Sg Kinabatangan’s wild world - Star 2003

THE STAR
Saturday August 23, 2003

[Also published on All Malaysia]

Sg Kinabatangan’s wild world

STORY & pictures by Liz Price


Elephants in Sabah.... what a sight!

As the boat approached the riverbank, I could see three grey boulders on top of the embankment. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the boulders move. Then it developed ears and a trunk and I realised I was looking at an elephant – my first sighting of wild elephants in Sabah!

I grabbed my camera and jumped out of the boat for a closer look. It was quite a steep climb up the embankment and there were deep holes hidden by the long grass. When I arrived at the top, I was astounded to see not just three elephants, but a whole herd. It was a group of about 12 adults with their young.

They didn’t seem too concerned by our presence and continued to feed on the long grass, although a couple of adults were trumpeting for a while. I took photos in quick succession expecting the animals to move off, but they stayed put. I saw a smaller group at the far end of the grassy meadow, and another group walking through the nearby woods.


Macaques feasting on fruit.

It all seemed a bit surreal. I half expected to see circus tents in the background. I have only seen a wild elephant once in Malaysia, and that was in Taman Negara, when I was alone and about two days’ walk from Park HQ. At the time, I was terrified and turned tail and ran, without even taking a photo.

So to see a whole herd at close range was just amazing

There are only two species of elephants worldwide, the African and Asian. The African is by far the bigger of the two. These Asian elephants in Sabah seemed surprisingly small compared to the huge creatures I had seen in South Africa. With the Asian elephants, the tusks of females and young males are rarely visible, but some large males have tusks up to one metre long. Their ears are also smaller than their African cousins.

The elephant is not indigenous to Borneo and no one knows for sure how it got there. There are various theories; some say they are the descendants of tributes presented to the Sultan of Brunei. Others say they were brought to Brunei by the British Borneo Company to help with the logging activities. But records show the elephants have been there for at least a century, i.e. before Europeans settled in Sabah and well before commercial logging started. But however they got there, they are surviving and there are now more elephants in Sabah than anywhere else in Malaysia. However they can only survive if their habitat is left intact.

We were on the Sg Kinabatangan, the longest river in Sabah. It flows for 560km from the mountains in the southwest through central Sabah before emptying into the Sulu Sea, south of Sandakan. Logging and clearing of land for plantations have spoilt some of the upper reaches, but the riverine forest near the coast is hemmed in with oil palm plantations, and contains an extraordinary variety of wildlife.


The famous proboscis monkeys unique to this part of the world.

I opted to go with Wildlife Expeditions, and was not disappointed. From Sandakan, we drove to Sukau, a journey of about three hours, part of which is along dusty roads. Although Sukau is marked on maps, it is a tiny place comprising few settlements along Sg Kinabatangan. There is little human settlement so the banks of the floodplain are rich with wildlife.

We took a boat upriver to the Sukau River Lodge, and from there went up a small tributary, the Sg Menanggol. Its naturally dark waters were quite a contrast to the murky brown of the Kinabatangan. Within five minutes of leaving the lodge, we came across a troop of proboscis monkeys. These are unique to Borneo, found along coastal mangroves and large riverine forests. The males have the characteristic large pendulous nose. The function of this enlarged nose is unknown, but it may be related to sexual selection by the females.

Apart from the nose, the colour is also distinctive as it looks as if these monkeys are wearing an orange jacket, grey tights with white underpants.

Our boat stopped right below the troop; it was a young bachelor group, so none of them sported a really big nose. Like the elephants, they also seemed relatively unconcerned by our presence, and nonchalantly continued eating. One of the larger ones sat with his back against a tree trunk, forearm resting on his leg which struck me as such a human pose. Suddenly one let loose a golden shower, then all the others followed suit!

Further up river, we spied several long-tailed macaques. It was nice to see these creatures in the real jungle, as many of their relatives have become urbanised and are commonly seen in city suburbs, in particular, at Batu Caves where they feed on human “junk food”.

I also saw a small family of pig-tailed macaques (beruk). Captive animals are trained to climb coconut trees. Sadly, we didn’t see any orang utans or crocodiles.

This area is a bird watchers paradise. I am not a birder, but I was happy to see hornbills, especially the white crowned, large kingfishers and several oriental darters or snake birds. My favourites were two Buffy Fish owls, one of which dived for a fish right in front of our boat.

