Win a week's holiday in Borneo, Malaysia

You could win a 7 day/6 night holiday for you and a friend to Sarawak, Borneo courtesy of Malaysia Tourism and the Telegraph Adventure Travel Show.

On this amazing trip to Malaysia you will discover a wealth of surprises, eclectic cultures and natural wonders.

Start your journey at the incredibly city of Kuching - the capital city of Sarawak. A modern city with all the creature comforts of a growing metropolis, yet one that still retains its old charms with a picturesque waterfront, sidewalk cafes, colonial historical buildings, museums, markets, and pockets of gardens and parks.

As this fantastic Malaysian trip moves on, you will get to visit such places as the wonderful Semenggoh Wildlife Centre which works to rehabilitate Orangutans, and you will experience the Iban Longhouse and meet the headhunters! The Iban tribe is the largest ethnic group in Sarawak.

They will welcome you to their home, the longhouse, and experience their communal lifestyle. There are opportunities to learn how to dance their traditional dance “Ngajat”, play their musical instruments, fish using fish nets, follow them to the farm, join a hunting trip, see traditional tattooing, and discover their culture and beliefs - if you have the time that is!

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Win a week's holiday in Borneo, Malaysia

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Borneo: Nosy in the jungle

Deep in the Borneo bush, Jim Eagles breaks off from his tour group to snoop on some proboscis monkeys going about their business.

I tip-toed carefully along the rough jungle trail in the direction of the periodic loud grunting sounds, peered cautiously through the leaves, and there he was: a big proboscis monkey sitting on a branch in a shaft of sunlight, munching on tender young leaves.

His fur glinted reddish-brown in the sun and his enormous red nose - the proboscis that gives the monkey his name - testified he was the alpha male of the band of monkeys I could hear crashing through the treetops all around.

At the clicking of my camera shutter he briefly flicked his eyes in my direction, confirmed I was no threat, and resumed filling his face.

Although to his harem of females he was obviously the pinnacle of sex appeal, to my eyes he was a strange sight, with that massive conk and a big, round stomach, apparently swollen with the gases produced by the process of digesting those leaves.

The natives of the eastern portion of the island of Borneo once ruled by Holland, who had no love for their masters, apparently called the proboscis "Dutch monkeys", considering both to be ugly creatures with big noses and pot bellies. A bit unkind to both parties, I thought.

This was the first proboscis monkey I had seen close up and, though he certainly wasn't beautiful, he did have a certain ... hairy charisma.

We were in Borneo on the inaugural visit of the new expedition ship Orion II, a cruise I chose because I was keen to explore the island's tropical jungle, experience the diverse local cultures and see our close relations the primates, especially proboscis monkeys, which have long fascinated me (partly because I used to joke unkindly that my dad looked like one).

In the course of the 10-day trip we saw orangutans at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, met Dyak headhunters outside Kota Kinabalu, visited a traditional fishing stilt-village in Bandar Seri Begawan, marvelled at the golden palaces and mosques of the oil-rich Sultan of Brunei, and admired the spectacular colours of massive hornbills, delicate butterflies and prolific fungi in the forests of Sarawak and Sabah.

But during our first few forays into the Borneo jungle, though we heard the calls of proboscis, gibbons and macaques, we didn't see any. Now, at the Bako National Park, we were surrounded by them, and felt like true explorers.

Even getting here from the ship had been an adventure, involving a long Zodiac ride past amazing rock formations, a squelch through thick mud to the shore and finally a sweaty walk to where a network of boardwalks extended through a mangrove swamp.

This is where the crab-eating macaques and proboscis monkeys come to feed at low tide and as we arrived, a proboscis troop was right at the end of the boardwalk.

Unfortunately, the racket made by a lot of eager tourists clattering over a rickety wooden path was rather off-putting so the troop promptly headed off.

Continue reading (incl. Pic) at: Borneo: Nosy in the jungle

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Ritchie the Orangutan adopted

KUCHING: Ritchie, a dominant male orangutan, has been adopted by Australia’s Orion Expedition Cruises for two years until Oct 2013.

The founder and managing director of Orion Expedition Cruise Pty Ltd, Sarina Bratton, said the company was pleased to adopt Ritchie which she described as a ‘world heritage’.

