See also my Danum Album
© Liz Price
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Sabah's lush Danum Valley boasts unique flora, fauna
Virgin land: Above, a suspension bridge in Danum Valley in Sabah, an area of lush tropical lowland forest which has been set aside as a conservation area. It includes 43,800 hectares of virgin forest with huge trees and 275 bird species on record. Picture: Liz Price
Sunday, May 4, 2008
ONE regular visitor to Danum Valley resort is Janggut the bearded pig. He has learnt that if he hangs around the kitchens and dining area he will get free food. And of course the tourists love him. Being used to humans he is not afraid of cameras and it was as much as I could do to stop him from sticking his nose on my lens which he hoped was food.
Danum Valley is about 70km west of Lahad Datu in Sabah, Malaysia. It is an area of lush tropical lowland forest which has been set aside as a conservation area and includes 43,800 hectares of virgin forest and houses some unique flora and fauna. The area has been recognised as one of the world's most complex ecosystems.
The name Danum Valley comes from the highest point, Gunung Danum, 1,093m high. The area is generally hilly but not mountainous, and lies within the upper reaches of Sabah's second largest river, the Segama and its tributaries.
Danum Valley has primary rainforest and is renowned for its rich variety of both plants and wildlife, Because it is far from human habitation, it houses many of Borneo's mammals including the rare and endangered Sumatran rhino, as well as elephant, clouded leopard, Bornean gibbon, and leaf monkey. The orang utan and proboscis monkey are both found only in Borneo.
Despite the tourist area around the Borneo Rainforest Lodge receiving a lot of human visitors, it is still possible to see wildlife. The lodge is very popular for bird watchers. Over 275 bird species having been recorded, giving Danum Valley a reputation for being one of the best places for viewing Borneo's avian inhabitants. Just by sitting on my balcony I could see several of Danum's feathered residents strutting and flying by. The lodge is built alongside the river so this attracts water birds. White egrets are common visitors.
By doing short walks around the area you stand a good chance of seeing mammals. The best time to spot animals is at night, and the lodge arranges night walks with a guide.
Deer are quite frequent visitors, and I saw sambar deer, barking deer and even the little mouse deer. These tiny deer feature prominently in Malay folklore. On the second night we spotted one rusa deer with her baby. That was when I envied the tourists who had expensive cameras and could take good night photos.
Walking along the trails at night we saw several lizards, some frogs and bush crickets. The frogs were easy to spot by the pond, as some were conveniently sitting on leaves. And for the first time ever I saw a sleeping bird, standing on the branch of a tree, sheltering under a leaf. Probably the guide knew it was there as he found it quite easily.
On my second night, I joined one of the night drives. Expert guides using a good spotlight scan the bushes and trees to see what is there. We were in luck as we saw two marbled cats. Even though the guide was spotlighting them, it was difficult at first to see them high in the branches of their trees. They resemble a small version of the clouded leopard, and are mainly arboreal and nocturnal.
Other animals regularly seen are the civets and squirrels. The best place to see the Malay civets is on the drive in to the lodge. From the main road, it's 77km along a rough road to reach the lodge.
Other activities include trekking to the "coffin caves" up on the hill behind the lodge. These are Kadazan-Dusun burial sites. In the early morning the jungle is still covered in mist.
For a less steep walk, choose some of the jungle trails and over the suspension bridges. It was on one of these trails that I saw some elephants' footprints. The Borneo Elephant or Borneo Pygmy Elephant were recently found to be a subspecies of the Asian Elephant.
We were having breakfast one morning when one of the photographers came in to say there was an adult male orang utan not far away. So we hurriedly set off and were in luck as the orang utan was in a tree right by the track. It was having its own breakfast, eating the bark off the young tree. After a while it nonchantly descended the tree and glanced at us and then moved onto another tree hidden in the shrub. I was really excited to see this creature as it was the first time I've seen a truly wild orang utan. I've seen them in various sanctuaries and rehabilitation places in Malaysia and Indonesia, but this one was totally wild.