There were several monitor lizards along the riverbanks, mostly juveniles. And we were lucky to spot a Waglers Pit Viper on a branch above the river. This is the same species of snake found in the snake temple in Penang.

It was quite an amazing afternoon. I never expected to see so much, in terms of numbers and variety of creatures. The highlight had to be the elephants.

The Kinabatangan remains one of the few places in Malaysia where you are guaranteed to see wildlife, and what better way to see it than through a river cruise. W

Wildlife Expeditions

Room 903, 9th floor

Wisma Khoo Siak Chiew

P.O. Box 3507

90739 Sandakan, Sabah

(089) 219 616, Fax : 089 214570

Borneo pygmy elephants

Published on The Brunei Times (http://www.bt.com.bn/en)

Into the Kinabatangan jungle in search of Borneo pygmy elephants

In isolation: Borneo pygmy elephants in the wild.

Pictures: Liz Price

Liz Price
KOTA KINABALU

Sunday, January 25, 2009

ON ONE of many visits to the national park, Taman Negara, in Peninsular Malaysia, I was really excited to see a solitary elephant in the wild. I was also quite scared to be so close to this huge pachyderm, as I was alone.

So you can imagine my delight when I went to the Kinabatangan River in Sabah, Borneo, and saw a whole herd of elephants. In fact we were able to get so close that we could see the wrinkles and hairs on their hide.

These were the Borneo pygmy elephants. Although elephants have been known in Sabah for some time, it was only in 2003 that it was reported they are possibly a subspecies of the Asian elephant.

There are different ideas about their origin on Borneo, and suggestion says that the elephants are a remnant population of a domesticated herd abandoned on the island by the Sultan of Sulu in the 17th century. Others say they were brought to Brunei by the British Borneo Company to help with the logging activities.

The elephants were known to be smaller than the normal elephants in Asia, but DNA analysis carried out in 2003 proved that the pygmy elephants were genetically distinct from other Asian elephants. They are likely to belong to a new subspecies.

The DNA evidence showed that these elephants were isolated about 300,000 years ago from their cousins on mainland Asia and Sumatra. During that period, they became smaller with relatively larger ears, longer tails and straighter tusks.

They are officially named as Borneo pygmy elephant, (Elephas maximus borneensis). Sadly they are already recognised as an endangered species, and although their population is not known, it is estimated to be less than 1,500. Most of these live in Sabah, in lowlands and valleys. They are endangered due to loss and fragmentation of habitat, poaching and culling for their ivory, and other body parts.

So I felt quite honoured to be able to see them at such close quarters. Not all tourists are so lucky. The elephants are migratory and need a huge area of natural habitat to live and breed. So the elephants are only in one place for a short time before moving on.

Quite often when tourists go to the banks of the Kinabatangan to look for the elephants, they are disappointed as these creatures are many miles away. The guide told us they are only seen about five to six times a year.

Normally they try to avoid humans, due to their shy nature. Due to the loss of their natural habitats, they have to pass near populated areas and plantations, and along the banks of the Kinabatangan.

The elephants have a gentle nature and don't seem to mind the presence of gawping tourists equipped with cameras. Although they are the same colour as the Asian elephants, the pygmies have longer tails and are very appealing with their babyish faces and rotund shape. Asian elephants are smaller than their African relatives.

Borneo pygmy elephants are forest herbivores. One adult can eat up to 150kg of vegetation per day, feeding mostly on species of palms, grasses and wild bananas.

They love durian and will roll the entire fruit including spikes in mud, then swallow it whole. They also appear to require supplementary minerals, which they obtain from salt licks.

Elephants live in a matriarchal society, led by a female in small groups of around eight individuals, although larger groups can be seen gathering in open feeding grounds, particularly on riverbanks.

Family groups consist of the females and immature males. Sometimes an adult male can be associated with a herd. When not in a herd, adult males usually remain solitary. They sometimes gather in small but temporary bull herds.

The group I saw consisted of about 15 animals and there were several babies with their mothers. There were four more further away, and yet another group in the woods in the distance.

Even though we made quite a noise scrambling up the river bank from the boat, the elephants stayed put and continued feeding although they did trumpet at our arrival.

The elephants need contact with other family groups to maintain genetic diversity for their evolution and survival. These animals live for up to 60 years in the wild and more than 80 years in captivity. One calf is born at a time and female Asian elephants have about seven calves in a lifetime.

