BORNEO NATURAL HISTORY DANUM VALLEY, SABAH 2013 PART1

On the horizon to the east, the distant mountains begin to reveal their silhouette, as stars faded away with the waning night. The sun is rising at the edge of a huge anvil hammerhead cloud, the increasing light revealing below a primary forest layered in fog like a Chinese watercolor image. I was viewing this incredible view from an isolated observation tower on top of Bukit Atur Peak overlooking the wild Danum Valley Nature reserve in Sabah Borneo, Below I could hear the awakening sounds of the forest with aria melodies of bulbuls and the calls of gibbons below. One family member vocalized in a series of eerie ascending whoops, and another male answered a distance away. An unknown bird below me in a tree awakens, and gives a beautiful melodic sound that is joined by another, a wonderful beginning chorus of birds welcoming the light.

It was an amazing sight to behold, and to listen to as the forest came alive, a chorus of Gods amazing creation in the Bornean wilderness. The sun finally breaks at the edge of the large anvil, lighting up the layered mist below in gold, silver and mauve, and light rays break through the shadows of deep purple and blue cast mountains, transforming sunlit fog layers into layers and

wisps of golden angel hair.

The forest was alive with sound, and I wondered about the mysterious animals and birds below foraging in one of the last remaining primary forest left in Sabah Borneo: Pygmy elephants foraging in bamboo groves along a river, mud wallows left by the now extinct Sumatran rhino now growing over with sapling trees, the clouded leopard, banteng, sambar deer, and the largest of SE Asian apes, the Orangutan. Having once seen a part of Sabah 20 years ago in 1998, I was drawn to return and explore more of its forests in 2013.

Tropical Borneo captured my imagination, shared with naturalists and explorers before me who came centuries earlier to discover its unique plants and animals, including the great 19th century naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace. Wallace: “One of the principal reasons which induced me to come here was, that it is the country of those most strange and interesting animals, the Orangutans, or "mias" of the Dyaks.- Alfred Russell Wallace, 1855. It was his 8 years of exploring that helped him formulate his theories on natural selection, independent of Darwin. He was a true field scientist, who differed from Darwin. Historians have written Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was a naturalistic cover for an extreme materialistic philosophy borrowed as a youth from Edinburgh radicals. His work justified Britain’s elite to ignore Christian conscience and in their wealth deliberately choose to ignore the poor of London.

Wallace differed in that he adhered to intelligent evolution with an intelligent cause, a thoroughly teleological alternative to Darwin's stochastic processes. Wallace’ account was based upon very different formulations of natural selection that created a metaphysical clash of worldviews coextensive with modern evolutionary theory itself, design and purpose advocated by Wallace versus randomness and chance. As a scientist, I firmly agreed, but I accept scripture as truth and see the truth of a designed creation with purpose and structure.

Borneo is stunning for its verdant jungles, dramatic coastlines, and incredible biodiversity. Land and sea teem with exotic endemic species; many of which are endangered. Borneo is the third largest island in the world, second to Greenland and Papua New Guinea, and home to remarkable cultural and ecological diversity. Borneo remains remarkably varied with more than 30 ethnic groups, including Dayak and the elusive forest dependent Penan who still use spears and blowguns. It is host of notable species such as flying frogs, Bornean bearded pigs, smooth-coated otters, proboscis monkeys, hose's palm civet, the Dayak fruit bat, rhinoceros hornbills, and the world’s largest flower the parasitic

Rafflesia. Borneo is also under serious threat from logging, mining, and large-scale rubber and palm oil plantations.

Borneo, slightly larger than the state of Texas in the US, is the largest island in Asia, with Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia the highest peak at 4,095 m (13,435 ft). Before sea levels rose at the end of the Ice Age, Borneo was part of the mainland of Asia and along with Java and Sumatra was connected east with to present day Indochina. The South China Sea filled the former low-lying areas of the peninsula, isolating the islands. A deep oceanic trench separating Borneo from neighboring Sulawesi blocked any land connection to that island, a divide known as Wallace's Line that separates Asian from Australia-New Guinea biological regions. Sundaland, which included Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the smaller surrounding islands fauna share similar characteristics with the mainland Asia. The fauna includes like SE Asia, large species such as tiger, elephant, rhinoceros, Orangutan, and leopard. The Makassar Strait, between Borneo and Sulawesi, and the Lombok Strait, between Bali and Lombok, are the deep-water Wallace Line separators, marking the limit of the Sundaland region.

