Back to Borneo, Part II

Greetings Everyone,

We’re in Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo in the midst of our “Back to Borneo” tour. We’ve just arrived in Lahad Datu where we’ve met Adi, our new guide who will accompany us on the remainder of the trip. The next stop on our wildlife extravaganza was Tabin Wildlife Reserve. A one and a half-hour drive through oil palm plantations brought us to the resort where we checked in for a 4-night stay. Almost immediately we heard Northern Gray Gibbons outside our cabin and when we went to investigate we also got a great look at a Pale Giant Squirrel. This species is listed as near threatened by the IUCN due to logging and hunting.

Pale Giant Squirrel

Later that afternoon we joined Adi and Ley, our local guide for a visit to the Lipad Mud Volcano. We climbed an observation platform overlooking the mud volcano which still spews out mud laced with minerals that attract animals to this natural salt lick.

Lipad Mud Volcano

During our stay, 13 Bornean Bearded Pigs including a pair with 9 piglets came to the edge of the clearing.

Bornean Bearded Pig & Piglets

Colorful birds such as Temminck’s Sunbird and Rhinoceros Hornbills also visited the Lipad Mud Volcano and Marc was able to get some great shots.

Temminck’s Sunbird

Rhinoceros Hornbill

After dinner, we prepared to go on our first night drive to look for nocturnal animals. We hadn’t even left the resort when Ley spotted a Sunda Stink-badger peering from under a bush. Despite their common name, they are not closely related to true badgers and are instead relatives of Old World skunks.

Sunda Stink-badger

During the course of our night safari, we were fortunate to see two species of civet. The first was the more common Island Palm Civet (Paradoxurus philippensis) recently split from the Asian or Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). Civets are native to tropical Africa and Asia and are sometimes referred to as civet cats. They are not felines but belong to their own family called Viverridae. 

Island Palm Civet

The second civet species encountered was the rare Banded Civet (Hemigalus derbyanus). In fact, we were extremely lucky to see three of these beautiful creatures. It is the only species in the Genus Hemigalus. 

Banded Civet

We also had a great showing of a pair of Lesser Oriental Chevrotains or Mouse-deer on the road. Normally, these secretive ungulates are found deep in the forest. It is the smallest known hoofed mammal, weighing only 4.4 lb and measuring only 18 inches tall. 

Lesser Oriental Chevrotain

We were hoping to see more cats including the Sunda Clouded Leopard but they remained elusive. We did see two Bornean Leopard Cats but not well enough for a photo. We had three more nights to track down these secretive felines.

The next day we did a bit of birding before resting up for our second night drive. Tonight we saw an impressive 14 Island Palm Civets including a mother with 4 pups!

Island Palm Civets

We also saw a new species of Civet, the Malay Civet.

Malay Civet

We had more luck with the Bornean Leopard Cats tonight. One posed nicely for us in the open and Marc was able to get a good photo. Bornean Leopard Cats (Prionailurus javanensis ssp. sumatranus) have recently been split from their mainland cousins so this was a new species of cat for us!

Bornean Leopard Cat

The next day we rested up from our night forays before going on an afternoon walk. Not far from the resort we encountered a very large troop of Southern Pig-tailed Macaques including some impressive males, females nursing infants and juveniles playing, one with a soda can. 

Southern Pig-tailed Macaque

We opted to forego our 3rd night safari and decided to do a dawn safari instead. This meant a 3 AM start but we thought it may give us a better chance at finding a Clouded Leopard. It was our 33rd Wedding Anniversary and I joked with Marc that I wanted a Clouded Leopard for my anniversary. We were successful at finding a very obliging Bornean Leopard Cat posing nicely in a tree.

Bornean Leopard Cat

Sadly, no Clouded Leopard but we still had one more night drive. That afternoon we went birding and found a pair of beautiful White-crowned Hornbills. 

White-crowned Hornbill

After dinner, we went on our fourth and final night drive. We found our fourth species of civet, the Bornean Striped Palm Civet (Arctogalidia stigmatica).  In most references, it is still listed as the Small-tooth Palm Civet (Arctogalidia triviirgata) so more taxon changes are on the way. 

