The Land Below the Wind - of small jumbos and beasts and scintillating birds

[Kitsafari]

After the flying "show" ended, the night walk started. David had booked a private tour so we had our own park guide, while others were grouped with about 10 or less in each group and each group was led by a park guide. The advantage of having a private tour was that we could take our time to photograph or watch anything. The tours were, I think, mainly on the Kingfisher Trail. 

We passed a stick insect on the Skywalk

 

Then a Lantern Bug frozen on the tree showed off its brightly coloured wings which would have looked brilliant in the sunlight. 

 

It was pitch black along the track but we were prepared with our torches or head torches. David had a large torch as did the park guide. The guide then said something to David and we were all staring at a Horsfield's Tarsier hiding behind a trunk. Yay! a mammal I had hoped to see. 

 

 

a far better shot from OH

It was small! With its large expressive eyes, it looked a bit anxious at us pointing black bulky cameras at it, but it didn't move off. David would use red filtered light to show it, then switched to a spotlight - avoiding its eyes - for us to fire our shots. We didn't take too long as we didn't want to stress it, and we didn't alert the other groups who we couldn't see along the road in any case.

 

The Tarsier is on the Vulnerable status. While IUCN said there were no detailed studies on its population it acknowledged that shrinking jungles were reducing its habitat in its natural range as well as hunting and poaching have adversely impacted the Tarsier's population. It estimated a 30%-35% decline in numbers over the last three generations. There have been shocking cases of people adopting these "cute" carnivorous primates as pets but they generally don't do well as pets. 

 

Further down the road, we saw the groups had joined up and were looking up. High up in a tree, there were two Bornean Slow Lorises - endemic to the island - apparently having a dispute over territory. One of them was chased off, and, despite its name, boy, did it move fast! it was so quick I completely lost track of it on my video clip. They were too far to see for details but another tick for a mammal I had tried to see in Vietnam and Thailand. Slow Loris is another animal that has become quite a trend to keep as an illegal pet, but unlike the tarsiers, the slow loris' bite is venomous. For this reason, there have been cases where the poor loris' teeth are extracted sometimes with a fingernail cutter! Pet trade is so cruel. It's on the vulnerable status. 

 

 

 

A Blue-eyed Angled Headed Lizard clung to a branch, much like what a chameleon would do. Known in IUCN as the Tropical Forest Dragon, the lizard is on a least concern status. 

 

 

An unidentified toad and spider wrapped up the short night walk. It might not have yielded in terms of quantity, but it was super ticking off mammals I had so long wanted to see. 

 

[TonyQ]

Wow, that was a really productive night outing. Amazing seeing the Tarsir and the (rapid) Loris!

[michael-ibk]

Such cool mammals!

[Atdahl]

Congrats on the Tarsier...that's a big nemesis mammal for me since we struck out on both our trips to Sabah.  They appear to be sighted more frequently at RDC now compared to a few years back which is nice.

[Kitsafari]

12 minutes ago, Atdahl said:

Congrats on the Tarsier...that's a big nemesis mammal for me since we struck out on both our trips to Sabah.  They appear to be sighted more frequently at RDC now compared to a few years back which is nice.

 

Thanks - 

Time for a 3rd try, perhaps?

[Kitsafari]

 

Kinabatangan River

 

The wide river opened up to us, willing us to share its mysteries - that is, if we could see past the thick foliage in the tangle of trees and bushes along the shores. The boat's motor provided a constant drone, a strong note cutting through the silence on the river, as the boat carved its way through the still brown waters and sending ripples in its wake. 

Flashes of our Gabon misadventures on the Ogooue River went through my mind, but the boat's motor was strong, we weren't going a long way, and the weather seemed perfect. 

The waking sun tried to pierce through the fog but the fog hung heavy over the placid waters, not wanting to lose its embrace of the river. The mist shrouded  whatever was ahead of us.  I lifted my face to the cool breeze tinged with dampness as the light sprays of the river splashed against us. It felt right, it felt tranquil. I felt one with the river, with the jungle, being part of the natural world, a feeling I had not completely felt in the other locations on this trip. 