Borneo is very rich in biodiversity with about 15,000 species of flowering plants including 3,000 species of trees (267 species are dipterocarps), 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo. Borneo’s primate community is exceptionally rich and home to 10 primate species, including Orangutan, proboscis monkeys, which occur only in Borneo, two species of leaf monkey, two species of macaque, gibbons, as well as the large-eyed, nocturnal tarsier and slow Loris. The Orangutan occurs naturally on only two islands in the world, Borneo and Sumatra, the world’s sixth largest island, and is under increasingly severe pressure, primarily from habitat loss. The vegetation is also extremely dense: research on one 16-acre area of Borneo's lowland forest has recorded over 700 species of trees. In comparison, there are only 171 native tree species in all of eastern North America.

Danum Valley, Maliau Basin west of Danum separated by the kuamut River and logged forests

I left Singapore in late April and flew to Kota Kinabalu, and from here would fly the local Malaysia Air turbo prop connection to the NE corner of Sabah, the coastal town of Lahud Datu. It was only several months before I arrived that Philippine rebels beached their boats on the island near there to attack and attempted to take back their claim to the NE corner of Borneo. They were all shot and killed by the Malaysian army. I waited all late morning into early afternoon since the fight was delayed 5 hours because of mechanical reasons, but finally departed and arrived to Lahud Datu by late afternoon. Managed to find the Danum Valley Research center near the small airport to confirm my permit, then waited for their driver to pick me up. It was a great journey to leave the city, pass through extensive oil plantations and finally enter the forest. The outer buffer area was selectively logged, making a low impact on the forest, then the untouched conservation area. The dirt road ascended a steep ridge, which led to park headquarters and the research center compound. Registered, then in the intense heat of late afternoon set up my gear in a wooden dormitory.

Danum Valley Conservation Area (DVCA) is a vast reserve of lush tropical lowland forest rich in Sabah’s unique flora and fauna. The hot and humid jungle teems with a variety of towering tropical trees, lingering lianas, exotic orchids and overhanging epiphytes. Danum Valley is generally hilly but not mountainous. Its highest point is Mount Danum, of 1093 meters (3585 feet) in height. There are few

places on earth that can provide such an awe-inspiring spectacle of nature in its original, pristine state.

The Ulu Segama River that originates from Mt Danum to the north, and flows through tall primary forests of Dipterocarps through research center forming the eastern boundary of the conservation area before joining the Segama River. The Segama then joins the Danum River coursing through farmland and oil palm plantations before emptying into the sea at Lahud Datu. The Danum Valley Field Center was established as a facility for conducting research and supporting scientists in rainforest studies. I discovered it's one of the leading field centers in Southeast Asia, fully equipped with laboratories, researcher living quarters, dorms, camp grounds, and a cafeteria. I had much to explore and do here, as well as mix with several researchers doing work on the Mullerian gibbon, and interaction of ant communities in the forest. I would spend one morning before dawn in a tree-hide to observe birds and primates, hike to several waterfalls, and drive by 4x4 twice to the observation tower to encounter the sunrise from Bukit Atur peak. up a large Shorea tree. It took some work to climb until I finally entered the blind, then sat quietly watching the mist and fog shift amidst the enshrouded canopy.

Heard gibbons calling nearby, and unknown to me birds announcing their territories. The sunlight finally broke through the top of the trees and lighted up the mist covered canopy. Amidst the golden colored mist I heard leaves rustling and my eye caught a female Orangutan move towards a fruiting durian tree to feed. The fruit was green and spiked, the size of a large grapefruit. Orangutan love Durian.

The Bornean Orangutan Pongo pygmaeus is one of two subspecies, the other Sumatran subspecies together are the only great apes found in Asia. Orangutan means 'person of the forest' in Bahasa Indonesia or Malay. Sumatran Orangutans have a narrower face and longer beard than the Bornean species, and Bornean Orangutans are slightly darker in color with males developing wider cheek pads than their Sumatran relatives. Behavioral differences have also been observed between the species; Sumatran Orangutans are more frugivorous (fruit-eating) and have exhibited tool use. I have seen females wrap their hands in a glove of leaves to pick apart the spiny wild durian fruit in Genung Leuser. The Sumatran Orangutan Pongo abelii is found on the island of Sumatra but its range is restricted to in and around the Leuser Ecosystem, in Aceh and North Sumatra Provinces.