“We are going to adopt him for the next two years and after that we pledge to sponsor him for another 10 years,” she said.

She presented a cheque for AU$7,750 for the two-year adoption programme to Sarawak Forestry Corporation general manager (Protected Area and Biodiversity Conservation) Wilfred Landong at the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre near here yesterday.

On the centre, Bratton said she was amazed with she saw there and about the wildlife conservation programme.

“It’s great to see how the centre operates and I congratulate Sarawak and Malaysian governments for doing a splendid job in the conservation of orangutans,” she added.

She said that apart from Borneo and Sarawak in particular, Orion Expedition also works with various NGOs across the globe to conserve endangered species to ensure their survival and protection.

“Borneo Island has created the best opportunity for us to continue giving aid and educate the people about the importance of conserving the primates for an ecological balance.”

She said she would spread the good news when she returned to Australia and help to look for more assistance for Ritchie and the rest of the primates.

Landong said that there were about 2,500 orangutans in the state and the number was growing due to, in parts, the government’s serious concern on its rehabilitation programme.

He said that the Orangutan Adoption programme, which was launched in Nov 2009 by Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, had received about RM500,000 in sponsorship from local and foreign enterprises.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Ritchie the Orangutan adopted
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Former chain-smoking orangutan adapts to new home at Matang Wildlife Centre

Shirley the former "chain-smoking" orang utan and her three fellow primates are adapting well to their new life at the Matang Wildlife Centre in Kuching.

Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) corporate communications head Zulkifli Baba Noor said she had not shown any withdrawal symptom since quitting smoking early last month.

He said Shirley and the other three primates Ohm, Sandy and Mario were currently under observation at the Matang Wildlife Centre in Kuching to determine their rehabilitation needs.

"We will observe them for a month and note their behaviour and progress. Then, we will place them in an appropriate rehabilitation programme," he said.

Zulkifli added that it would take at least five months before the orang utan could be transferred to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, a semi-wild habitat where the primates are allowed to roam freely.

"However, it is very unlikely Shirley can be released after five months as she has been so used to captivity," he said.

Zulkifli added that SFC staff would continue to assess the survival skills of the four primates before deciding if further rehabilitation was need-ed.

Shirley, estimated to be between 20 and 25 years old, had gained notoriety for being a "chain-smoking" orang utan.

Continue reading at: Former chain-smoking orangutan adapts to new home at Matang Wildlife Centre

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In two minds over language plan for orang utan in Sarawak

KUCHING: Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) is in two minds on renowned primatologist and conservationist Dr Francine Neago’s proposal to set up a school for apes in the state.



This is because SFC, which is responsible for managing and conserving wildlife, prefers in principle to keep wild animals in their natural habitat with minimal contact with humans.



SFC managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Len Talif Salleh said, unlike some developed countries where orang utan were kept in zoos, the state’s great apes were either in the wild or semi-wild, as in the case of those in the Semenggoh and Matang rehabilitation centres.



“Another school of thought is to have the least contact between orang utans and humans because of the risk of passing on diseases to the animals.



“But I’m not dismissing Dr Neago’s proposal outright, just that in principle we would like to keep our orang utans and other animals in the wild.



“I need to discuss such possibilities with my officers and Dr Neago is most welcome to present her proposal to us officially.



“We’ll see where we can help her,” he told The Star yesterday.



Dr Neago said she had created a computer-spelling programme that could help orang utan to acquire language skills and communicate with humans.



Her immediate need, she said, was a piece of land big enough for her to stay with a young orang utan and teach spelling to the animal.



If Dr Neago’s wish is granted, Sarawak may become a world leader in research on the orang utan and other endangered species.



Continue reading at: In two minds over language plan for orang utan in Sarawak

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Sarawak - Take it to the streets

IT'S dusk on the Sarawak River. Crouched in a longboat, a fisherman unravels his tattered nets, his lined face lit by the flickering flame of a paraffin lamp. The ropes cause scarcely a ripple as they hit the water's surface and from across the river, the call to prayer echoes from a nearby mosque. Tonight, the fisherman could be in for a long wait but in these parts, no one seems in too much of a hurry.

Despite its status as the capital of Sarawak, a visit to Kuching is a reminder of a time when Asian cities were far less hectic. Until about 150 years ago, Sarawak was the name of the tidal river cutting through a province initially ruled by the Sultan of Brunei. In 1872, the city earned its present name under the second white Rajah, Charles Brooke.

