Borneo Blog

A motion-triggered camera mounted deep in the Heart of Borneo forests of Sabah, the Malaysian state on Borneo island, has captured the image of a wild Borneo rhino, the only second such image captured in as many years.

WWF-Malaysia says  the rhino is different to the one previously photographed based on the body structure and size.

This one is believed to be a female.

There are only about 25 to 50 Borneo rhinos are thought to exist in Borneo, WWF says. It is a subspecies of the critically endangered Sumatran rhino.

The photo here is taken by Andrew Hearn and Joanna Ross of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit in the UK.

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.

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But the title of a YouTube clip says it is, see the screenshot below.

The 18-minute video clip, which has been viewed 21,000 times, is about the plight of orang utans in the Indonesian part of Kalimantan and how the great apes are losing their habitat due to the destruction of forests for oil palm plantation.

The clip, shot in Palangkaraya, also mentioned about Pony, the female orang utan that was used as sex slave at a brothel there.

The owner of the video clip ought to correct the title and change it to “Borneo Apes - Indonesia”.

[Sun Bear. Source: Wikipedia]

As if the plundering of tropical forest for its precious timber is not enough already to spoil the pristine Borneo jungle!

Rich businessmen or towkays in Sarawak, the biggest Malaysian state on Borneo Island, are paying good money to native trappers to trap endangered and exotic animals to be displayed in their homes — of all things — as status symbols.

Black market

The Star newspaper reported that the activity had also spawned black market for endangered animal in certain part of of the state.

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With fire hoses. According to Yomiuri Shimbun, two animal keepers at zoos in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture hope to help extinguish the threat facing orangutans in Malaysia with a novel item — old fire hoses.

Fire hoses may help save Borneo orangutans
By The Yomiuri Shimbun