Bornean Orangutan female eating wild jackfruit, male, female, adult male with flange. Bornean gibbons have a darker maroon hair than the Sumatran Orangutan

Over 400 food types have been documented as part of the Orangutans’ diet, and although it consists mainly of fruit, in times of scarcity Orangutans will shift their eating habits to lower quality food, such as bark, leaves & termites, rather than travel to a different area. They love rambutan, durian fruit and wild jackfruit.

Both Sumatran and Bornean Orangutans maintain loose communities or clusters of males and females. Mother-infant bonds are the strongest and weaken with the offspring's age. Older flanged males do not tolerate each other, but they are tolerant of subadult males. Gunung Leuser in Sumatra supports a greater density and abundance of fruit than Borneo, and in turn this greater fruit density reduces competition, and a population of Orangutans that are more socially interactive. Sumatran Orangutans also can be prolific tool users and have been documented to use multiple types of tools, primarily for extracting food and protecting themselves from sun or rain. Tool use is most prevalent in populations where food is abundant and thus permits larger associations and high levels of social tolerance. This suggests that Orangutan tool use behavior is socially transmitted and represents an example of culture. Like the other apes, Sumatran Orangutans make night nests before going to sleep. The nests are arboreal and made of materials such as branches, leaves, and twigs.

Mullers Bornean gibbon. Both sexes same color, no sexual dimorphism, maroon langur (red leaf)

I hiked the 7 kilometer (4 miles) trail to Tembaling waterfalls afterwards, under clear skies with a few thunderheads beginning to build by late morning. Along the trail I heard, then discovered another Orangutan high in the canopy, a provost squirrel, a Mullerian gibbon, and a mouse deer watched me for a moment with large brown eyes, then quietly left through the understory. There are more than 120 species of mammals found here, including 10 species of primates that include the Orangutan, gibbon, and langurs. The Danum Conservation area has had no indigenous tribes, thus no history of hunting pressure which has created a sanctuary for large mammals including the Asian elephant, Banteng, Malayan sun bear, clouded leopard, bearded pig and 5 species of deer. The Sumatran rhino is now extinct in Borneo. Over 420 species of bird have been recorded including Bulwer's pheasant, 7 species of pitta, the Borneo Bristlehead and all 8 species of hornbill including the largest, the Rhinoceros hornbill.

I was awestruck by the forest, and passed many huge, large buttressed trees with expanded flanges of roots. Many were draped in entanglements of large lianas and vines as thick as my thigh, twisting and turning in spirals towards the canopy. This is a sign of an untouched primary forest. The iron rich tropical soils are shallow on the forest floor with most nutrients being leached out close to the surface. Both flower and leaf litter, and dead fallen trees are quickly consumed and broken down by fungi, insects, and other decomposers. The rapid decomposition of nutrients are immediately taken up by forest tree root fungal associations that quickly recapture back into the biomass of the forest. Because the nutrients are close to the surface, roots of most trees normally don't grow deep. Some tree species have adapted by growing buttressed roots up to 30 ft high, or stilt roots which hang down from their trunks and branches. Most species of trees that dominate are known in the family of dipterocarps. Silvery Gibbons Hylobates moloch live their entire lives in the high canopies of the dipterocarp forests, never descending to the ground. Their survival depends on the dipterocarp and fig trees which house and feed them throughout the year.

Borneo is the biological center world capital of dipterocarps, trees with large two-winged fruits that grow in tropical lowlands and tend to be “emergents,” rising singly above the canopy. Borneo has 380 of the 500 species in existence. 250 are endemic, found only on Borneo, including Shorea faguetana, the tallest tropical tree in the world reaching 290 feet. Ten of the emergent dipterocarp species have beautiful, hard wood and are sought after by the logging companies. In peninsular Malaysia, Dipterocarps account for 57% of forest trees in the canopy. But in Sarawak, dipterocarps comprise even more of the emergent and canopy layer at 75%. Every 10 years more or less, there will be a mast flowering event in certain areas of the forest, where dipterocarp trees all flower and fruit simultaneously. The “trigger” for such an event has been speculated to be a period of drought and sunspot activity. When such mast flowering occurs, the forest canopy is transformed into a brilliant mosaic of yellow, brown, orange and even purple, all in varying shades of color.

