basically this is possibly an unrecorded colour morph of the (STPC) Bornean Striped Palm Civet and is indeed a very rare sighting. It just goes to show how amateur wildlife enthusiasts can make a contribution to our knowledge of the natural world.

 

NEXT: Final instalment, Danum Valley and trip overview.

[Kitsafari]

That certainly looks similar to the Barred Eagle Owl, my favourite owl species in Singapore. They are on the IUCN Redlist's near threatened status. 

 

Very interesting developments on your unusual civet,  @johnweir !

 

So between Deramakot and Tabin, if I had a choice for only one, which would you recommend and why, please? for mammals mainly, and for birds.  

[Atravelynn]

Creatures from another world. Maybe even an unrecorded one. 

 

Very stately White-crowned Hornbill.

[johnweir]

@Kitsafari Deramakot definitely for mammals, but you have to go nocturnal for as many nights as possible, certainly more than the 3 some group tours appear to do, we did 8 and I wish we had done a few more. Birds are difficult to see but they are certainly there, the high density of the rainforest vegetation obviously doesn't help. I did a walk after lunch everyday mainly on tracks in the forest and found it to be very quiet. It was better for birds however when I was walking the main track. Whilst we were there, there were several bird specialists who seemed happy with what they had seen. We followed a French bird photographer to 3 of our locations and he was very impressed with the bird species he had seen and the photography opportunities, he was less impressed with his guide however. Tabin less so for mammals than Derakamot but one has to factor in that we only did 3 nights there. All 4 of the Cats we saw during our trip are possible there and Primates were seen more frequently than at Derakamot, the night drives at Tabin end around midnight which for most visitors would be OK. Birding was possibly better than Derakamot as the only road you can travel on is much more open, secondary forest on one side and palm plantations on the other. It was definitely the best location we visited for Hornbills. I hope this helps, I will read your latest trip report when I get this finished and will possibly have a few questions. 

 

When I was planning the itinerary I was very conscious that the amount of night driving may put a strain on my wife and that some of the accommodation was fairly basic, in the end neither concerns were an issue. However I decided to include 2 nights at the end of the trip at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge (BRL) in the Danum Valley, as a wildlife experience but also to unwind, before the long trip home. The transfer from Tabin to BRL took about 3 hours initially by private taxi before we changed to a lodge vehicle at Lahad Datu. The lodge is regarded as one of the best rainforest lodges (rainforest experiences) in the world and I would have to say it lived up to all our expectations in terms of quality. The lodge's location is absolutely stunning.

You are always sure of a warm welcome at Borneo Rainforest lodge. During the long drive in on gravel roads about 5 miles from the lodge the forest changed from secondary (managed) to pristine primary rainforest which was just out of this world.

The lodge entrance, at BRL you are allocated your own guide on arrival who remains with you during your stay and accompanies you on your chosen activities which are mainly walks. The guides are very knowledgeable and extremely pleasant to be with. The impression I got of the clients was that they had an interest in wildlife but possibly didn't like to get their hands too dirty. I don't think you would find many of them visiting Deramakot or staying at Osman's for example. I think what I am trying to say is it is a very up market experience, but a very pleasant one at that. It was in complete contrast to the rest of the visit. The wildlife experience could be better and that would not be hard to deliver. The lodge needs to expand urgently its night drive programme.

The food was amazing, served buffet style, the choice was unbelievable at breakfast, dinner and lunch and always of the highest quality. Malaysian food is fantastic although they had many other options. Wine and beer available.

The dining area.

The view from the dining area. The river in front of the lodge is the Segama and the small area which was cleared when the lodge was built often attracts a herd of Bornean Pygmy Elephants (classified last week as critically endangered 28/6/2024) which had been there for several days before we arrived, but unfortunately decided to leave when we got there, we did hear them!

It rained very heavily on both afternoons we were there. As previously mentioned when it rains it brings trees down, we had a large branch land on the chalet roof, which I initially thought was thunder. This was our balcony during one of the periods of rain.

Waking up in the morning to this view of pristine primary rainforest out of our bedroom window was an experience we will never forget.

I took this image one morning through the bedroom window, I initially thought it was a Grey-headed Fish Eagle but was told by our guide it is indeed a LESSER FISH EAGLE. Thoughts welcomed.

Segama River in front of the lodge, Elephant habitat. This area around the lodge was very good for birding, there was also a butterfly garden.

The front of the lodge, the raised dining area, below a good souvenir shop, lecture hall and information centre.

Our chalet had an outdoor bath which was utilised.

This is a fairly typical forest walkway close to the lodge.

Also on site there are a few very modern but beautifully designed open planned family bungalows. All glass at the front. Wow! We both thought we could live there!

This was our chalet, it was spacious inside and very well appointed. Unfortunately pictures of the interior cannot be shown due to my untidiness. Those are my clothes after a walk in the forest drying out, the climate in Borneo is very humid and hot, clothing gets damp and then wet very quickly.

On our first night we did a very short 1 hour night drive up to the lodge gates and back, we were the only takers. The buggy type vehicle we used was all electric and was very quiet, is this the way forward on safari? We saw very little on the drive.