Kuching literally translates to "cat" and while there are numerous theories as to how the name came about, the most likely explanation stems from the Indochinese word cochin, meaning port.

Mistranslations aside, to this day, Kuching retains a vaguely unhealthy obsession with cats. There are cat statues on roundabouts, outside temples, inside shops. There's even a cat museum. Resembling a flying saucer from the outside, it's a bizarre tribute to all things feline - there are figurines of every conceivable size, shape and colour, as well as displays charting their history in anything from movie posters to advertising campaigns, comic books to literature. One exhibit even displays photographs of owners who have tattooed their bodies with portraits of their beloved pets.

Cat obsessions aside, Kuching is a city with many attractions. Undoubtedly, one of the main drawcards is the Semenggoh wildlife centre, 24 kilometres south of the city. Though not as famous as the Sepilok centre in Sabah, Semenggoh acts as a rehabilitation facility for more than 20 of Borneo's injured or orphaned orangutans and the primates can come and go as they please within the 740-hectare forest enclosure. The centre comes across as a decently run enterprise where the animals' welfare takes precedence over the tourist dollar.

Within Kuching itself, there are numerous attractions. For an overview of the history, geology and wildlife of the region, the Sarawak Museum is a good bet.

Though stately from the outside, the interior - which dates to 1891 - is a little jaded but among the chipped cabinets and fading glass, some exhibits shine through. Some of the best include the gruesome headhunting history of the region and the origins of oil pioneering in the 1800s.

Also worth a look is the recently restored Fort Margherita on the banks of the Sarawak River. Built in 1879 to guard Kuching from pirates, it now houses the Police Museum and showcases interesting artefacts such as old cannons and a collection of "laughing skulls".

Other popular attractions include the much-lauded (though vaguely kitsch) Sarawak Cultural Village, with its daily dance routines and traditional longhouses, the Astana, which is now the official residence of the Governor of Sarawak, and the Chinese Museum.

While all these sights have merit, the best way to experience Kuching is simply to go walkabout. With a population made up of Malay, Chinese, Indian and indigenous tribal people, this is a city rich in cultural diversity. Its compact centre also means most areas of interest are easily accessible on foot.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Sarawak - Take it to the streets
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Vanishing world of the orangutan

By NYL

Borneo's rainforests are home to thousands of endemic species of mammals, reptiles, and insects. Its most famous mammal is the 'old man of the forest' that is, the endangered orangutan.

Over 90 per cent of the world's orangutan live in Borneo. However, deforestation and hunting are taking such a toll that, within two decades, the orangutan is likely to vanish from the wild in the only two places it still lives - the island of Sumatra, which is part of Indonesia, and the island of Borneo.

In Sarawak, active conservation programmes include rehabilitation of orphaned and displaced orangutan at the Semenggoh and Matang Wildlife Centres.

The Matang Wildlife Centre lies on the western corner of the Kubah National Park and encompasses over 180 hectares of lowland forest. It caters for researchers from local and oversea universities, as well as students and interested adults.

In addition to orangutan, other endangered species found here include sambar deer, crocodile, sun bears, civets, bear cats and native birds of Sarawak such as hornbills, eagles, kites and storks.

Other attractions include a series of rock pools, swimming area, picnic spots, camping sites, scenic nature trails and waterfalls

During a visit to the centre, we saw five adult orangutans and two infants.

We were fortunate to get a glimpse of an adult orangutan, whom we were told, rarely made an appearance. At the age of 25 years, the Bornean orangutan is an impressive male with large cheek pads, a tremendous laryngeal sac and long hair. As we peered through the cage in awe of the red ape, it stared back at us in curiosity.

In Matang, there is an infant care unit built to provide medical care for infants.

Premature orangutan babies or those which are unable to suckle are taken to the unit and monitored round the clock. Newly arrived orangutan undergo a medical check-up before being quarantined for 90 days to undergo observation. After another check-up and evaluation, the healthy apes go through several stages of rehabilitation.

One of the stages is the enrichment level where they are introduced to the rest of the troupe in large outdoor socialising cages.

Swings and ropes are placed in cages for the orangutans to build up their strength and stamina in preparation for their return to the forest. Once they are about five to six years old, they will slowly be weaned off human care and contact, and brought back into the forest in stages.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin Sunday
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‘Ritchie’ the star orangutan a rare sight for visiting US diplomat at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre

KUCHING: US Ambassador to Malaysia Paul W. Jones can consider himself very lucky for being able to view the oldest and biggest orangutan during his visit to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre near here yesterday.

Staff at the centre said that the orangutan, named Ritchie, had not appeared for feeding over the last two weeks or so but surprisingly almost as soon as Jones arrived at the feeding area Ritchie also suddenly emerged from the jungle of the rainforest.

Jones who was brought around the centre by Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) Manager of Conservation Oswald Braken Tisen and other officials, was apparently amazed with the presence of the semi-wild orangutans coming to the feeding area for their meal which of course had always been the main attraction for tourists coming to the centre.

Among others Jones, who was on an official visit to the state, was also taken to tour the facilities around the area, which comprises of a wildlife rehabilitation centre, an arboretum, and a botanical research centre.

Semenggoh Wildlife Centre was established in 1975 to care for wild animals found injured in the forest, orphaned or rescued from being kept as illegal pets as part of the state’s environmental conservation activities.

Such effort had gained good support from worldwide organisations, including the US government who had funded an estimated RM591,000 for environmental conservation activities in Sarawak since 2004.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: ‘Ritchie’ the star orangutan a rare sight for visiting US diplomat at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre
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In Borneo, City Pleasures and Jungle Adventure

A SNOW-WHITE fortress in the style of the English Renaissance, garnished with crenellations, pepper pot turrets and an octagonal keep, is not quite what you'd expect to find on a steamy bluff overlooking an equatorial river in Malaysian Borneo. But Fort Margherita, built in 1879 by Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah of Sarawak, is just one of the many charms of Kuching, a gracious and kaleidoscopically diverse city of about 600,000 just an hour and a half by air from Singapore.

An amble through its safe, eminently walkable streets will reveal dragon-festooned Chinese temples a few blocks from a 19th-century South Indian mosque; fortresses from the time of the White Rajahs (English rulers of the Kingdom of Sarawak from 1841 to 1941) a short walk from a high-rise district of hotels and icily air-conditioned shopping malls; and chic restaurants that would not be out of place in London a few streets away from open-air stalls redolent with half-a-dozen Asian cuisines.

The most extraordinary attractions in the Kuching area, however, are natural. Drive an hour or two out of town and you come to tracts of some of the most ancient and species-rich rain forests on earth. In less than a week, you can plunge into an exotic world of primeval flora and endangered fauna, visit -- or live with -- a local tribe, and still have time for urban pursuits -- i.e. eating and shopping. In addition, many Sarawakians converse comfortably in English, making travel a breeze.

I first discovered the sundry delights of Kuching, which is the capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak (pronounced sah-RAH-wok) several years ago. My soon-to-be wife, Rachel, was living in Singapore and we decided to escape it for a few days and explore some of Malaysia's other half. In less than a day I was entranced and decided to return at some point -- with a note pad.

When I went with Rachel, we stayed in the center of town, but for this visit I chose a guesthouse a bit off the beaten path. Kuching has several international-standard business hotels, but this place came with a good recommendation, and the fact that the co-owner of the Fairview Guesthouse, Eric Yap, a retired civil servant, offered to show me around was a bonus, especially since many of the places I wanted to go are not accessible by public transport. My game plan was to head to nearby national parks in the morning and explore the city later in the day.

One of my top priorities was to pay another visit to Asia's only great ape, the orangutan, which is endemic to Borneo and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Early one morning, after a quick breakfast, Eric and I got into his late-model Honda and drove 20 minutes south from Kuching to the Semenggoh Nature Reserve, whose wildlife center was established 35 years ago to rehabilitate jungle animals rescued from captivity. The 2.5-square-mile area is now one of the best places in the world to see orangutans up close and on the loose.

So far, we were told, 5 of the center's 27 orangutans -- 16 of them born here -- have kicked the habit of dining at park headquarters, but the other 22 often swing by (literally) to partake of the banana manna set out each day. We had been forewarned, however, that there was no guarantee that any of the orangutans -- the world's largest tree-dwelling animals -- would show up.