I passed a huge white barked tree with a massive trunk, and 40 meters up large spreading limbs, and identified it immediately as the tualang Koompassia excelsa which can reach heights of 280 feet. It is the 3rd tallest tree species in the world, and is almost never cut down because of its hard wood and massive buttresses. But most importantly it is home to large honey bees Apis dorsata whose honeycombs hang like enormous wedges from the underside of its branches. This is the sun bears favorite food, and will endure climbing and being stung to remove parts of the honey comb.

The forest floor was dark sprinkled with some shrubs, but mostly gingers on the forest floor that were in bloom with red flowers. I passed a black headed pitta foraging on the forest floor, robin sized bird with stubby tail, with black head and back, metallic blue coloration on the black wing, and a bright crimson breast. They are less arboreal but instead a terrestrial group of birds that forage on the forest floor and eat snails, insects

and similar invertebrate prey. Pittas are mostly solitary and lay up to six eggs in a large spherical nest in a tree or shrub, or sometimes on the ground.

Sweating from the climb up the trail, discovered many leeches working up my leg past the leech socks to find bare skin. I have always hated leeches and was thankful that South American rainforests are leech free. Got to the waterfall, a refreshing invitation in the forest of a wonderful pool of cold amber mountain

water in the heat of the day. After picking leeches off my boots and pants, I enjoyed the plunge, and afterwards rested in a shaft of sunlight streaming through the trees. Distant thunder echoed through the forest as large anvils were building up overhead. Watched several large Raja Brooke’s birdwing butterfly with black and metallic green wings fly up and down in the stream, often alighting on the clay bank to sip salts. Such a peaceful place.

The thunder and now lightening flashes were building and I knew it was time to head back before the downpour, but I was too late to escape. Within a few kilometers a heavy downpour was unleashed, but I enjoyed the refreshing rain without rain gear, but had my cameras wrapped in plastic in my rucksack. Great mood of the rain walking back 7 kilometers (4 miles) back to camp, but picked up many leeches on the way from overhead plants, and on the ground. Several had their blood meal undetected on in my armpit and back of my neck.

That afternoon I dried out soaked cloths in the main veranda, watching sunbirds move in and out of the flowers. Here I met a group of interesting college students from a Christian University in North Carolina who were on a field trip. We shared about evolution versus the greater evidence of design, and I witnessed about my graduate school experience challenging my faith in God’s word, then countered with the real evidence of design. I retired as a senior ecologist/ scientist working with salmon restoration projects and studies in Puget Sound. I also had taught biology, physics and chemistry, and enjoyed greatly sharing my experiences with students, trying to challenge them to think critically and be truth seekers whatever the outcome. I had spent my lifetime learning the ecosystems of arctic, tropical and temperate forests worldwide, and could see clearly the hand of God in every discipline from the molecular level to macro, clear evidence there is a Teleological explanation, a philosophical doctrine that final causes, design, and purpose exist in nature. I believed in scripture of the Bible, and that God created the amazing design and interdependence of ecosystems, whether ocean, tropical or temperate. Great discussions of their thoughts on Darwinism failing to explain complexity, and the little known fact that Alfred Wallace believed in Intelligent Design.

Pygmy Asian elephant near camp, sambar female with yearlings

Asian pygmy elephant, sambar, Black squirrel, sun bear (captive) bearded pig, clouded leopard, squirrel, Tarsier

That evening I walked about on several trails, just missing a pygmy elephant and her calf at the edge of the compound with only a glimpse of a hind end as they crashed through the forest. Further up the trail on a grass clearing encountered a large group of sambar, both males and females with young. They interestingly had a large gland on their necks which oozed some sort of oil? Also encountered several huge bearded pigs, one that just hung around the camp and fed on scraps from the small restaurant. And there were many insects, cicadas, katydids and praying mantids that imitate leave patterns. I learned about a rarely seen Wallace’s flying frog that territorial and perched above a pond off a trail north of the compound and would investigate it at night, observed the large and solitary ponerine jumping ants, weaver ants that from nests with leaves, and army ants on the march having just raided a termite colony with termite larva in their jaws. Also observed a Maroon Langur feeding above the nature trail and the Greater Mouse Deer that common near camp, as were Malay Civets and Bornean Slow Lorises, the latter seen at night. There were also the usual squirrels: Prevost’s, Pygmy, Cream Giant, Red Giant Flying Squirrels, Leopard Cats, and many

species of tree shrews that include Plain Tree shrew and the Large Tree shrew Tupaia tana. Most are secretive and difficult to see.