Bornean Striped Palm Civet

We stopped for a break and Adi, Ley and Garth had a surprise for us, a Happy Anniversary cake with candles. What a sweet gesture!

Happy Anniversary!

Our nocturnal team found Bornean Slow Loris, Sunda Colugo, Sunda Leopard Cat, Island Palm Civet but sadly no Clouded Leopard. I couldn’t complain though, it had been an awesome way to spend our 33rd Wedding Anniversary.

The next morning we said goodbye to Ley and left Tabin Wildlife Reserve. The next stop on our wildlife extravaganza was the Kinabatangan River. We had visited here back in 1992 but I was eager to see Proboscis Monkeys again and hopefully wild orangutans. We were not disappointed. That evening we found a troop of Proboscis Monkeys feeding in trees along the river. These endangered primates are among the largest monkeys in Asia and are the only species in the genus Nasalis. The large males are most comical with their long Jimmy Durante noses!  So, why such a big nose? Some theorize that females prefer males with bigger noses because they can make louder vocalizations. 

Proboscis Monkey

As we were cruising down the Kinabatangan River the next morning, Adi suddenly shouted “orangutans!”. A family of three Northeast Bornean Orangutans was feeding on figs in the trees quite close to the river. Incuk, our boat driver said these orangutans had not been seen in a week so we were lucky to find them. These critically endangered primates share 97% of our DNA. Sadly they face extinction due to habitat loss, palm oil plantations, and hunting. We watched the female with her youngster and a nearby male for 30 minutes.

Northeast Bornean Orangutans

During our viewing, a full boat of 12 pulled up and someone inside exclaimed “Peggy!”. It was our friend Lorene from South Burlington! We knew that she would be on the Kinabatangan at the same time but how fun to watch the orangutans with her!

Lorene

We returned to the lodge for breakfast before going out again to visit the nearby Gomantong Caves. As we neared the entrance we could smell the bat guano. Gomantong isn’t a cave in the classic sense but more of a limestone chamber that houses many swiftlets and bats. The swiftlet nests are still harvested, supposedly sustainably, for bird's nest soup. Why anyone would want to eat a nest made out of bird saliva is beyond me.

Gomantong Cave

From what I’ve read there are three species of bats in the cave: Wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat (Chaerephon plicatus), Large-eared horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus philippinensis) and Fawn leaf-nosed bat. They were high on the ceiling making photography and identification difficult. A wooden boardwalk had now been built in the cave so you didn't have to walk on the piles of guano crawling with cockroaches. On the walls were a few spiders and other creepy crawlers. If you don’t like bats, cockroaches, and spiders, it’s best not to enter the cave!

Cockroaches in the Cave

We had just exited and we on our way back when another guide motioned us to come quickly. A courting pair of wild orangutans were low in the trees next to the boardwalk! We got great views as they moved through the branches to a nearby fruiting tree where the male picked a fruit to eat and share with his mate.

Orangutan Couple

We decided to go out at 10:00 PM to look for the Flat-headed Cat. We had failed to find one the previous night and even though it was a long shot, we had to give it another try. We headed upriver with Adie and Incuk spotlighting the banks. Forty minutes into the boat safari Incuk spotted a cat on the bank of the river. It was a Flat-headed Cat! It disappeared into the grass quickly and Marc was only able to get a butt shot. Bummer! We cut the boat engine and shut off our lights for a short time and amazingly the cat came back out. We got prolonged views of this amazing feline completely in the open! The cat would appear for a bit, then disappear into the grass only to reappear. It didn’t appear to be fazed by our lights. We watched it for 30 minutes before leaving it to hunt in peace. Flat-headed Cats are rarely seen let alone photographed!

Flat-headed Cat

The following morning we said goodbye to Incuk and thanked him profusely for finding the Flat-headed Cat. Our second visit to the Kinabatangan was even better than the first. Our return trip to Borneo continued to amaze us with incredible wildlife (and human) encounters. Stay tuned to see what surprises are in store for us as we continue our “Back to Borneo” tour.

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map: