All language subtitles for Borneo.The.Fascination.of.Asia.2017.DOCU.1080p.BluRay.x264.DTS-HD.MA.5.1-SWTYBLZ

Welcome to Borneo

Today we will take you on a journey to Asia the largest island and the world's third largest island

After Greenland and New Guinea

With 740333 square kilometers

Borneo is part of the greater Sunda Islands archipelago located north of Java

East of Sumatra

West of sulawesi

And Southwest of the Philippine Islands

The South China Sea surrounds Borneo to the north and Northwest

The Sulu sea to the Northeast

The Celebes sea and Makassar Strait to the east

And the Java Sea and the carry meta straight to the South

The highest peak is Mount Kinabalu at 4095 m

Before the rise of the sea levels at the end of the last ice age

Borneo was in fact part of Mainland Asia

Three countries on Borneo

Malaysia and Brunei in the North

And Indonesia in the south

Roughly 73% of Borneo is Indonesian territory

26% Malaysian and merely 1% Brunei

The island is often covered in mist and clouds due to being so tropical

Borneo has one of the oldest rainforest in the world

Which is home to the endangered Borneo orangutan

In fact the island is home to many strange and exotic species

Which we discover more about later

Borneo also has some of the most spectacular cave formations on Earth

Which we too will learn more about later

As we fly over Borneo

We see that the island is made up of various types of forest

Like the rainforest and cloud forest

But also palm oil Plantation

Tropical rainforest are characterized by a wet and warm climate

There is no dry season as such and these forests tend to
be found within 10 degrees north and south of The equator

Monthly mean temperatures are over 18 degrees Celsius all year round

On average rainfall lies between 175 and 200 cm

Borneo's rainforest is roughly 140 million years old

And that's one of the world's oldest

This rainforest is home to over 15000 flowering plant species

3000 tree species

221 terrestrial mammal species

420 resident bird species

And roughly 440 freshwater fish species

WWF (World Wide Fund for nature)

Classified Borneo into 7 ecoregions

1 - Borneo lowland rainforest

These cover most of the island

Roughly 427500 square kilometer

2 - Borneo peat swamp Forests

3- Kerangas or sundaland Heath Forest

4 - Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests

5 - Sunde shelf mangroves

6 - Borneo montane rainforest
Cloud forest

These lie in the central Highlands above 1000 elevation

For example Kinabalu Mountain alpine Meadow

Which is an Alpine shrubland

Home to many endemic species like orchids

Heavy logging for the Malaysian and Indonesian plywood industry has destroyed huge rainforest

In fact Around half of the annual
Global tropical Timber comes from Borneo

Since the 1960s deforestation started extensively due to industrialization

During the 1980s and 1990s

Forest in Borneo were levelled at insane rates mainly for agricultural use

60 to 240 cubic meters of wood for being harvested per hectare in Borneo

Compared to 23 cubic meters per hectare in the Amazon

Palm oil plantations have developed widely and rapidly

Causing much of this deforestation

Much of the forest clearance was actually illegal

In the Malaysian territory on the Santa bong half Island

We visit to Bako National Park

Which is roughly 40 km by Road from Kuching

The park can be reached only by a roughly 20 minute boat ride from Kampung Bako

There are 16 different trekking trails to choose from in varying Links of distance

Bako National Park was founded in 1957

And is the oldest National Park in Sarawak

The Eastern Malaysian part of Borneo

It covers 27.27 Square km

At the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula

At the mouth of the Bako in Kuching Rivers

Despite being one of the smallest Parts in Sarawak

Bako National Park

Is one of the most popular due to having multiple biomes

Even rainforest

A large amount of Wildlife

Jungle streams as well as waterfalls

And isolated beaches

The park is a sanctuary for about 150 endangered proboscis monkey

Which are endemic to Borneo

Bako National Park is known to be the best place to watch this monkey species

The proboscis monkey

Nasalis larvatus in Latin is often also called long nose monkey

Bekantan in Indonesia

Indonesian is often called the monkey - Monyet Belanda

Dutch monkey or a Orang Belanda

Dutchman

It is said that the name was given to this monkey species due the Dutch colonizers having look similar