"Yaaay-ooh!" the park ranger yelled, the second tone lower than the first, as he scanned the forest canopy, "yaaay-oh!" The energetic rustle of leaves in a distant tree was the first indication that an orangutan was approaching. "If a big male is coming, keep distance. He is unpredictable," the ranger warned, adding nonchalantly, "he might attack, he might not." But it was a smallish young ape making his way toward us, clambering from one tree to another, grabbing onto vines and branches with gravity-defying agility.

At one point, we -- along with dozens of other visitors -- could see five shaggy orangutans clutching trunks, branches and vines with arms that can reach six feet or more. A female orangutan with a baby clinging to the long hairs of her torso descended warily to a stash of bright yellow bananas, stuffed as many as she could in her mouth, grabbed a green coconut in one hand and scrambled up a rope. Soon the last of the climbers disappeared back into the canopy, and Eric and I continued on.

We headed farther south, through a patchwork of dense secondary forests, open fields, houses and small orchards. For tens of millions of years -- until logging companies arrived in the late 20th century -- Sarawak's dense rain forests remained unchanged, but today only patches of completely untouched jungle remain.

Our destination was Annah Rais, a Bidayuh village whose residents -- or most of them -- live in longhouses, a collaborative habitation that serves as a home for the entire community. (The Bidayuh are one of the Bornean indigenous groups known collectively as Dayaks.) In a longhouse, each family retains a high degree of economic autonomy (this is not a kibbutz) but common areas are in constant use for cooking, traditional crafts, socializing and celebrations. If you were making a Dayak version of "Seinfeld," you'd set it in a longhouse.

Continue reading at: In Borneo, City Pleasures and Jungle Adventure
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Do we really need an orang utan reserve in West Malaysia?

How far will having another orang utan sanctuary, this time in the Klang Valley, go in saving the endangered species?

IT IS yet another case of the tom yam syndrome: “Orang utan sanctuaries in Sepilok, Sabah, and Semenggoh, Sarawak, have done very well in drawing the crowds. Hey, let’s do the same over in Peninsular Malaysia. Let’s set up an orang utan sanctuary right in the Klang Valley, so tourists need not travel all the way to Sabah and Sarawak to view the rare red apes. Never mind that there is already such an orang utan park at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort near Taiping, Perak. And never mind that the primate died out in the peninsula thousands of years ago. The Klang Valley wants its very own orang utan sanctuary.”

But leading orang utan scientists in the country and conservation groups are not at all happy with the idea. The plan is ill-conceived and lacks ecological reasoning, they argue.

Numerous questions have been raised: Why would we need another orang utan park when there is already the Orang Utan Island at Bukit Merah? Can the orang utans survive in peninsular forests? Won’t it drain already limited resources? Will this sanctuary serve any conservation purpose or is it merely a tourism product? Will wild orang utans have to be translocated from Sabah or Sarawak?

Talk about the sanctuary surfaced a year ago, when Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Mamit said the Prime Minister had mooted the idea and the park would be set up within the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur. But FRIM officials denied such a plan.

All was quiet until late last year, when news reports quoting Mamit said that the sanctuary will be in either the Kanching or Ulu Gombak forest reserves in Selangor. The proposal remains sketchy and no information has been forthcoming from the ministry.

Scientists are sceptical and wary of the plan.

Dr Benoit Goossens who has worked on orang utans for 13 years in the area of population genetics and conservation, describes the idea of releasing orang utans into the wilds of Peninsular Malaysia as “totally irresponsible”.

“You’re transferring them to an environment where they disappeared from thousands of years ago. They’re adapted to Borneon and Sumatran forests and would not be able to cope in Peninsular Malaysia forests where there are different parasites and diseases,” says the adviser to Sabah Wildlife Department and director of Danau Girang Field Centre in Kinabatangan.

“We have reintroduced species into the wild but this was for species which disappeared decades, not thousands, of years ago. I guarantee that it will be a failure. You will be sending orang utans to their deaths. We don’t even know which species occurred in the peninsula in the past. So releasing them into the wild is scientifically irresponsible,” he says.

Studies on what food is available in the forest for the orang utan and potential threats to their survival must be done prior to any releases, he adds.

He also does not support the idea of an orang utan sanctuary for tourists as it would duplicate existing facilities. “I don’t see the point of putting orang utans in yet another semi-captive environment in Peninsular Malaysia. There are already captive orang utans in zoos.”

Like many others, he believes money will be better spent if used to protect wild orang utans in Sabah and Sarawak rather than by setting up a sanctuary in the peninsula. “There is no conservation role in such parks. If you want to give a conservation message, then people should be encouraged to go to Borneo or Sumatra to see orang utans in their natural habitat.”

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Do we really need an orang utan reserve in West Malaysia?
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Semenggoh Wildlife Centre expects 190,000 visitors this year

THE number of visitors to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre (SWC) in Jalan Puncak Borneo near Kuching is increasing rapidly and is expected to reach more than 190,000 this year.

SWC manager Jen Sangel said: "In 2008, there were 77,220 visitors and last year we recorded 89,226."

The increase may be due to air fares that were affordable for travel to Sarawak, he said.

Local visitors comprised 60%, including those from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia, while foreigners made up the remaining 40%.

The foreigners were mainly from Europe, Britain, Australia and the Middle East.

Entry to the centre costs RM3 for adults and RM1.50 for schoolchildren, Jen told StarMetro after briefing Danish Ambassador to Malaysia Svend Waever and his wife Karin Gunilla Waever who visited the centre on Wednesday.

Most of the visitors want to catch a glimpse of orang utans, which are found in the rainforests of Borneo.

Jen said there were 27 orang utans at SWC and two other centres in the state.

The orang utans had names like Aman, Manap, Saddam, Selina, Annuar, Nora, Ritchie, Doris, Delima, Murray, Angku, Sedudu, Baka, Mamu and Ting San, he added.

He said that Aman was blind, but regained her sight after successfully undergoing an operation last year.

Other activities at SWC include jungle trekking (three trails) and bird watching.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Semenggoh Wildlife Centre expects 190,000 visitors this year
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Close encounters with orang utan

Mother and child feeding on the platform

Visitors watching the antics of orang utans from the viewing platform

Visitors being briefed on the rules and regulations by forest ranger Abdul Rahman

A male orang utan on top of a tree

Photos courtesy of and Copyright to NYL and Brunei Press Sdn Bhd.

By NYL

The orang utan was once a common forest dweller in Sumatra and Borneo, but wildlife preservation authorities estimate that only a few thousand survive in the wild today. An adult orang utan requires at least 1,000 acres of virgin forest to subsist; as the habitat dwindles, the orang utan population declines.

Semenggoh Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre (SORC), about 30km south of Kuching, was set up to rescue and rehabilitate orang utan. They were orphaned at a young age or caught by local villagers as pets. Rangers from SORC search areas about to be developed, and respond to tip-offs by locals to rescue endangered or captured orang utan. These orang utan are then brought back to the centre to be rehabilitated.

Rehabilitation is a long and arduous process. At the centre, the orang utans undergo a medical check-up before being quarantined for 90 days to undergo observation.

They are then introduced to the rest of the troupe in large outdoor socialising cages. Swings and ropes are placed in cages for the orang utans to build up their strength and stamina in preparation for their return to the forest. Once they are about five to six years old, they will slowly be weaned off human care and contact, and brought back into the forest in stages.

The orang utans are gradually led to different feeding platforms, where they are fed less and less as they go deeper into the forest. This is to encourage them to learn how to search for their own food, until they can be completely independent of human care.

Being 97 per cent genetically similar to humans, these men of the forest are mischievous creatures and highly intelligent to boot.

Visitors to SORC get to observe orang utan at the feeding stations twice a day.

A 20-minute walk into the centre goes past some excellent landscaped gardens with wildlife in their natural habitat.

Visitors are briefed on the rules and regulations at the reserve by forest ranger Abdul Rahman, who also cautioned them against getting too near the orang utan.

"They look tame and adorable, but orang utan can be mischievous and sometimes aggressive. Hide your food and drinks, and anything that might attract their attention because they will grab things from you," he said.

The ranger also warned visitors from having any physical contact with the apes, and using flash when taking their photographs because it can damage their eyesight.

We walked a short distance through the jungle before we got our first glimpse of them. Orang utan are good timekeepers and as feeding time approaches they start to make an appearance.

