Borneo Blog

Motion-sensitive cameras have captured images of a highly elusive Bornean Clouded Leopard in its natural habitat in Sebangau National Park in South Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo Island.

A team of researchers from Oxford University set up 22 remote cameras, of which one of them captured the Bornean Clouded Leopard, the smallest of the big cats.

BBC reported that the cat was first classified as a separate species in 2007 after genetic testing highlighted at least 40 differences from clouded leopards found on mainland Asia.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph quoted Dr Susan Cheyne, from the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University’s Department of Zoology, as saying that, “These cats are extremely elusive and shy.”

“If they are surviving in an area that has had extensive disturbance from mankind and logging then it is very positive. As the level of disturbance in the park decreases then we hope they will do well.

“They also provide a good indicator of the health of the forest as cloud leopards are the largest predator in Borneo. If there was insufficient prey, they would not be able to survive.” [Source]

Bornean clouded leopards are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and there are thought to be around 10,000 of them left in the wild.

With long bodies and short limbs, clouded leopards are expert tree climbers. They feed on monkeys, birds and wild pigs.

They also have the largest canine teeth relative to their body size compared to any other cat.

Professor David MacDonald, director of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, said: “The Bornean clouded leopard is a top priority for our programme, and we are very excited by this evidence that they occur at Sebangau - a great deal remains to be discovered about these beautiful felids, which are a flagship for conservation in South East Asia.”

The team also captured pictures of endangered Orang-utans, gibbons, the mysterious Sun bear and other smaller cats such as the marbled cat and flat-headed cat.

It’s all numbers and logical consequences. If the rate of decline is faster than the rate of replenishment, you’ll eventually end up with the number zero.

That has been the case with Orang Utan population. It has been on the decline in the past decades at a free falling rate — whether in Borneo and in Sumatra — over the past few decades.

A latest study indicated that the rate of decline may have been sharper due to numerous reason.

(more…)

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has extended the certification of the Deramakot Forest Reserve, Malaysia’s pioneer sustainable forest management area, as a well-managed forest for a further 15 years, reports the New Straits Times.

The re-certification, from April 21 this year to April 20, 2013 had made the 55,000-hectare reserve the longest certified rainforest in the world.

It was the first rainforest to have received the certification in 1997.

About Forest Stewardship Council

The FSC was set up in 1993 in the aftermath of the Earth Summit 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. It is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organisation established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.

How does FSC certification make a difference in the world’s forests?

The FSC says in its website:

“All FSC certified forests must comply with FSC’s rules about how the forests should and should not be managed. When a forester decides to become FSC certified, he or she will make changes to comply with the relevant FSC requirements and become FSC certified. This is how FSC has a direct and permanent positive impact on the world’s forests and the people living from, in and around the forest.” [Source]

There you go. It looks like there is still hope for Borneo forest afterall, particularly the forest on the Sabah part of the island.

FSC General Assembly 2008

The FSC is now inviting participants to its General Assembly 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa on November 3-7 2008.

The FSC General Assembly, held every three years, is FSC’s highest decision-making body. I shall be keeping a close watch on the proceedings and see how it could affect our beloved island Borneo.

It would be good if I can attend the meeting as part of the media though. Just wishful thinking.

Dear Daniel,

I write in relation to the former government’s undertaking to the Australian Orang-utan Project to provide $200,000 in grant funding to support the work of the orang-utan units in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Unfortunately, there is no funding program available to support this activity.”

– Australia’s Environment Minister Peter Garrett. [Source]

A male orang utan was captured on camera trying to spear a fish. The scene was captured on an island called Kaja, off central Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo.

Kaja Island, located about 40km from central Kalimantan capital of Palangka Raya, also has facilities to rehabilitate the orang utan.

The image is part of several images in a new book titled “Thinkers Of The Jungle” by Gerd Schuster, Willie Smits and Jay Ullal, published this month by Ullmann Publishing.

Amazon.com says of the book:

“We all recognize these highly intelligent and impressive animals - orangutans. But very few people know anything about their habits and how they live.

Around 6,000 of these animals die every year; they are among the world’s most endangered species. This book reveals the truth abouth the tragedy besetting the jungles of Borneo and Sumatra.

The breathtaking and moving photographs cannot fail to trigger a strong emotional reaction on the part of the reader.”

By the way, have you ever tried to catch a fish using a spear? I had.

In my case, it was not a spear but rather a sharpened bamboo pole. But that was when I was small in the 80’s.

I remember catching a small stingray at the Bak Bak Beach in Kudat, Sabah — the northern Borneoan state of Malaysia — using a tiny bamboo pole.

Unlike other type of fish, stingrays are easy to strike, especially baby stingrays.

They would just glide in shallow water and hide under the sand. All you need to do is to thrust the spear at the right spot and you’d catch yourself a baby stingray.

Remote camera planted in Bintulu, Sarawak in Borneo have captured the picture of two Malayan sun bears, the first such discovery in Malaysia.

The Star newspaper reported that:

Two brown Malayan sun bears caught on a remote camera in a planted forest zone in Bintulu Division are believed to be the first such discovery in Malaysia and Borneo.

Sun bears found in Malaysia and Borneo were black in colour, said Grand Perfect Sdn Bhd conservation department’s project officer Belden Giman.

(more…)

The Borneo pygmy elephant — long thought to be native of Borneo, the third largest island in the world — may not be endemic to the island afterall.

According to a new publication, the small-size elephant which is found only in Borneo — in particular Sabah, the Malaysian state on north Borneo — could be the last survivor of the Javan elephant race which is already extinct from its original habitat on the Indonesian island of Java.

Elephants as gifts between rulers

And the Sultan of Sulu — not the current one, but his forefather several centuries ago — might have played a role in bringing the elephant to his once sprawling Sulu sultanate.

WWF quoted Shim Phyau Soon, a retired Malaysian forester, as saying that the Sultan of Sulu might have brought the elephants as gifts between rulers.

WWF reported that:

(more…)

A frog without lungs, found in 2007 in an undisclosed location on Borneo Island, is making waves around the world since the past few two weeks. This frog practically jumps around the Internet, leaving a trail of oohs and aahs.

(more…)

Here’s a picture of one of the most mysterious plants on Borneo Island. It’s called The Nephentes, known locally as periuk kera or the bowl of the monkeys.