The canopy walkway is worth doing as it provides a bird's eye view of the tree tops, suspended 27m from the ground. The walkway is 107m long. You can go tubing on the river, or relax in a natural jacuzzi pool in the river. This is a great way to soak away the sweat from trekking and to ease any aches and pains.
The Brunei Times
Danum Valley is about 70km west of Lahad Datu in Sabah, Malaysia. It is an area of lush tropical lowland forest which has been set aside as a conservation area and includes 43,800 hectares of virgin forest and houses some unique flora and fauna. The area has been recognised as one of the world's most complex ecosystems.
The name Danum Valley comes from the highest point, Gunung Danum, 1,093m high. The area is generally hilly but not mountainous, and lies within the upper reaches of Sabah's second largest river, the Segama and its tributaries.
Danum Valley has primary rainforest and is renowned for its rich variety of both plants and wildlife, Because it is far from human habitation, it houses many of Borneo's mammals including the rare and endangered Sumatran rhino, as well as elephant, clouded leopard, Bornean gibbon, and leaf monkey. The orang utan and proboscis monkey are both found only in Borneo.
Despite the tourist area around the Borneo Rainforest Lodge receiving a lot of human visitors, it is still possible to see wildlife. The lodge is very popular for bird watchers. Over 275 bird species having been recorded, giving Danum Valley a reputation for being one of the best places for viewing Borneo's avian inhabitants. Just by sitting on my balcony I could see several of Danum's feathered residents strutting and flying by. The lodge is built alongside the river so this attracts water birds. White egrets are common visitors.
By doing short walks around the area you stand a good chance of seeing mammals. The best time to spot animals is at night, and the lodge arranges night walks with a guide.
Deer are quite frequent visitors, and I saw sambar deer, barking deer and even the little mouse deer. These tiny deer feature prominently in Malay folklore. On the second night we spotted one rusa deer with her baby. That was when I envied the tourists who had expensive cameras and could take good night photos.
Walking along the trails at night we saw several lizards, some frogs and bush crickets. The frogs were easy to spot by the pond, as some were conveniently sitting on leaves. And for the first time ever I saw a sleeping bird, standing on the branch of a tree, sheltering under a leaf. Probably the guide knew it was there as he found it quite easily.
On my second night, I joined one of the night drives. Expert guides using a good spotlight scan the bushes and trees to see what is there. We were in luck as we saw two marbled cats. Even though the guide was spotlighting them, it was difficult at first to see them high in the branches of their trees. They resemble a small version of the clouded leopard, and are mainly arboreal and nocturnal.
Other animals regularly seen are the civets and squirrels. The best place to see the Malay civets is on the drive in to the lodge. From the main road, it's 77km along a rough road to reach the lodge.
Other activities include trekking to the "coffin caves" up on the hill behind the lodge. These are Kadazan-Dusun burial sites. In the early morning the jungle is still covered in mist.
For a less steep walk, choose some of the jungle trails and over the suspension bridges. It was on one of these trails that I saw some elephants' footprints. The Borneo Elephant or Borneo Pygmy Elephant were recently found to be a subspecies of the Asian Elephant.
We were having breakfast one morning when one of the photographers came in to say there was an adult male orang utan not far away. So we hurriedly set off and were in luck as the orang utan was in a tree right by the track. It was having its own breakfast, eating the bark off the young tree. After a while it nonchantly descended the tree and glanced at us and then moved onto another tree hidden in the shrub. I was really excited to see this creature as it was the first time I've seen a truly wild orang utan. I've seen them in various sanctuaries and rehabilitation places in Malaysia and Indonesia, but this one was totally wild.
The canopy walkway is worth doing as it provides a bird's eye view of the tree tops, suspended 27m from the ground. The walkway is 107m long. You can go tubing on the river, or relax in a natural jacuzzi pool in the river. This is a great way to soak away the sweat from trekking and to ease any aches and pains.
The Brunei Times
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