Images from the short night drive which was very tame compared to what we had become accustomed to:Sleeping CRESTED FIREBACK (Male).

 

FILE-EARED TREE FROG, possibly the best image of the most common frog we recorded.

 

MALAY CIVET.  A commonly seen Civet species and certainly one of the most attractive. This was a good sighting, they are usually very nervous but this one hung around for a while.

The same Civet as above.

They are very attractively marked. The less informed refer to them as Cats.

 

Most of the wildlife activities at the lodge centred around Primate spotting so most of our time was spent on walks, some short some long on the gravel main lodge road searching for Orangutan and Langurs. I would point out this area is regarded as being very good for birds. We had a brief glimpse of a Sabah Partridge (Chestnut-necklaced) which seemed to get everyone excited.

BORNEAN ORANGUTAN (wild, young male just developing flanges, around 15 years old). Pongo pygmaeus morio, the northern Borneo ssp. circa 5,000 left in the wild. Although we saw lots of Primates other than Macaques we rarely got relatively close to them throughout the trip, I would have liked better images of the Orangutans and Langurs. 

A different juvenile male.

If you want to see truly wild born and bred Orangutan, then BRL is well worth a visit.

The forest arial walkway is situated about a mile from the lodge, only half of the walkway is presently open due to one of the main support trees having come down. The walkway sways and is very much less rigid than the one at Sepilok, but you feel much more immersed in the forest. We had access to about 300 metres of the walkway, via a spiral staircase. The guy on the bridge is our French photographer friend who had been at the lodge longer than us, on the previous day he had taken fantastic images from the walkway of several Orangutans, which apparently he could virtually have touched, we had no such luck.

 

The previous images were taken on the morning walk 06.00 until 09.30, this image and the two below were taken on a late afternoon walk 15.30 until 18.00.

 

RED LANGUR. Presbytis rubicunda chrysea.

Several individuals were seen around the lodge and from distance on the walks.

 

On our final evening in Borneo and at BRL I decided to book a private night drive it cost circa £100 ($ 126/7) and lasted from 20.30 until 23.30, Clouded Leopards have been recorded at night near the lodge, unfortunately the drive produced very few sightings, although I had 2 good thermal image sightings of large unidentified mammals. The first was a medium sized Cat possibly a juvenile Clouded Leopard which was picked up under a bush watching a small Island Palm Civet on the track, although we were able to watch the Civet, the Cat unfortunately vanished and despite a long wait was not seen again, so the sighting was not recorded. The second was possibly a Sun Bear which was observed sleeping in a tree (strong heat signature) from a considerable distance. Even through binoculars I could not make a definite ID other than it was big and black another possibility was a Binturong which can be quite large. So once again the sighting was not recorded. 

BLACK FLYING SQUIRREL. Seen at most locations.

There could be 2 Squirrels here mating.

THOMAS'S FLYING SQUIRREL. Similar to the Giant Red Flying Squirrel but smaller and no black tip to the tail. Seen at most locations.

The following morning I went out with our guide looking for Orangutans at 05.30 and then at 10.00 we left for the airport and a 4 flight trip home which from beginning to end took 37 hours. Just after we left the lodge a large King Cobra speedily crossed the track in front of our vehicle.

The day before we flew out all flights in and out of Borneo had been cancelled due to Mount Ruang (volcano) in Indonesia erupting, so we were quite anxious if our flights would be affected, fortunately all went well.

On our return home no sooner had  we sat down to have a coffee than a European Red Squirrel appeared on our fence. I was tempted to say "As if we haven't seen enough Squirrels over the last 3 weeks". The camera was handy so we have yet another image for the Squirrel collection.

EUROPEAN RED SQUIRREL. Ettrickbridge, Scotland UK.

 

MAMMAL SPECIES NUMBERS OBSERVED AT EACH LOCATION VISITED IN BORNEO:

SEPILOK 6, DERAMAKOT 29, KINABATANGAN RIVER 16, TABIN 18, DANUM VALLEY 10

We recorded 45 new mammal species on the trip.

We observed 4 out of 5 species of Cats found in Borneo.

We observed 9 out of 10 species of Primates found in Borneo (Sabah).

We observes 6 out of 8 species of Hornbills found in Borneo.

We observed 74 species of birds without really trying.

The trip was a huge success and we loved our time in Sabah, the trip goes straight into my top 3 wildlife adventures. At the start of this report I said we try to visit somewhere new each trip, but I have a strong feeling we will revisit Borneo, hopefully in the company of Mike who has agreed to guide us again, despite reducing the number of trips he intends to guide in the future. We still have some unfinished business. The wildlife experience, food and above all else the Malaysian people made this trip so enjoyable. Incidentally @KitsafariI have taken your advice, we will visit Vietnam for rare Primates with some birding in April 2025. 

 

Finally a big thank you to all who have followed this report and made positive comments and those also who took my ideas and produced a great itinerary. Special thanks go to Mike, certainly one of the best wildlife guides around.