At dark I was determined to find a flying frog, and a tarsier, and explored trails with my headlamp on my own along the trails. Upriver I discovered a tarsier feeding on a katydid, territorial near its home in a large buttressed tree, a greenl lizard on a trunk, and a colorful Oriental dwarf kingfisher roosting on a vine overhead of the trail with

brilliant red beak and metallic blue back that seemed to glow from my headlamp. Finally, I found the large pond at the edge of the trail, with an overhanging tree sapling. Stagnant pools of water in the Borneo rainforest serve as important breeding grounds for many tree frogs which gather around in great numbers, a fact that some predators such as cat eyed

snakes take advantage of. Searching carefully with my headlamp, I finally found the reflection of large yellow eyes from a large green Wallace’s flying frog. It was sitting motionless over the water on a branch, and upon closer look could see its large webbed feet. Amazing to know that it is found in the mating time over water, which it then will lay eggs in the pool below it. Flying frogs have the ability to glide as a result of large and fully webbed feet, and aerodynamic flaps of skin on the arms and legs. Borneo has at least three other species of flying frogs. And there were myriads of insectivorous bats sweeping for insects through openings in the trail, spotted a large fishing owl perched above the river, and many katydids active at night along with the whine of crickets. I love the forest as it comes alive at night and during the early morning at daybreak.

All ecosystems are tremendously interconnected, especially tropical rainforests. , with countless mutualistic relationships, from ant pollinators and distributers of seeds, to plants with fruits and seeds only able to germinate after passing through the gut of an elephant, to bats and insects. Dawn Bats are the prime pollinators of the durian tree, and hundreds of fig species have their own species of pollinating wasp Agaoninae spp, without which they would quickly fade into extinction and visa versa. Links within the tropical rainforest ecosystem extend to thousands of plants which support mammals and birds. If a keystone species is eliminated, additional losses will be triggered and create a dominoes effect of extinctions.

The next morning proved to be clear and we were woken up at 5 am to leave by the DVC 4x4 pickup to Bukit Atur Peak that overlooks Danum Valley. Several other guests and two students joined me in the back of the open bed pickup and drove along a dirt road in the dark. Within a kilometer the

headlights intercepted a family of Asian elephants crossing the road, and several trumpeted and charged through a huge bamboo thicket. All we saw at the end were elephant rear ends disappearing in the light of our headlamps. Amazing to see how they plough through such thick vegetation leaving a wide bulldozed swath behind. Asian elephants can be dangerous if encountered on foot and can charge if your too close. There have been people killed in the past in the campground.

Continued driving slowly through the forest shining our spotlights into the canopy. Our guide was the first to spot a palm civet, then a colugo on a tree before we took the side road that wound up to the observation tower at Bukit Atur. We got a quick glimpse of Malay Civet and a Thomas’s Flying Squirrel. Once at the observation tower the predawn light began to fill the forest. Everyone was now silent, and I climbed to a position on the tower alone and drank in the distant mountain scene, while layers of fog shifted and closed in the valleys, before being touched by golden sunlight. Sunrise was spectacular, and it gave me a rare glimpse into the beauty of the Bornean rainforest.

I returned to camp inspired, and while still early morning I began a new 4-5 hour

Prut waterfall, rhinocerous hornbill, the largest hornbill in Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia

trek up the Danum Mountain trail that ascends the Ulu Sagamu River, then winds steeply up a forest trail to Prut waterfalls. Once there it turned out to be a spectacular waterfall that drops 20 meters (66 feet) in height. Again, listening to the cascading falls, I stopped to eat my lunch on a large moss-covered boulder to rest, reflect and relax. No rain today, and it felt good to not have to fight so many leeches on the trail. It was a wonderful day to have explored more primary forest, and descending, I disturbed a pair of large Rhinoceros hornbills that flew overhead high in the canopy. Passed under a huge kompassia tree, a large emergent over 90 meters high (298 feet) with a large series of hanging bee hives in crescent shape. This would be sought after by the sun bear that forages on ants, termites, and when it can find bees, honey.