 

 

We were on the Kinabatangan River in the Sandakan region. At 560km or around 348 miles, the river lost the title of being longest river in all of Malaysia by just a couple of miles to Rajang River which pipped it for the top title at 350 miles. While the Rajang River in Sarawak flowed from the Iran Mountains into the South China Sea, Kinabatangan River snakes from the mountains of southwest Sabah into the Sulu Sea. 

 

An interesting piece of history is that the word "Kina" was used by the indigenous people along the river to refer to the Chinese traders who had settled around the river mouth, while "batang" typically means the main trunk of a river (tributaries are known as Sungai) (from Wikipedia).

On the nearly 3hr drive from Telupid to Lepit Jetty where we would be picked up in a boat on the river, we passed miles and miles of palm oil plantations owned by major local companies such as Sime Darby and Genting. The monocultural plantations had removed hectacres of forests, and some of them abutted the river at certain stretches inside tributaries. Narrow strips of jungle were what separated the river from the fenced plantations, and human-wildlife conflicts are not unheard of. 

 

 

 

Since the early 1950s, commercial logging had decimated much of the jungles inside the Lower Kinabatangan area with more than 60,000ha converted into cocoa and palm oil trees. Consequently, pollution from these plantations badly impacted the villagers who depended on the river for their livelihoods. In 1997, 270sq km of the lower Kinabatangan floodplain was declared a protected area which was then upgraded in 2001 to a "bird sanctuary". Efforts to upgrade its status to better protection was impeded by opposition from plantation owners. But in 2006 a decapitated elephant's head was found floating on the river, generating huge publicity over the protection of wildlife. The authorities finally gazetted the area as the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. 

 

Two years later, the 78,000ha of the Kinabatangan and Segama rivers was gazetted as “Kinabatangan-Segama Wetlands Ramsar site", reflecting the richness and huge diversity of fauna and flora in the wetlands which comprises coastal mangrove swamps and peat jungles. The area still faces threats - plans by the government to build a road and expand an existing bridge that cuts across the jungle and river are being fiercely opposed by conservationists and environmentalists. The plantation owners continue to push for expansion. But logging and further deforestation has halted, said David. 

 

Tourism is now a good source of revenues for the area, and when we were there, several boats filled with international guests were also out in the river, but our sightings were hardly crowded, with rare exceptions of major sightings. The busiest tourism hub is in the Sukau area, where most of the lodgings and homestays along the river is located.

This was my favourite location for both mammalwatching and birdlife, not least because we didn't have to walk! the sightings were spectacular, and there is such silence, broken only by bird songs, or the splashing against the boat, to soak in. Because of this, I'll do a day-by-day recount of the "safari". 
 

 

[Kitsafari]

On our way to Kinabatangan River, we made a short detour to the road to Gomantong Caves and did some roadside birding. It yielded a Least Pygmy Squirrel, a Scarlet-rumped Trogon (near threatened on IUCN list), Red-naped Trogon (also Near Threatened), a Ferroginous Babbler and a pair of Black-naped monarchs taking turns to sit on a nest. 

 

The Least pgymy squirrel is found only in Borneo, Sumatra and Banggi and, together with the African pygmy squirrel, is the smallest squirrel in the world. 

 

 

Scarlet-rumped Trogon

 

Red-naped Trogon

Male

 

Black-naped Monarch

 

 

 

 

At Lepid Jetty, we offloaded our luggage onto the boat. Zac the owner and our boat driver was already waiting for us. It was a short ride to the Ulu Malapi Bed & Breakfast homestay. 

