Bears and Beyond: The Wildly Bizarre Proboscis Monkeys Of Borneo!

Orangutans steal the spotlight from other wildlife in Borneo. When people go to Borneo to “see the Orange” they are always mystified, baffled and dazzled by so many beautiful and bizarre creatures that they never knew existed.

The proboscis monkey is certainly at the top of the list. With a giant nose, pot belly, crazy voice box, and several other bizarre features, once discovered they are never forgotten.

Physical Characteristics

There are several features which makes these monkeys extraordinarily quirky.

The local Malay name for this species is Monyet Belanda, meaning “Dutch Monkey” because their huge pot bellies and big red noses reminded them of Dutch colonists in the old days.

The huge belly is actually a big fermentation vat, similar to a rumen, which is full of a soup of microbes that break down the structural cellulose in leaves and turns it into usable sugar.

This “gut flora” also helps to detoxify alkaloids (plant defense poisons) so they can survive on a very low quality diet of leaves and unripe fruits, as opposed to orangutans, gibbons and macaques, which need high quality young leaves of specific trees and fruits.

A proboscis monkey would never eat a ripe banana, if it did, it could die of bloat! 

Another unique and attention-getting characteristic of the males is a bright red penis that is always erect and sweating.

The sweat is a way for excess sodium to be released, which allows them to live in the salty, mangrove forests.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics & Vid) at: Bears and Beyond: The Wildly Bizarre Proboscis Monkeys Of Borneo!

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Janice Horton: Adventures in Borneo - Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

We flew from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan in the Sabah region of Borneo to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to see Orangutans in the wild at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre – the precious home of the last wild Orangutans of North Borneo.

The centre, in 43 square kilometres of virgin equatorial rainforest, was set up in 1964 by an English woman called Barbara Harrison and it was the first centre in the world to dedicate itself to the rehabilitation of orphaned (as a result of illegal logging and deforestation) Orangutans or those that have been displaced (due to being caught and illegally kept as pets). 

Today, as well as caring for young orphaned Orangutans, it looks after dozens of other wildlife species including Sunbears, Gibbons, Sumatran Rhinos, and Borneo Pygmy Elephants.

Walking through the jungle to the feeding stations, we managed to spot some pigmy elephants.

The jungle was so dense that we walked along wooden gantry pathways to keep us above ground level and safe from snakes and other dangers.

All around us the trees were so incredibly ancient and tall and it was a fabulous experience to see both young and older Orangutans swinging through the tree canopy above us towards the food station.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics & Vids) at: Janice Horton: Adventures in Borneo - Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

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Sabah committed to boost tourism

SANDAKAN: The State Government is committed to boost the tourism industry in Sabah and the involvement of youths in contributing ideas to boost the industry is important, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman.

He commended the Sandakan Tourism Association (STAN) run by youths who had come up with various ideas to attract tourists to the district such as the Sandakan Food Festival and other programmes that promote Sandakan as a tourism spot, nature city, seafood paradise and its environment conservation efforts.

Musa also said that about three million tourists came to Sabah last year.

“The efforts of our youths together with the support of local leaders and other agencies are making a positive development on the tourism industry here,” he added when launching the Sandakan Food Festival organised by STAN and other agencies and associations at Yu Yuan Secondary School parking lot here, on Thursday.

STAN chairman Johnny Lim said the Tourism Ministry and Sabah Tourism Board were involved in making the festival happen.

He said that the event which was held for the first time received around 7,000 visitors on its second day.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Sabah committed to boost tourism

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This is Toby: Solo around Borneo and Brunei

When the heat of summer rolls into Daegu I pretty quickly start counting the days for an escape to different climates.

This year was down to Borneo and Brunei, to explore the mountains and jungles on the island.

I had the luxury of direct flights from Busan, albeit on a very non-luxury plane, and 2.5 weeks to explore.

I was heading down to Borneo in peak season.

Places in SE Asia that aren’t experiencing heavy monsoon weather in August are few and far between and coupled with school vacations meant that it was going to be busy.

This did mean I had to pre-book most of what I wanted to do and then stick to an itinerary rather than just be able to wander, but with a tight timescale I was okay with that.

It did mean that I could maximise my time doing activities than have to be thinking about where I was going to stay the next day.

I’d booked trips to go hiking up  Mt. Kinabula, Malaysia’s highest mountain, trips into two different rainforests – Danum Valley rainforest and Mulu National Park, and then also spend a couple of nights checking out the oil rich country of Brunei.

Coupled with a couple of nights in various cities and travel time that was my full vacation eaten up.

Funny how you can sum up in an entire trip in a sentence or two, but a lot happened in those two sentences.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: This is Toby: Solo around Borneo and Brunei

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Experience culture and food at ‘Taste of Borneo 2017’

MIRI: Preparation is in progress for the culture and food based carnival ‘Taste of Borneo 2017’ at Boulevard Mall’s open car parking compound from Nov 24 to Dec 3.

Organised by Sarawak Chinese Association, the carnival is endorsed by Sarawak Information Centre.

Recently, a team of organising committee paid a courtesy visit on Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.

They comprised carnival advisor Datuk Hii King Chiong, president of Sarawak Chinese Association Ting Pang Soon, organising chairman Harry Lee, Islamic Information Centre CEO Zabariah Matali, Dayak Association of Miri president Serawa Budol, Indian Association Miri president Councillor Karambir Singh, Sikh Association of Miri president Narmal Singh, Malay Association Miri president and deputy president of Federation of Orang Ulu Associations Sarawak,  Malaysia (Forum) Ipoi Datan.

During the visit, Hii, on behalf of the organising committee, handed the chief minister an invitation to the carnival on Nov 25 as guest-of-honour.

The organising committee also invited Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah and Consulate General of The People’s Republic of China in Kuching, Fu Jijun as special guests for the carnival’s special opening.

Hii briefed Abang Johari on preparation for the carnival that aims to boost tourism activities and generate income for the business community in the city.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Experience culture and food at ‘Taste of Borneo 2017’

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