Large bellies and noses

It is reddish brown in color

Arboreal and is easy to recognize

Due to its unusually large nose

It coexists with the Bornean Orangutan

Proboscis monkeys belong to the kolobanov subfamily of the old world monkey

This monkey is one of the largest species native to Asia

Males are between 66 and 76.2 CM

And can weighs 16 to 22.5 kg

Maximum 30 kg

Only males have a large nose which can be larger than 10.2 cm

Can hangs lower than the mouth

Females have a smaller shorter nose which is upturn

Males are easy to recognize due to their red penis and black scrotum

Males and females alike have bulging stomach

Which makes them look like having a potbelly

Interesting to note is also the fact that many of the monkeys toes are wet

The monkey is most common in coastal areas as well as along rivers

They only live in the lowlands and have no issues dealing with tide

Play like dipterocarp in River rainforest and also the mangrove forest

Swamps are also a habitat for this monkey

Which tends to stay within at least a kilometer of a water source

Proboscis monkeys are fairly good swimmers

And can even swim roughly 20m underwater

It crosses Rivers by swimming

Apart from this the monkey is arboreal

And moves by leaping between the tree branches

Often the monkeys jump down from branches into the water

Proboscis monkeys eat mainly fruits and leaves

Seasonal Fuller boar and frugivores

But also flowers

Seeds and even insects

Highlights are young leaves and unripe fruits

They are seasonal eater, eating mainly fruit from January to May

and leaves from June to December

Females become mature sexually at 5 years

Mating tends to be between February and November

And births between March and May

Born either at night or in the early morning young start eating solid food at 6 weeks

And are weaned at 7 months

Crocodiles, clouded leopards Eagles monitor,
Lizards and Pythons are their main predators

Another national park close to Kuching is
Gunung Mulu National Park

It is considered the jewel in the crown of the Sarawak National Park

And it is the largest

There are 544 square kilometers of primary rainforest as well as fast-flowing

Rivers and jungle stream

It is a UNESCO world heritage site

The park is probably most known for what is hidden underneath the forested slopes of these mountains

Name one of the largest Limestone cave system in the world

Yet it is not just the case that are worth looking out for

But also the biodiversity of this part

Since the 1930s the rich rainforest of the Mulu area has attracted signs

Almost every Expedition still finds new discoveries in both fauna and Flora

The park has 8 different Forest type

Including Peat Swap

Health and Mixed Dipterocarp

Moss forest and stunted upper Montage vegetation

There are thousands of fern

And Moss species

There are many flowering plants the marvelous

For example the 170 Wild Orchid species

10 pitcher plant species

There are also 75 mammal species

262 bird species

8 Hornbill species are found in Sarawak alone

74 frogs species 47 fish species

285 butterflies species

And 458 ants species

in Mulu National Park there are numerous
breathtaking caves to Marvel at

Mulu for showcase were selected for their uniqueness or Shear Beauty

A plank walk leads through the forest to
Deer cave and Lang's cave

while, Clearwater cave and Wind Cave are reached by boat of the Melinau river

Or by following a 4-kilometer nature trail

Deer cave is the world's largest single cave Passage

Sarawak Chamber is the world's largest natural chamber at 700 M long

395m wide

And at least 70 meters high

It has been said that this chamber
could accommodate roughly 40 Boeing 747 airplanes

Without the wings overlapping

Clearwater cave is the longest cave in Southeast Asia

In fact if you over 200 km of cave passage found

It is thought that this is only 30 to 40% of the actual total

Deer cave is huge at over 2 km in length
and never less than 90m High and wide

Some light lights up the main chamber partially

This one is 174m wide

And 122m High

due to deer sheltering here in the past

Local pinion and Berawan people named The Cave

Gua Payau / Gua Rusa / Deer Cave

A path leads one into the cave

And eventually one comes to the

Garden of Eden

We're a hole in the cave roof allows a shaft of light to enter

Due to the shaft of light

There is rich green vegetation thriving here

One also passes the well-known profile of Abraham Lincoln guarding the southern cave entrance

Highlights are not just the stalactites and stalagmites

But also the fact that these caves are home to millions of different bat species

- For example wrinkle-lipped bat
(Chaerephon plicata)

The largest colony of Swiftlets

or Aerodramus in Latin

In the world

And even cave dwelling snakes and insects

Between 5 and 7 p.m. on a nice day

You may well be treated to a spectacular sight

Black cloud of well over a million free-tailed bats
emerging from the cave entrance and going

Going in search of food

The park is important for its Karst Features

It just one of the most studied tropical karst areas in the world

Krast Topography is a landscape formed from the
dissolution of soluble rocks like Limestone, Dolomite and Gypsum

Underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves are characteristic

The Mulu national park has three mountains or Sandstone pinnacle

Gunung Mulu

2376m

Gunung Api

1750m

and Gunung Benarat

1858m

These mountains are a marvelous sight to behold in the evening colors

The Mulu National Park supports one of the richest amounts of Flora worldwide

This is Ixora Coccinea

It is often called Jungle Geranium

Psychotria is a tribe of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family and contains about 2,000

114 species

In 17 Genera

Its representatives are found in the tropics and subtropics

It's fruits or berries are blue rather than the more usual red color

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family

Malvaceae

The genus is quite large

With several hundred species that are native to warm temperate

Subtropical

Tropical regions worldwide

The flowers are showy

Large with trumpet shaped

Five or more pedals

4 to 18 cm broad

Colors vary from white to Pink,
Red, Orange, Peach ,Yellow and purple

Nepenthes Rajah is an insectivorous pitcher plant species of the Nepenthaceae family

The plant is known for its large urn shaped traps

Which can be as large is 41cm High

20 cm wide

The plant can trap vertebra

For example frogs

Lizards and even birds and even small mammals such as rats

However insects are the main diet of the plants such as ants

Pagoda flower

Clerodendrum Paniculatum

Is a species of flowering plant in the clerodendrum genus of the Lamiaceae family

It is used both as an ornamental decoration in Asia as well as for medical uses

Butterflies and hummingbirds are very attracted to the flowers of this plant

Beautyberry

Callicarpa in Latin

Is the genus of shrubs and small trees in the Lamiaceae Family

The plant is native to East and Southeast Asia

But also Australia, Madagascar ,Southeast North America and South America

Tropical species are evergreen

Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides)

Is a flowering plant growing on larger trees and lowlands and Savannah

It is neither a moss or lichen

But actually a flowering plant

This is the nepenthes villosa also known as Villose pitcher plant

pitcher can be 25 cm high and 9 cm wide

The mouth of the picture is oblique and elongated and covered by a lid with a pointed Apex

Princess flower Or Glory bush

Tibouchina urvilleana

Home in the tropics and subtropics

The plant grows up to 3-6 M tall and 2-3 M wide

Peacock flower

Caesalpinia Pulcherima is also known as red bird of paradise

This is the extended Lobster Claw

Heliconia latispatha

And it is native to Southern Mexico, Central America and Northern South America

It is up to 4 meters tall

And its leaves look similar to those of the bananas

This is the hanging Lobster Claw or false bird of paradise

Heliconia rostrata

It is a herbaceous perennial native to Peru

Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica and Ecuador

Flowers face down

And thereby provide a nectar source for birds like the hummingbird

In fact the reddish flower like Brax actually hide the true flowers of this plant

And therefore birds are required for pollination with specialized beaks

It is the national flower of Bolivia

Known as Patachou

According to experts Borneo has the world's
most extensive and diverse collection of orchids

Roughly 3000 species of orchids can be found here

We are still in the Malaysian territory on the Santubong half Island

Now we visit the Semenggoh or orangutan Reserve

We also take you to Sepilok Orangutan rehabilitation center
close to Sandakan in the northern part Borneo

The Bornean Orangutan (Pongo Pygmaeus)

Is an orangutan species native to Borneo Island

With a Sumatran orangutan it is the only genus of great apes native to Asia

Like other great apes the orangutans are very intelligent

In display Advanced use of tools as well as distinct

Cultural pattern

In fact these Apes share roughly 97% of their DNA with us human being

The bornean orangutan is the third heaviest living primate

After two gorilla species

And the largest truly arboreal or tree-dwelling animal living today

Compared to the Sumatran orangutan

The bornean orangutan is slightly heavier even if similar inside

Males weigh roughly 75 kg ranging from 50 to 100 kg

And or about 1.2 to 1.4 m in length

Females are less heavy it around 38.5 kg

Ranging from 30 to 50 kg

And less Long at 1 to 1.2 m in length

Captivity makes these dates sometimes gained too much weight

In fact there is a problem of overweight

The body of the Bornean Orangutan has a distinctive shape

These shapes have very long arms that can be up to 1.5 meters long

This allows them to climb very well

The fur is coarse and Shaggy with a reddish color

Both the hands and feet are designed to grasp easily which is necessary for climbing

They have a lifespan of 35 to 45 years in the wild

And sometimes live up to 60 years in captivity

Bornean orangutans or at home in tropical and subtropical
moist broadleaf forest in the Lowlands of Borneo

However they can also be found in more mountainous areas up to 1,500 m above sea level

Primary and secondary Forest canopy is what these apes like

They are known to move long distances in search of fruit-bearing trees

Wellbeing arboreal

These states do travel on the ground more than their Sumatran relatives

Possibly this could be due to there being no large terrestrial predators in Borneo

Well in Sumatra

The relatives face the Sumatran tiger as a predator

Bornean orangutans have a diet made up of over 400 types of food

figs, durians , leaves, seeds, bird eggs, flowers, honey, insects ,etc

the need of water quantities are obtained from fruit and Tree Hole

These apes have been sighted using tools to catch their food

For example

spear to try to catch fish

Even though it was not successful

Sticks are used as back scratcher

leaves have been used to wipe off feces or for holding a spiny durian fruit

Leafy branches are sometimes used as an umbrella to keep off the rain during travels

The Bornean Orangutans are more solitary compared to the Sumatran orangutans

Two or three orangutans with overlapping territories
may interact but only for short time.

Well not as such territorial, adult males will keep other males away

And only socialize with females in order to mate

Males are the most solitary

Sub-adult (unflanged) males will try to meet any female

Half the time they are successful

Even if females prefer flanged males

At 6 to 11 years of age females reach sexual maturity

They give birth at roughly 14 to 15 years of age

Newborns nurse every 3 to 4 hours

And at 4 months start taking soft food

Fed by the mother

During the first year baby orangutans cling to the mother's abdomen by holding on to the fur with their finger

At roughly four years the young are weaned

They then start their adolescent stage of exploring while still inside of their mothers

During this time the young actively seek other young play and travel companion

Sabah and Sarawak are the two Malaysian states where the Apes can be found

They are also at home in three of the four Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan

The Bornean Orangutan is an endangered species due to having lost most of its natural habitat based on

Deforestation palm oil plantations

Hunting and bushmeat trade

And capturing of young orangutans as pets

Tend to involve the mother being killed

These acts still pose a very serious threat to the existence of this Apes species

Also because the government rarely punishes perpetrator

Numerous orangutan rescue and Rehabilitation project exist in Borneo

Sepilok Orangutan Tehabilitation
Centre near Sandakan opened in 1964

The first official orangutan Rehabilitation project

We're back at Kuching
at the Gunung Mulu National Park

As we fly over the area

The peaks of the mountains and the Limestone karst formations as well as rock Pinnacles Cliffs and gorgeous

lush rainforest areas this site is magical

Mulu limestone's belong to the Melinau Formation
and are between 17 and 40 million years old

(Late Eocene to Early Miocene).

Below the Limestone lies the Mulu formation

Shells in sandstone

Which is between 40 and 90 million years old

(Late Cretaceous to Late Eocene)

These form the highest peaks in the Southeast sector of the park

The National Park is named after Mount Mulu

(Malay Gunung Mulu)

Which is the second highest mountain

After mount Murud in Sarawak at a height of 2376 m

the sandstone and Shale Mountain can be climbed via three camps

And is most known for his pitcher plant diversity

5 species have been recorded from Mount Mulu

Nepenthes hurrelliana, Nepenthes lowii, Nepenthes muluensis, Nepenthes tentaculata, and Nepenthes vogelii

We all look down on the Limestone Pinnacles of Mount Api

(Malay Gunung Api)

With neighboring Mount Benarat and Mount Buda

Part of the same formation

Mount Api is famous for the Striking Limestone karst formations or Pinnacles

And also is home to pitcher plant

At least eight species include

Nepenthes campanulata, Nepenthes faizaliana, Nepenthes hurrelliana, Nepenthes lowii,
Nepenthes muluensis, Nepenthes tentaculata, Nepenthes veitchii, and Nepenthes vogelii

Not only is the area home to many floors species but also funny unique to this location

For example 8 species of Hornbill have been spotted here

27 species of bats

And many mammals like a small Malaysian Sun Bear

Latin - Helarctos malayanus ,
which is the only known bear in Southeast Asia

Not far from Sadakan in the center of mangrove forest
Samawang is the Labuk Bay - Proboscis monkey sanctuary

This privately owned roughly 160 hectare Sanctuary located within an oil pomace.

Gives you the chance to observe the proboscis monkey up close amongst other animal

The mangrove forest was initially planned to be developed commercial

Fortunately in 1994 it was set aside

And open to the public

Here we also encounter the Rhinoceros Hornbill

(Buceros Rhinoceros)

Just one of the largest hornbills and the state bird of the Malaysian state of Sarawak

As well as the country's national bird

An adult bird can be the size of a swan

91 to 122 cm in length

2 - 3 kg in weight

In captivity they have been known to live up to 90 years

Like most hornbills the male has red or orange irises
while the female has whitish one

Although the bill and casque mainly White

There are yellow and orange places here in there

The tip of the casque curves upward

The under parts and tail of the bird are white

While the rest is a shiny black color

Lowland and montane tropical and subtropical climates are ideal for this bird

Edit can be found in mountain rainforest up to 1400 M

Borneo, Sumatra, Java, The Malay peninsula,
Singapore, in southern Thailand

like all hornbills the bird is omnivorous and eats fruit insects and small animals like

Reptiles

Rodents and smaller birds

As seen here the birds cannot swallow food caught at the tip of the beak

Their tongues are too short

And therefore they toss it back to the throat with a jerk of the hip

These hornbills make their nest

Inside tree trunk

Female stays with the eggs and then with the chicks

The male brings food for the female and Young

The mail brings mud with which the pair wall up the entrance to the tree cavity

Until there is only a tiny hole left

Through which the male feeds the female and chicks

Only once the chicks are fully feathered and old enough to leave the nest

Do the parents chip away the dry mud and let the chicks out

The Rhinoceros hornbill is threatened by habitat
loss and hunting for both meat and Feathers as well as casque

Carved into ornaments and Jewelry

It is as dense as ivory

At the very north of Borneo
in the East Malaysian state of Sabah

stand Mount Kinabalu

(in Malay: Gunung Kinabalu)

UNESCO world heritage site since 2000

Protected as Kinabalu Park

At 4096 m measured at the summit called Low's Peak

It is the highest peak in borneo's Crocker range and the highest
mountain in the Malay archipelago as well as in Malaysia

Geologically, Mount Kinabalu is a very young Mountain

It is essentially a massive pluton formed from granodiorite
which is intrusive into sedimentary and ultrabasic rocks

Forms the central part or core of the Kinabalu massive

The granodiorite is intrusive into strongly folded strata

probably of Eocene to Miocene age

And Associated ultrabasic and basic igneous rock

It was pushed up from the Earth's crust is molten rock millions of years ago

The granodiorite cooled and hardened only about 10 million years ago

the present landform is considered to be a mid-Pliocene peneplain

Arched and deeply dissected

Through which the Kinabalu granodiorite
body has risen in isostatic adjustment

It is still pushing up at the rate of 5 millimeters per year

During the pleistocene epoch of about 100000 years ago

Massive Mountain was covered by huge sheets of ice and Glaciers

which flowed down its slopes

Scouring its surface in the process

And creating the 1800 m deep

Low's Gully

It's Granite composition and the glacial formative processes are apparent when viewing its craggy Rock peaks

From the peak the view is breathtaking

Above all the cloud formations

Temperatures range from - 10 degrees Celsius to 10 degrees Celsius
in December to January

And 3 degrees to 15 degrees C in June to September

The mountain and surrounds our home
too much flora and fauna worth protecting

We return to the Labuk Bay proboscis monkey Sanctuary close to
Sadakan to watch another other monkey species at home in Borneo

The Silver Leaf Monkey or Silvery Lutung Langur

(Trachypithecus cristatus)

Is an old world monkey

Males are 52-58 cm in length

And weigh on average

6.6 kg

Females are 46 to 51 cm in length

And we're roughly 5.7 Kg on average

Silvery Lutung are arboreal and live in coastal Mangrove and riverine forest of Borneo, Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia

Mangrove swamps in nearby Forest region says where they like to spend all their time

they generally avoid traveling far from the coast or Rivers

This monkey has a herbivorous diet

And is above all a folivore, meaning it eats mainly leaves

Fruits and some seeds and flowers only make up 9% of its diet

Compared to other monkey's this species tends to be found in the middle canopy of the forest

That leaves the higher branches to monkeys with a more frugivorous

Mainly fruit-eating diet

Silvery Lutung are diurnal

Meaning active during the day and travel in groups of 9 to 40 individual

They rarely leave the trees and each group occupied the home range of 22-43 hectares

At night they sleep in a single tree all together

The social structure is made for lineal

And Harem based with females remaining in the group for life

Well males leave after reaching adulthood

These males live in small groups until they are able to take over and established harem

Males dominate females

And females with young

Dominate females without

Still there is little aggression in the group

Silvery Lutung breed all year round

However each female only tends to give birth once every 18 to 24 months

Single young is born after a gestation period of 181 to 200 days

It weighs around 400 grams and is about 20 cm in length

Young are cared for by females communally and are only weaned after 18 months

Despite the biological mother stopping lactation after 12 months

The young are sexually mature almost directly after weaned

Females tend to give birth at 35 months of age

In captivity these monkeys can live up to 31 years of age

Unfortunately Silvery Lutung have been
extensively used in medical research

Due to being unusually susceptible to human diseases like apes

These monkeys are classified
as near threatened by the IUCN

Problems are habitat loss due to logging and palm oil Plantation

As well as hunting for meat and pet trade

Back at the Santabong half Island in
Bako National Park near khucing we get a good look

Look at how a mangrove forest function

Mangroves are fascinating in many ways

This tree has a special desalinating method

Inside the mangrove tree is less salty than the water surrounding

Not every mangrove species deals with desalination in the same way

One species excrete salt by first accumulating it in the bar

When the bark dies it is shed along with the salt

Another species excrete excess salt through its leaves

Specialized Leaf glands push the salt in the leaves

Which is washed off by the next rain

Nature is incredible and very creative

If you were to lick a mangrove Leaf you would be able to taste the salt

Why are mangroves so important

One important reason is that they help prevent erosion

Also these Mangrove for support and amazing ecosystem of fauna and Flora

For example mangrove forest are the breathing
spawning and Nursery places for mollusks

Crustaceans and many fish

Mangrove debris are also important

We are source of nutrients for other
ecosystems surrounding the mangrove area

Mudskippers love Mangrove ecosystems and mudflap

Mudskippers are amphibious fish

And belong to the Oxudercidae subfamily
within the gobidet gobies family

Scientifically there is some debate as to how to classify this creature

But they can be defined as our shooter seen gobies that
are fully terrestrial for some portion of the daily cycle

Mudskippers grow to a length of about 9.5 cm

And use their pectoral fins and pelvic fins to walk on land

They typically live in intertidal habitats and
exhibit unique Adaptations to the environment

That are not found in most intertidal fishes

Typically survive the retreat of the tide by
hiding under wet seaweed or in tide pools

Mudskippers are active when out of the water for
feeding reasons but also for interaction with others for mating

For example

They are carnivorous opportunist feeders

And eat small prey like tiny crabs and other arthropods

The area is also home to the
Tuffed Ground Squirrel or Groove Toothed Squirrel

(Rheithrosciurus macrotis)

It is a rodent species in the sheredy family and only found on Borneo

It lives on hillsides and lowland primary Forest at altitudes of under 1200 m

Due to deforestation it today is vulnerable and protected in Sarawak

However it is being hunted with the license in Sabah and
natives use its tail to decorate the hilt of their parang knives

The squirrel's head and body measure about 335 to 352 mm in length

And it weighs roughly 1-2 to kg

It forages on the ground and in lower canopy

It can climb well to seek food

It is diurnal and its activity

Well local say the squirrel is carnivorous

Even call it

Vampire squirrel, this is not have been observed scientific

Rather it seems that it eats
Fruit seeds nuts and insects

On the Santubong half Island Semenggoh Orangutan Reserve

We chance upon a crocodile relaxing in the Sun

The Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis)

Is a small to medium-sized freshwater crocodile
native to Indonesia-Borneo, Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos,

Cambodia, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam

It is critically endangered and listed on IUCN red list

It has a rather broad smooth smell

Elevated bony Crest behind each other

It is always green in color with dark green variation

large females can measure 3.2 m and weigh 150 kg

while adult males can reach

4 m and weigh 350 kg

However most adults do not exceed 3 m in the wild

Well originally found over most of Southeast Asia

This species is now extinct or nearly extinct in most countries except Cambodia

Crocodile lives in a wide range of freshwater habitats

Like slow-moving rivers and streams

Lake, Marshes and swamps

Adult crocodiles eat mainly fish and snakes

But also amphibians and small mammals

Little is known about how they reproduce in the wild

Female seem to build Mound Nest from scraped up plant debris mixed with mud

In captivity they breed during wet season

April to May

and lay 15 and 50 eggs

Female crocodiles guard these eggs until they hatch

Young are helped out of the eggs during hatching and carried to the water in the mother's Jaws

Overall the species is pretty on aggressive towards humans

And unprovoked attacks are unknown

These crocodiles face the threat of deforestation and habitat loss

As well as capture for farming and hunting for their skins

Borneo is famous for its butterflies and moths

Insect order lepidoptera

Home to around 11000 species

Roughly 10% are endemic to the island

And 70% restricted to form Sunda land mass

Malay, Peninsula, Sumatra

Java , Borneo and Palawan

Each species has rather specific
to the area it needs For survival

And they differ in shape

Colors and size depending on the butterfly species

The Rajah Brooke's Birdwing

(Trogonoptera brookiana) with its Vivid Wing motif of green triangles is a famous One

Unlike their temperate counterparts in which mass
migrations can be a regular seasonal event

Butterflies of the ever wet Tropics migrate infrequent

Unpredictably and often on a very local scale

There are many dragonflies in Borneo to

275 species have been named so far

Many more remain to be discovered

In fact

Borneo has one of the richest and most exciting dragonfly fauna as worldwide

With over 40% of the species are occurring nowhere else

Ants are some of the most abundant and diverse animal groups and tropical

And they function at many levels

As predators and prey

as detrivores bio turborater

Organisms that recycle decomposing organic matter

And as Mutualist

An interaction between two species where both derive benefit

Ants also have a role as indicators of environmental change

Borneo has more than 700 species of ants

Representatives of about 30% of Aunt general

And about 5% of ant species global

The Borneo represents only 0.5% of the earth's land surface

Borneo is also home to many spider species like the Jolokia

This is a spider genus of the Salticidae family

Jumping spider

As one walks through the forest

One encounters many Nets of spiders

Eager to catch prey

This is the ancient-looking tractor millipede

(Genus Barydesmus)

Which feeds on rotting vegetation in the rainforest and is about 12 cm long

It is quite harmless to Human

This is the Pill Millipede

(Genus Glomerida)

There are about 12000 name species classified into 16 orders

And around 140 families

Making Diplopoda the largest class of
myriapods

An arthropod Group which also includes centipedes and other multi-leg creatures

They tend to be slow-moving and detrivores meaning that they eat decaying leaves another dead plant matter

Millipedes are generally harmless to humans and they are some of the oldest known land animal

Millipedes can be distinguished from the somewhat similar but only distantly related centipedes

class Chilopoda

Which move rapidly are carnivorous

And have only a single pair of legs on each body segment

This is the giant millipede

(Trigoniulus)

It is a long invertebrate that can reach 20 cm in length

And they have as many as 300 pairs of legs

It is a harmless gentle giant of the rainfall

Vegetarian feeding mostly on soft decomposing plant tissue

It is dark in color no color variations exist

Countless fungi species exist in the moist rainforest areas of Borneo

Bracket or shelf fungi grow in semicircular shapes

It look like trees or woods

They can be parasitic

Saprotrophic or both and Thrive mainly on alive or dead trees

They are often beautiful and color

And show annual growth rings

Another species of monkey found in Borneo is the macaque

The southern pig-tailed macaque

(Macaca nemestrina)

The medium-sized old world monkey

It gets its name from Latin meaning the god of Grove

Males can weigh up to 5 to 15 kg

This macaque monkey is mainly terrestrial but also a skilled climber

And it loves water

It can be found in rainforest up to 2000 m

But also in plantations and Gardens

The monkey lives in rather large groups that are split into smaller groups during the day while looking for food

It is an omnivore and eats mainly fruits

Seeds, berries

Cereals, fungi, and invertebrate

Among males there exists a hierarchy based on strength

With females the hierarchy bases on heredity

Meaning that the daughter of the dominant female will be placed above all other females in the group

The dominant female leads the group

Males are more in charge of managing conflicts within the group and for defense

Sexually the monkeys Armature at 3 to 5 years

Female gestation lasts roughly 6 months

And she gives birth to one infant every two years

weaning of the young occurs at 4 to 5 months

In Thailand

This monkey has been trained for 400 years to harvest coconut

The Sun Bear or Honey Bear

(Helarctos malayanus)

Is a bear found in the tropical forest of Southeast Asia

The name

Honey bear comes from the fact that it loves honey

It is classified as vulnerable by IUCN

Mainly due to loss of habitat from deforestation

The bear has a long tongue

22-25 cm

Which is protrusible in order to extract insects and honey

they teeth are very large

Above all the canine

Bite Forces high in relation to the body size

It's claws have a cream color and are large
Curved endpoint

They are sickle-shaped to help the bear climb very well

Also there are useful to open tropical hardwood
trees in pursuit of insects, larva or honey

The sun bear is the smallest type of bear

Adults are between 120 and 150 cm long

27 to 80 kg in weight

The sun bears habitat is tropical evergreen forest of Southeast Asia

But it has a hard time surviving in the wild

Since food is available all year round the bear does not hibernate

Bees, bee hives and honey are the favorite food item

The Bears are omnivores and feed on termites

Ants, beetles, larvae

Vertebrates and a variety of fruits

And nuts

The Bears have a very good sense of smell with which they detect most of their food

These pairs tend to be solitary accept females with their young

They tend to be diurnal but some are active at night for shorter.

They sleeping Hollow logs or tree cavities

But also between the roots or even in tree branches

In captivity the Bears show social behavior and sleep most of the day

When surprised in a forest

They can be very fierce

Females mate at around 3 years of age

During mating the Bears show hugging behaviour amongst the other

Gestation last 95 to 174 days

Litters are made up of one or two
Cubs weighing between 280–325 g each

After 1 to 3 months the Cubs can run around and play as well as forage near their mother

Sexual maturity is reached after three to four years

In captivity the Bears can live up to 30 years

The loss of habitat and Commercial hunting are the Bears biggest threat

Humans are the main Predator by far

The Water Monitor

Varanus salvator is basically a very large lizard native to South and Southeast Asia

Males are larger than females

Adults are roughly 1.5 - 2 meters in length and weigh close to 20 kg

They have muscular bodies with long powerful laterally compressed tail

Water monitors use their long tails, Claws and Jaws to defend themselves

The water monitor as its name suggests

Thrives in areas close to the water

It is cold blooded and therefore efficient
as surviving where other large carnivores cannot

They are very good swimmers and make
use of the raised fin on their tails for steering

Monitors can stay underwater for nearly

20 minute

They are carnivorous and eat a wide range of prey

Like fish

Frogs, rodents, insects, Birds, crabs, Snakes, Turtles
Young crocodiles and above all their eggs

And dead animals that have been left by others

The water monitor is hunted often illegally for its skin

As many as 1.5 million Skins are
exported yearly to Europe, USA and Japan

Mainly for use in fashion accessories
like handbags Shoes, belt etc

Their meat is consumed in some places too

Various subspecies exist like this Southeast Asian water monitor

Varanus salvator macromaculatus

It is home in Mainland southeast Asia, Singapore, Sumatra,
Borneo and smaller offshore islands in the region

The Kinabatangan River

Sungai kinabatangan is a river in Sabah

It is the second longest river in Malaysia with over 560 kilometers
from the headwaters in the Mountains of Southwest Sabah

to its outlet at the Sulu Sea, east of Sandakan.

The river is known for its wildlife and different habitats

Such as Limestone Caves at Gomatong Hill, Dryland
Dipterocarp Forest, Riverine Forest Freshwater swamps

And even salty mangrove swamps close to the coast

It is also a great place to watch bird

Especially from April to October

The flowering and fruiting season

The Kinabatangan region can be visited all year round

However it is often flooded during the wettest
part of the year in December and January

The Northeast Monsoon from November to March brings heavy shower

Above all in December and January

The lashing rain causes the river to swell quickly

And often it overflows its banks

And spreads across the flat land creating huge floodplain

Borneo has an average year-round temperature of 27 to 32 degrees Celsius

And a relative humidity of 80%

The seasonal winds or monsoons bring either dry warm weather

Or heavy rain

Rainfall can be over 4000 millimeters per annum in certain areas

But averaged around 220 ml per month

April is the driest month with only about 107.3 mm of rain on average

While December is the wettest month

461.8 mm of rain on average

The Kubah national park on the Santabong half
island is an easy and enjoyable day trip from Kuching

From the Waterfront in Kuching the park is very visible

The massive Sandstone Ridge with a three mountain peak

Gunung Serapih 911 m

And the slightly smaller Gunung Selang and Gunung Sendok

Situated on a small Sandstone plateau

The small Park of roughly 22 square kilometers

Boast Crystal Clear streams

And a host of small waterfalls and bathing pools

It is mostly covered by mix dipterocarp Forest

But it also has one of the widest selections of palms and orchids in Borneo

The varied Wildlife includes bearded Pig, mouse, deer

Black hornbill and many species of amphibians and reptiles

There are numerous tricks to discover

The one leading past the waterfall is highly recommended

The waterfall consists of a number of sections with the
main section dropping some 10 m onto a Wide Rocky Ridge

Below this Ridge is a small pool that is ideal for a cool jungle dip

At the Northwestern tip of Borneo there is another national park that is a must-see

Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park

Taman Negara Tunku Abdul Rahman

Is made up of five Islands located 3 - 8 km of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah

Spread over 4929 hectares

Part covers the sea with 2/3

The five islands are

Gaya

Sapi

Manukan

Mamutik

Sulug

Park was named after the first Prime Minister of Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman

The islands are under laid by folded sandstone and sedimentary rock

They were part of the crocker range but towards the
end of the Ice Age roughly 1 million years ago

The sea level Rose and resulted in a cut off
part of the range from the mainland

There by forming today islands

Exposed Sandstone outcrops still form the coast of most islands

And show Cliffs

Caves, honeycomb

And deep crevasses along the shore

Temperatures are between 23.8 to 29.4 degrees C all year

Humidity stays fairly High year round

We return to the Bako National Park close to Kuching

And take a closer look at the crabs scuttling across the beach

There are many crabs have different species like the big hermit crab this seems to have a greenish shell

Or the blue fiddler crab that loves man grows in salty marshes

Just as much as Sandy muddy beaches

And it's easy to recognize due to its color
as well as the distinctly asymmetric claw

Fiddler crab males

Have an oversized claw or Kila

Which they use in combat of courtship over females

Smaller claws used during feeding

It picks up a chunk of sediment from the ground and brings it to the crabs mail

The contents are sifted through

The crab is a detritivore

Once anything edible is extracted such as algae, microbes, fungus and other decaying matter

Sediment is replaced in the form of a small ball

These can be found in front of actively use burrow

Experts think that this feeding habit of

The crab is crucial to preserving the Wetland environment

Because by sifting through the sand

The crabs aerate the substrate

And prevent anaerobic conditions

The movement the crab makes while picking up
food explains the name of the crab species

It looks as if the crab we're
playing the larger claw like a fiddle

The Silvery Lutung monkeys are
often found playing down at the beach

Since they like water

They are not afraid of the waves and
often found frolicking close to the way

Of course

The beach is also an interesting place to search for food

As the sun sets on Borneo

We can only encourage you to visit the largest island in Asia

And Discover it for yourself