This means they give birth about every four to six years if environmental conditions are favourable. The gestation period is between 19 to 22 months, almost two years, more than twice as long as human babies!

Soon after these pygmy elephants were declared to be a new species, some were captured by traders and were almost exported to zoos in China and Japan. Fortunately the authorities stepped in and banned the export of pygmy elephants.

These pachyderms will only survive as long as their habitat lasts. Large-scale agriculture is encroaching onto their territory as well as deforestation and development. Shrinking forests have also brought the elephants into more contact with people, increasing human-elephant conflict.

Let's hope that these animals, which are one of the last major discoveries in the animal world, will be able to survive and continue living successfully in Borneo.

The Brunei Times

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Source URL:
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/en/travel/2009/01/25/into_the_kinabatangan_jungle_in_search_of_borneo_pygmy_elephants

Kinabatangan elephants - Brunei Times

Published on The Brunei Times


Gently go these giants Liz Price
KINABATANGAN, SABAH

Friday, August 31, 2007


AS THE boat approached the riverbank I could see three grey boulders on top of the embankment. A large white egret flew by and distracted me, but out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the boulders moving.

Then it developed ears and a trunk and I realised I was looking at an elephant. My first sighting of wild elephants in Sabah!

From where we were sitting at water level, I could still only make out the backs of these pachyderms and I was trying to zoom in with my camera when Marina, our guide, said the boatman would take us up the bank for a closer look. I thought she was joking, but as the boatman jumped out of the boat, I hastily grabbed my camera and followed him.

It was quite a steep climb and there were deep holes hidden by the long grass. I was oblivious to the ants and sharp grass in my haste to get to the top, as I was convinced the elephants would move off due to the racket we were making.

At the top I was astounded to see not just three elephants, but a whole herd. It was a group of adults with their young I found it difficult to count the exact number as the smaller ones were hidden by the bulky parents, but I reckon there were about 12 to 15 creatures here.

They didn't seem too concerned by our presence and continued to feed on the long grass although a couple of adults were trumpeting for a while, which concerned the rest of the group who had elected to stay in the boats.

I took photos in quick succession expecting the animals to move off, but they stayed put. When I realised they were here to stay, I looked round and saw a smaller group at the far end of the grassy meadow, and yet another group walking through the nearby woods.

It all seemed a bit surreal. I half expected to see circus tents in the background.

I have only ever seen a wild elephant once in Malaysia, and that was in the National Park, when I was alone and about two days' walk from Park HQ. At the time I was terrified and turned tail and ran, without taking a single shot, an action I since regret. So to see a whole herd at close range was just amazing.

There are only two species of elephant worldwide, the African and Asian. The African is by far the bigger of the two.

These Asian elephants in Sabah seemed surprisingly small compared to the huge creatures in South Africa. With the Asian elephants, the tusks of females and young males are rarely visible, but some large males have tusks up to one metre long. Their ears are also smaller than their African cousins.

The Kinabatangan elephants were only studied a few years ago, and now named as the Borneo Elephant or Borneo Pygmy Elephant, they are found to be a subspecies of the Asian Elephant.

The elephant is not indigenous to Borneo and no one knows for sure how it got there.

There are various theories; some say they are the descendants of tributes presented to the Sultan of Brunei. Others say they were brought to Brunei by the British Borneo Company to help with the logging activities, or maybe they were introduced earlier, descending from elephants imported in the 16th to 18th centuries.

Records show the elephants have been there for at least a century, that is before Europeans settled in Sabah and well before commercial logging really started. These elephants are remarkably placid and almost tame, which suggests they could have descended from a domestic collection.

But however they got to Borneo, they are surviving and there are now more elephants in Sabah than anywhere else in Malaysia.

However, they can only survive if their habitat is left intact, and they have enough territory to live in.

Sadly, it was announced earlier this month that their numbers are already dwindling. A two-year study by the World Wildlife Fund Malaysia revealed that the number of elephants in Sabah is fewer than the 1,600 animals estimated earlier.

The elephants depend on the forests in the river valleys and lowlands, but the forests are being cleared at an alarming rate to make way for plantations and logging.

The elephants have been fitted with satellite collars to locate their whereabouts. But they can only survive if their habitat remains intact.

Let's hope these Pygmy Elephants will be able to live on and flourish in the Kinabatangan.

The Brunei Times

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Source URL:
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/en/features/2007/08/31/gently_go_these_giants