Ever so gracefully and without making a sound, a female orang utan slowly started making her way towards us, swinging along the vines about 10 metres above the ground. Soon it became apparent that she had a baby orang utan with her.

She was joined by another female with a baby, descending from a different direction. Both the babies had fuzzy hair and looked very young.

They quietly made their way to the platform where a ranger had left some bananas.

Orang utan are omnivores. They eat both plants and animals like birds and small mammals as well as insects.

At one point the first female walked passed us on the viewing platform and I was within five metres of her. It was a sight I will never forget.

Orang utan are a worldwide endangered species, and SORC plays a crucial role in helping these tree-dwellers survive and return to their natural habitat. However, this cannot be just a one-sided effort, and everyone should take an active interest in this important task.

In addition to the orang utan, visitors will be able to see other endangered species at SORC. The centre has housed a wide range of wildlife, including rescued gibbons, porcupines, crocodiles and river terrapins.

In the surrounding forest, cries of rehabilitated gibbons, as well as the songs of a host of wild bird species can be heard. Brightly coloured lizards and various species of squirrel are also frequently encountered.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
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Borneo Highlands Resort are birding havens in Sarawak

BORNEO Highlands Resort, Kubah National Park, Semenggoh Nature Reserve and Bako-Buntal Bay are birding havens as they are home to more than half of all bird species found in Sarawak.

Sarawak has 553 bird species out of which 312 are found in these sites, says Third Sarawak Bird Race patron Datuk Ose Murang.

He said 12 out of 37 endemic bird species could be found in these four sites.

“Borneo Highlands Resort is one of the few places where we still can find hornbills. Sarawak has eight hornbill species out of which four are found in this mountain range,” he said at the closing of Sarawak Bird Race at the resort, about 50km from Kuching on Sunday.

The resort is an “Important Bird Area” under Birdlife International.

Ose was glad to note that bird-watching had evolved from a favourite pastime to an environmental conservation activity in Sarawak and hoped that the annual race would garner more support from nature lovers and the government.

The presence of birds were important as the well being of the environment was indicated by the number of birds and bird species found in a particular site, he added.

Assistant Tourism and Heritage Minister Datuk Talib Zulpilip, who closed the race, commended the organisers Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) and Borneo Highlands Resort for promoting conservation through an enjoyable activity.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Borneo Highlands Resort are birding havens in Sarawak
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Sarawak Bird Race 2010 - Time for bird-watching

THE Bird Race returns for the third time with more activities and plenty of fun this year.

Dubbed the Sarawak Bird Race 2010, the event themed “From the Sea to the Mountain” will be held on a bigger scale this year.

Jointly organised by Borneo Highlands Resort (BHR) and the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), it is aimed at promoting love and appreciation for nature including bird preservation among the community.

BHR in a press statement issued yesterday said a bird race was a “fun race” where teams of two compete against each other in searching, identifying, and recording as many species of birds within a stipulated time.

It will be divided into three categories, one Long Race which covers areas in Buntal, Kubah National Park, Semenggoh Wildlife and Borneo Highlands Resort, and two Short Race which are confined to areas around Borneo Highlands Resort.

Entry fees are RM100 per team of two for the Long Race, and RM60 per team of two for the Short Race.

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Sarawak Bird Race to record the most birds

DESPITE what the name suggests, a bird race to be held in and around Kuching in October will not see birds racing to the finish line.

Those in the race, however, will be people with good eyes, ears, binoculars, a guidebook on birds, a torchlight, pen and notebook to record the birds they sight.

Jointly organised by Borneo Highlands Resort and Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), the Sarawak Bird Race returns for the third time with more activities and plenty of fun in store.

Deputy State Secretary Datuk Ose Murang, the event’s patron, said this year’s race would be held on a bigger scale and carry the tagline From the Sea to the Mountain.

He said the three-day event from Oct 8 would have teams of two trying to outdo each other in searching, identifying and recording the most number of bird species within a set time frame and location.

There will be a long race and a short race. The long race will be flagged off at Buntal beach on Oct 8 and will cover Kubah National Park, Semenggoh Wildlife Centre and Borneo Highlands Resort. The short race will be held only around Borneo Highlands Resort on Oct 10.

“The race is actually a fun event in which the participants, especially nature lovers, will seek bird species ranging from common and exotic to extremely rare at the four places.

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