There were 3 non-airconed bedrooms, each with a double bed and a single bed. A overhead fan kept the air moving while an air cooler struggled to cool the room. In the end, during the nights, we opened the windows which had insect screens on, and the cool air outside helped cool down the rooms. we didn't use the air cooler except for the first day when we arrived in hot and humid weather. There were two bathrooms and two toilets to be shared. Zac is now building two more rooms but with ensuite facilities and air-conditioning. The home-cooked meals were fantastic - tasty and fresh. The first dinner had just too much food so we asked them to cut back one dish. 

Each morning we would leave about 6am, return at around 9.30am for breakfast, then head out for a second morning ride, return for lunch, then head out again at around 4pm. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

Long have I wanted to come to the river of Kinabatangan, especially after seeing those wonderful photos and sightings in @TonyQ's trip report back in 2015. So I was pretty raring to get out on the "safari". we bundled into the boat, two abreast on four rows of benches made comfortable with foamy cushions. 

 

Zac and David were our "eyes" as we sped - albeit at a fairly low gear - along the river. Some other boats were already out. It was a blazing afternoon but the breeze while the boat was on the move made it bearable. 

 

 

First up, we had to practise our photographing skills on an Oriental Darter which had kindly perched on a branch for us. Almost immediately I realised a major problem shooting from a boat on a river. Even when the engine was turned off, the boat would drift with the currents, which meant that whatever subject I had focussed on would quickly get out of view. Second, because there were six of us on the boat, every little movement rocked the boat, inevitably taking my focus off the subject. Hubby had less issues with it as his mirrorless had the eye-focus feature. time for me to upgrade! meanwhile, I would just have to work around the boat movements, which in the end, I couldn't. 

 

The best of my lot

 

Darters 

 

I thought using the mobile phone to take shots of the river were far easier, and would turn out better than those taken with the camera on a particular subject. 

 

 

 

passing our lodgings along the way

we often would go into tributaries where you could find  more interesting wildlife

 

 

some would lead to an oxbow

 

 

A fishing trap - we saw quite a few of them along the main river and the tributaries. 

 

On one of the tribuataries, we (well David and Zac) found an unusual mammal up in the trees. A brown morph of the Silvery Lutung, or the Silvery Langgur or the Silvered Leaf Monkey. Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN, it is a little studied old world monkey. This brown morph is known to David who has seen it a few times on the river. It was actively moving, but finally settled on a branch. Each time though its face would be hidden by the branches and leaves. His silvered pals quickly vanished into the forest but the brown one stayed put. Found only in Borneo, Sumatra and the west coasts of Peninsular Malaysia, the lutung typically stays close to mangrove swamps. Even Hubby struggled taking photos of this beautiful primate. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16 by Kitsafari

[TonyQ]

@Kitsafarithis brings back very good memories (was it really so long ago!).

It looks beautiful on the river, your accommodation looks good.

Excellent photos. Very enjoyable writing!

[michael-ibk]

Agree with Tony, your writing really takes us to this beautiful place. Impossibly cute Squirrel, and how wonderful are those Trogons!

[Kitsafari]

Thanks much @TonyQ and @michael-ibk . the writing reflects how much I had enjoyed the time on the river. 

[Kitsafari]

On another small river, a family of proboscis monkeys was hanging out on the trees by the river banks. I had seen this arboreal old world monkey back in 2015 during an orangutan trip to Camp Leakey in the Tanjung Puting national park in southern Kalimantan but I was very pleased to reacquaint myself with this very large, rather mesmerising odd-looking monkey.

 

 

The proboscis monkey is one of the most unusual primate in the world. You can never ever mistake it for another primate species. The males have very large noses - an indication apparently of how strong the males are, while the females have smaller pointy noses. 

 

All of them have pot bellies, due mainly to the low-quality leaves which they have to consume in large quantities. Studies also show that the monkey eats fruits during the fruiting season from January to May and leaves for the rest of the year. Flowers, seeds and insects also make up part of their diet. They are usually in a family group of 6-8 females & offspring led by an alpha male. The monkeys favour roosting in trees by or overhanging the river. It's not clear why they do that, but the proboscis monkeys can swim, unlike its much larger distant cousin the orangutan. Something I have just learned too - the monkey has webbed toes, which helps them swim including underwater of up to 20m. isn't that just amazing? 

On the IUCN Endangered status and found only in Borneo, there are less than 1,000 adults in Sarawak, while surveys in Kalimantan show a sharp decline in numbers. In the Mahakam Delta in east Kalimantan, there were thousands of them until early 1990s when the population plunged with the destruction of coastal swamps for shrimp farms. 

 

Along the Kinabatangan river and its smaller rivers, it was very common to see them and they were unperturbed by the boats. There was a lot of young ones, a good sign of a stable population. This evening, a few juveniles were at play while the adults fed before turning in for the night. 

 

 

 

Tarzan wasn't the first primate to swing from trees. These juves made it look so easy and so fun. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

Zac then moved off, back on the main river, past our lodgings and turned into a tributary. It was close to 5.30pm and the sun obscured by the clouds was getting weaker.

 

 

The dense trees on the banks made the river darker than would have been.  As we drifted further into the tributary, we saw a row of some 12 or more boats moored on one bank of the river and on the opposite side were...

 

Bornean Elephants!! 

 

 

The one top target of mine on the river was this pachyderm, also known as the Bornean Pygmy Elephant. The smallest of the Asian elephant species, said to be some three feet smaller than the largest of the Asian Elephants although some limited studies suggested it was about the size of the elephants in Malaysia and Sumatra. They are surprisingly very good-natured and passive, so unlike the African elephants!

 

 

At end-June, the Bornean elephant gained IUCN Redlist status as a separate sub-species - a critical step towards highlighting the plight of the small jumbo. IUCN estimated there are only 1,000 of them left in the wild, with only 150-200 in the Kinabatangan area, the population having sharply cut due to deforestation and human-wildlife conflicts. One 2019 surveys using dung deposits suggest about 2,000 wild elephants in Borneo but this study was regarded as methodologically flawed.

 

It faces a strong possibility of extinction. IUCN said between 2010-2020 at least 131 elephants were killed. Forest clearance in the 1980s and 1990s had also led to elephant deaths by culling. The Bornean elephants are genetically different from other Asian elephants with DNA evidence showing that they started to evolve separately some 300,000 years ago when Borneo became isolated as an island after the rising seas cut off land accessibility to mainland Asia and Sumatra. 

 

The light from the sky was really low when Zac finally found a gap in the row of boats to slowly back into. There were three adult elephants in the waters by the river bank. One of those was smaller and looked like a young adult, while the other two were mature female adults. They looked very different from the African elephant with far smaller ears, and more rotound bodies and shorter legs. 

 

 

 

Edited July 18 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

 

I started to film the trio while the boat was still on the move (without the engine). Here is the clip - excuse the shakes. In the background you will hear quite a commotion - elephants roaring and trumpeting and firecrackers going off. those sounds were not happening where we were. Instead, it appeared a herd of elephants were getting too close to either a village or a plantation or a farm, and local residents were setting off fire crackers and fireworks to drive them away.  This seems a regular occurrence as the elephants are running out of forest to feed and foray.

 

 

My first thought was that this small family was taking a bath before the day ended. As we started to take photographs, something moved into view by the side of the largest elephant. 

 

 

 

To our wonderment, it was a very young baby - it really looked only a few days old or at most weeks-old. Now I knew why the boats were still around - they were watching the proceedings of the baby which was struggling a lot in the waters. The adults could not bring it up the banks which were too steep for the tiny tot to climb. David suggested that the largest elephant was the mother to the two other adults and the baby, and all the adults were part walking and part swimming alongside the baby to keep it afloat. 