 

P.S. One incident I haven't told involved Mike our main guide. On the 3rd night drive in Deramakot he got stung by a giant wasp (possibly attracted by his spotlight) on his wrist which immediately swelled up and caused him considerable pain. He insisted we carried on. 20 minutes later the air went blue with expletives as he had been stung for a second time virtually on the same spot as the first bite. Within 5 minutes his wrist was 3 times the size it should have been and he was in even more pain. I insisted we drove back to the camp immediately, he refused and insisted also that we carried on. The second bite occurred at possibly our best Leopard Cat sighting, unfortunately the Cat objected to Mike's swearing and bolted.  30 minutes later we got our fantastic Marbled Cat sighting. On our return to camp at 03.00 his wrist was huge and causing him a significant amount of pain, I was sure the following day would be cancelled, however we met up for lunch and we were delighted to see the swelling had gone and he was completely back to normal. Just an example of how focussed Mike is.

Edited July 19 by johnweir
Text correction.

[Kitsafari]

A brilliant trip report full of helpful details and super photos. I am really envious of your cat sightings. your BRL photos bring back good memories of our trip many years ago and the lodge's dining area looks airy and much unchanged. That's great news that they have switched to the electric vehicle for night drives  - we had a huge really noisy truck which we were very sure drove all the night creatures away. 

 

I've also been much encouraged by the reports from @kittykat23uk but I think I would be too terrified of leeches to share her most adventurous spirit and forays into the jungle! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Deramakot vs Tabin. Do you have frontal photos of the lesser fish eagle? Grey-headed Fish eagles are pretty big and the grey on the heads of the lesser fish eagle remains grey and extends to around the chest while the grey on the grey-headed fish eagle generally ends at the neck.  both species are on IUCN REdlist's Near Threatened status. 

 

" Incidentally @KitsafariI have taken your advice, we will visit Vietnam for rare Primates with some birding in April 2025. "

 

Most delighted to hear that! I'm very certain that the the red=shanked Douc langur and the Delacour's Langur will make it high on your list! 

Edited July 2 by Kitsafari

[Atdahl]

Awesome report.  Makes me want to go back for a 3rd time.  Ending your trip at BRL was a great idea, we have done the same on both or our trips.  That last time they upgraded us to one of those 2 villas and it was extraordinary. 

 

Mike is by for the hardest working guide that we have ever had.  I don't blame him for reducing his future trips.  Selfishly, I hope he will still be available if we do visit number 3 though.

 

Alan

[offshorebirder]

Fantastic report @johnweir.   Thank you so much for taking the time to share such detailed information and photos.    Your comments about guiding, night drives and other tips are very much appreciated.

 

Congrats on a wonderful safari!

[Treepol]

@johnweirI have just re-read your TR again and wow!

 

You had some great sightings and experiences that have given me a lot to think about. Thanks so much for sharing your adventures.

[TonyQ]

Thank you for a wonderful report. You worked hard for your sightings and you were well rewarded.

Excellent photos and very engaging writing

[michael-ibk]

Thanks so much John, this report finally did it - booked a Sabah trip for next spring. With Borneo Adventure Alternative btw. My focus will be somewhat different from yours (birds!), but much of the itinerary is the same (Kinabalu Park, Deramakot, Sepilok, Osman's and BRL). I owe you!

[johnweir]

@michael-ibk We will be expecting a discount from AAB if and when we decide to go back. Look forward to some excellent Clouded Leopard images next Spring and possibly a few bird images!  Glad you enjoyed the report, you will have a great trip I am sure. 

 

@KitsafariThanks for  the Eagle ID information, unfortunately I only have side on images. Based on my published image would you go with Lesser or Grey-headed? I have started reading your latest trip report and have one or two questions about Kinabalu and Tawau. Could I send you a PM or email at some stage? Thanks.

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

49 minutes ago, johnweir said:

@KitsafariThanks for  the Eagle ID information, unfortunately I only have side on images. Based on my published image would you go with Lesser or Grey-headed? I have started reading your latest trip report and have one or two questions about Kinabalu and Tawau. Could I send you a PM or email at some stage? Thanks.

 

 

 

 

To me it looks like a lesser fish eagle - the tail appears to lack a white band which the grey-headed has but sometimes it can be hidden. I can ask someone else to confirm (or not) and will come back to you. 

Anytime - please PM or email me when you want to. I just hope I can answer your questions!

 

[Kitsafari]

On 7/13/2024 at 10:30 PM, johnweir said:

 

@KitsafariThanks for  the Eagle ID information, unfortunately I only have side on images. Based on my published image would you go with Lesser or Grey-headed? I have started reading your latest trip report and have one or two questions about Kinabalu and Tawau. Could I send you a PM or email at some stage? Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

@johnweirI have the answer for you - confirmed by no less than one of the top bird experts in Southeast Asia - the eagle is, as I have suspected, a Lesser Fish Eagle. 

[johnweir]

@KitsafariThank you so much, accuracy in my records is important to me. It is obvious that you have really put yourself to a lot of trouble. Your efforts are appreciated.

 

P.S. Thank you also for the Stick Insect ID.

Edited July 20 by johnweir