I found many orchids in the trees, but only one was in bloom with small white flowers. Borneo sustains an incredibly extensive and diversity of orchids, over 3,000 species, more than anywhere else on Earth. Botanists have in the past few years discovered 37 new orchid species, accounting for most of the 51 new orchids discovered or described on the entire island since the beginning of 2007 such as Thrixspermum erythrolomum found on Gunung Trus Madi, south of Kinabalu, Malaysia’s second highest mountain at 2,642m (8,752 feet). This mountain is well known to support a diverse range of unique flora and fauna

Danum Valley is but a small piece of preserved National Parks, including the nearby and remote Maliau Basin that has earned the nickname “Sabah’s lost world”. Borneo has documented about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees (267 species are dipterocarps), 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds. There are about 440 freshwater fish species in Borneo (about the same as Sumatra and Java combined). In 2010, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) stated that 123 species have been discovered since, but vast tracts of its interior are yet to be biologically explored. The Heart of Borneo, an ‘island within an island’ is home to 10 species of primate, more than 350 birds, 150 reptiles and amphibians and a staggering 10,000 plants that are found nowhere else in the world.

Insect diversity is also profound, such as the discovery of an enormous stick insect found near Gunung Kinabalu park, Sabah, measures 56.7cm (almost 2 feet). Despite its size, very little is known about its biology but known to inhabit

the high rainforest canopy making it especially elusive and difficult to study. Also known as ‘Chan’s megastick’ after the scientist that donated this particular specimen to the Natural History Museum in London, this species is the current title holder for a number of world records. In addition to being the world’s longest insect, the species also wins the insect world record for the longest body, with only three specimens, all from the Heart of Borneo. Borneo has long been known as an exciting hub for monster insects, not least the giant cockroaches that measure 10cm in length and were only discovered in 2008.

Descending back to camp along the trail, I passed a pangolin hole and although I spent several nights looking for civets, tarsiers and pangolins, came up lacking on the latter. Pangolin look similar to the scaly anteater, and according to TRAFFIC, are the most common species poached mammal in international trade, with animals being taken from all across Asia to meet the demand for bush meat and use in traditional medicine in China. Demand is greatest for the scales. Made of keratin, like fingernails and rhino horn, pangolin scales are used as a treatment for a range of ailments from rheumatism and arthritis, to reducing swelling and discharging pus. Pangolin meat is also popular and said to have general health benefits. The meat from pangolin fetuses is considered a delicacy.

My week quickly passed and on my last day I spent the morning on the suspension bridge over the river meditating, enjoying the beauty of the forest with wisps of mist hanging in the canopy until the sun dissipated its grandeur. I watched a huge, 3-meter monitor lizard emerge out of the forest that found by scent a hind quarter of a dead sambar that had washed down. It fed on the rancid meat, then dragged the prize into the water, and swam down river only to disappear. So much life here, much of it hidden from view. I regretted I had to leave, and grateful for the staff and guides that had such enthusiasm for Danum. Said my goodbyes, then returned by 4x4 to Lahud Datu after an amazing week of

Clockwise: harlequin flying frog, frogs unknown, millipede, horned frog, black and red broadbill

Top Right to left: Green broadbill, black crested bulbul, helmeted hornbill. Bornean fireback pheasant, crested serpentine eagle, argus pheasant, blue headed pitta, honeycreeper, Diards trogon, streaked spiderhunter, blackbird, blue eared kingfisher, Bornean fireback pheasant

Atlas moth, Lyaenid hairstreak, large birdwing butterfly, katydid leaf mimic, katydid, katydid, termite tube, orthopteran stick insects, praying mantid, praying mantid, termite nest, uranus moth, Orchid Bulbophyllum lobbii, Orchid Bulbophyllum lobbii, Orchid Bulbophyllum longiflorum

Golden fishhook ant (Polyrhachis bihamata), ponerine jumping ant Harpegnathos sp., Ponerine ant, praying manids, longhorn beetle Danum Valley

Orchid Thecopus maingayi, orchid Maliau Basin Sabah, unknown plant Maliau basin, pitcher plant Maliau basin, Rambutan, fruit loved by Orangutan

Wild Durian, jackfruit both loved by Orangutan, pitcher plant Maliau basin, Lizard

Reticulated python, vine snake, Green tree lizard

Danum Valley, Sabah Borneo sunrise

Maliau Basin west of Danum Valley

Maliau Basin abundant stepped waterfalls, a conserved area west of Danum Valley