 

 

 

For the next half hour, we anxiously watched the progress of the baby, and it proved so fascinating to witness what unfolded at the scene. It was remarkable at how the three adults coordinated in commandeering the baby out of the tight spots. The smallest adult was often ahead, seemingly checking out suitable spots for the baby to climb, and also taking the opportunity to get some itches out of the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other two adults made frequent stops at short intervals to let the baby rest on shallow banks. What was amazing was how they cleared several obstacles - underground plants that clogged the water surface and fallen huge logs.

 

 

Keeping the baby close to the bank

 

 

Then nudging the baby up a shallow bank

 

 

Taking a rest...

 

while the adults waited

 

 

waiting at another stop

 

One of them decided to wallow in the mud while waiting

 

 

 

 

Edited July 18 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

The baby kept going and at one point it looked like it was trying to suckle. So on they went. the older adults were seen using their heads and trunks to nudge or helped guide the baby in the water. The young adult swam ahead, over a huge tree log that lay in the river across their paths, but the baby couldn't climb over. One adult used her head to push up the log, allowing room for the baby to swim under.

How the baby ended up in the deep river was unclear - we didn't get an answer to that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just after clearing the log obstacle, the elephants finally found a gently sloped bank and the adults nudged the baby forward. At last, the baby was on firm ground. The young adult sort of guided it upwards, and soon they were off the bank and headed up a gentle slope to get back into the forests. 

 

 

 

 

The baby will have a strong start to life with such a protective and dedicated family. For me, it was a very educational sighting. I felt really privileged to witness the levels of motherhood, strong family bonds, intelligence and the ability to work together to solve a major problem. and how, despite the presence of a small baby, the elephants were so obliging towards us - we were just about 300m away from them.

I have to add - everyone was quiet, and well behaved and avoided blocking each other. When the baby finally found firm earth beneath its feet, I could feel the heave of relief from everyone present. I certainly could finally breathe easily. 
 

 

[Zim Girl]

What a lovely sighting.  Glad to see the baby was able to get up onto solid ground eventually.

[TonyQ]

@KitsafariI am really pleased you got to see the elephants, and what a wonderful sighting. Really special behaviour to see, and what a relief to see the family guide the baby to safely.

[Treepol]

What special elephant experience! The adults were so caring with the baby that must have been getting tired. I hadn’t realised that the Pygmy elephants were in conflict with farmers to such an extent that deterrents like fire crackers were routinely used. Thank goodness it was just fire crackers.

[michael-ibk]

A wonderful sighting with a happy end - hooray! Also love the Tarzan Proboscis.

[johnweir]

@KitsafariI am thoroughly enjoying the report. The bird photography is exceptional. As you would expect however your Elephant experience really interests me, the images are great. We only saw one Elephant in the Kinabatangan area, but once again it was snorkelling across the river. I think they cross both ways regularly. 

As you have included some insect images in your very interesting report I was wondering what you make of the attached invertebrate image. I am trying to get some sort of ID for the critter, it was about 5cm long. It was taken in Deramakot. A common name would be great. Thank you.

 

Edited July 20 by johnweir

[Kitsafari]

3 hours ago, johnweir said:

@KitsafariI amt thoroughly enjoying the report. The bird photography is exceptional. As you would expect however your Elephant experience really interests me, the images are great . We only saw one Elephant in the Kinabatangan area, but once again it was snorkelling across the river. I think they cross both ways regularly. 

As you have included some insect images in your very interesting report I was wondering what you make of the attached invertebrate image. I am trying to get some sort of ID for the critter, it was about 5cm long. It was taken in Deramakot. A common name would be great. Thank you.

 

 

@johnweirI checked with my guide and he says it is a thorny stick insect (Aretaon asperrimus) and this was a male as female is far larger. 

I'm still checking on the fish-eagle!

[johnweir]

@KitsafariThank you.

Edited July 20 by johnweir

[Kitsafari]

Watching the Bornean elephant family was a fabulous start to our stay at the river and I went away greatly satisfied and pleased to have seen them at close hand. The pressure was off David! The sun was setting when we reached the lodging, and the closing lights of the day made the first of many lovely settings on the river. 
 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we donned on our waterproof motorcyle boot covers for a night walk into the jungle. The boot covers were a handy alternative to bringing along bulky waterproof boots but they were not built to last. I threw my pair away at the end of the trip as one of them was torn. 
But they were enough to protect our shoes for the trip, especially when walking in the mud. Fortunately, it hadn't rained so it wasn't too muddy during the walk. 

The night walk started from the lodge into the jungle behind. In the pitch blackness, we had to avoid tripping over roots, broken branches, avoid branches slashing into our faces, and most of all watch out for the fire ants that can sting you so badly that you can end up in hospitals. and the hospital was nowhere near the river. 

 

I believe you can see the nocturnal mammals in the jungle but we were in the jungle to find nightjars and owls. We knew the elephants were across the river, so it was safe to walk into the jungle on our side of the lodging.  We spent about an hour and a half in there, perspiring loads but came away with new species in a Large Nightjar and a Oriental Bay Owl. It was the only night walk we did while staying there. 

 

Large Nightjar, as big as an owlet

 

A very obliging Oriental Bay Owl

 

 

[Kitsafari]

I was out on the jetty well before 6am the next day and wisps of a light mist drifted across the river.

 

 

 

We rode the waters into the gloomy dawn and into the rising sun.

 

 

 

The drone of the boat on the wide expansive river, and the soft splash of the waters against the boat lulled us into an easy quietness, all of us each in our own reverie. Within half an hour, the light mist was sucked up into the bright sunlight. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A pair of Black Hornbills flew over our heads - too backlit for good photos. On the banks, the villagers were already up and the men were readying their boats either for fishing or for their transportation to someplace. The river was a highway for these villagers. 

Then a pair of Rhinocerous Hornbills were preening each other, preparing for another day.  Then another pair of Black Hornbills provided a better opportunity for photographs but we weren't that excited since we have seen them back home and in neighbouring countries. 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

We turned into a tributary, and a Ruddy Kingfisher posed on a low branch just above the waters. The sunlight bounced off the waters, adding a glow to the bird and making the kingfisher's purplish plumage shimmer as if we had made a golden discovery. And it was for us, as ruddy kingfishers are rare back home. 

 

 

And then a large black bird soaking up the sun on the top of a tree - one of the top targets for all of us, the beautiful Storm's Stork. The species is in rapid decline and is endangered on the IUCN redlist. With the population at between only 350-1750 adults, they can be difficult to see but the majority of the population in Sabah is concentrated on the river, and we saw a reasonably good number here. we had better photo opportunities later. 

 

 

We drifted slowly further into the tributary and a small clump of trees was surrounded mainly by low brushes. We were turning back and were starting to move away when David saw a movement in the tree. An orangey hairy mammal emerged from inside the tree clump. It was of course the Orangutan, the person of the forest. 

From far, we thought the Orangutan was an adult but as we came closer, it looked like a young juvenile. And I was delighted to see it making a bed! 

Although I have had seen orangutans in the wild and semi-wild, I've never seen them resting or making beds, and here was one busily snapping thin branches and bending them and slapping the leaves into a nest.

 

 

 

 

And as it was satisfied with its nest and settling into the nest, behind it came out a larger orangey mammal. The mother - looking much larger and looking very tired. As the juvenile laid back in the nest, amusing himself or herself, the mother closed her eyes and slept. Both of them were out in the sun, but it was only just past 8am, not at the zenith of the day so not hot enough to send them seeking shade yet. 

 

 

 

Bornean Orangutans are on the critically endangered status. IUCN Redlist estimates that the population has crumbled from around 288,500 individuals in 1973 and will likely tumbled to 47,000 individuals by 2025. 
Recent interview surveys in Kalimantan showed 2,000–3,000 orangutans were killed every year in Indonesian Borneo during the past four decades alone, many of whom were killed when their habitat were destroyed mainly for palm oil plantations.