Category Archives: Wildlife

See cool and weird animals of Sabah Borneo

Turtle Islands Park, the Best Turtle Sanctuary of Borneo

About 110 million years ago, when dinosaurs were ruling the Earth, a marine creature has existed in the ocean. They survived the predation of Megalodon (a 20-metre-long, the biggest extinct shark) and live until today. It’s the sea turtle, some species can live more than 100 years old.

You can see three stages of turtle life on Selingan Island

However, without any protection, human can wipe out this ancient animal in 20 years. Luckily, sea turtles are fully protected in Sabah, as well as their main nesting grounds in Sulu Sea, the Turtle Islands Park, which is about 40 kilometers to the north of Sandakan of Sabah (Malaysia).

Two sea turtle species of Sabah. Left: Green Turtle (*Chelonia mydas*). Right: Hawksbill Turtle (*Eretmochelys imbricata*). Can you spot their differences? (Photo Credit: Green turtle by Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble, Hawksbill Turtle by Tchami)

Turtle Islands Park comprises the islands of Selingan (8.1ha), Gulisaan (1.6ha) and Bakkungaan Kecil (8.5ha), covering a protected area of some 1,740 hectares, of which 18.2 hectares are on land while 1,721.8 hectares at sea.

Beach of Selingan Island protected by reef balls (to stop beach erosion)

Only Selingan Island, which provides accommodation and basic facilities, is open to tourists, who will witness three stages of a turtle life by looking at the hatchery for the eggs, releasing of hatchlings and nesting of mother turtles in close distance.

Why Protect Sea Turtles?

Turtles don’t beat up villains like what Ninja Turtles do, but they are unsung heroes of maintaining a healthy coral reef ecosystem and food chain balance in the ocean. For example, a Leatherback Sea Turtle can consume 200 kg of jellyfish a day. Green turtles graze on seagrass to stop the overgrown sea meadows that obstruct the sunlight to seabed.

Sea turtles have existed on earth for over 100 million years. But human can wipe them out in one or two generations. Then our children only can see this ancient animal in an aquarium.

Sea Turtles are also the important assets of tourism in Sabah. Diving with gentle sea turtles is one of the most exciting experience, and scuba divers can see more than 10 turtles whenever they dive at Sipadan Island, the top dive sites of Malaysia.

Sea turtles are also important for tourism because tourists love to see them, especially scuba divers

Unfortunately, all seven species of sea turtles are on the endangered list (IUCN Red List). Four of the seven extant species of marine turtles occur in Malaysia (leatherback, green turtle, hawksbill and olive ridley). Selingan Island is a safe haven for the endangered green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).

A Painful Lesson

In the 1950s, about 10,000 leatherback turtle nesting were recorded annually in Terengganu state. Nevertheless, in 1980s, I had been hearing bad things such as people turned the turtles over, sat on them to take pictures and even took their eggs. The mother turtles couldn’t lay their eggs in peace, the consequence is no more landing of leatherbacks there after 2006.

Nesting trends of sea turtles in Sabah and Terengganu. Left: Leatherback turtles in Terengganu. Right: Green and Hawksbill Turtles in Turtle Islands Park of Sabah. Without conservation, leatherback turtle is extinct in Peninsular Malaysia.

Terengganu government tried to curb the collection of turtle eggs in 2005 but it’s too late too little. Though leatherback is sighted occasionally after 2015, there is no hope to recover the past glory as one of the world’s largest nesting grounds of leatherback turtles. WWF Malaysia states that the leatherback turtle population in Malaysia has plummeted by more than 99 percent since the 1960s.

Four species of sea turtles found in Malaysia are Leatherback turtle, Green turtle, Hawksbill turtle and Olive ridley turtle. They are all endangered species. In Sabah, they are fully protected by laws (Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997). Offender could face a fine of up to RM250,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

Therefore, it’s significant that Sabah gazetted Turtle Island Parks as a turtle sanctuary on 1 Oct 1977, which stops the declining trend of green and hawksbill turtles population in Sabah.

Visit Selingan Island

Selingan, the turtle island of Sabah, is the place where turtles and tourists meet. To visit Selingan Island, visitors need to contact Crystal Quest (Website: turtleisland.com.my, Facebook: Turtleislandresortsandakan, Phone (Whatsapp): +60 11-51665923) to book a 2-day-1-night tour, which is a full board package that covers land / sea transportation, permit, accommodation and meals.

Sabah Parks jetty in Sandakan City is the departure point to the Turtle Islands Park (Selingan)

Turtle Islands Park is managed by Sabah Parks, but they are focus on conservation and offload the tour booking and activities to Crystal Quest. The island sets a limit of maximum 50 tourists per day, so the tour to Selingan is always full. You better book this popular trip a few months in advance.

The main office and dining hall on Selingan Island

The Itinerary in Brief:
9:15am Register at Sabah Parks jetty
10:00am Depart to Selingan by boat
11:15am Arrive Selingan, check-in and have lunch
6:30pm Visit Exhibition Hall
7:30pm Dinner. After that wait for turtle landing and releasing of hatchlings
Day 2
7:00am Check-out, breakfast and leave Selingan

Only Selingan Island has chalets for tourists

The peak nesting months for Green turtle are from April to August, and for the Hawksbill turtle is between January to June. Overall, for Selingan the peak time is during April – August. Turtle landing on Selingan is almost guaranteed every day, so you don’t really need to pick a best time to visit.

You can watch this video for a quick overview of the tour to Selingan

Note: It’s a family and muslim friendly tour. English is spoken for non-Malaysian tourists.

The Turtle Hatchery

The first thing that you would notice on Selingan Island is the turtle hatchery zones with thousand of turtle nests fenced by green mesh net, which keeps away the predators such as monitor lizards, rodents and crabs. A well-protected nest has a hatch rate of above 80%.

Turtle hatchery on Selingan Island. The temperature determines the gender of the hatchlings, so part of them are placed under the shade, which provides higher chance to hatch male turtles.

The first turtle hatchery was built on Pulau Selingaan in 1966, followed by Pulau Bakkungan Kecil and Pulau Gulisaan in 1968. But the hatchery on the smallest island, Gulisaan, closed in 2015 due to beach erosion.

The total number of turtle eggs collected in the Turtle Islands Park from 1979 to 2016 is 22,449,572 eggs, namely 10,428,711 (46%) on Selingan Island, 6,381,682 (28%) on Bakkungan Kecil Island, and 5,629,179 (25%) on Gulisaan Island.

Tourists looking at their adopted turtle nests. You can participate in the Turtle Nest Adoption Program by donating RM100 to adopt a turtle nest.

The sex of baby turtles depends on the nest temperature. Warmer nests can lead to hatching of more female babies, while cooler nests lead to more males, so you would see some hatcheries are placed under the cooler shade. Without such measure, overwhelming majority of the hatchlings would be female due to global warming.

You can adopt a turtle nest. Your name will be labelled on the nest that you adopt.

Turtle Nest Adoption Program

You can adopt a turtle nest at RM100 (about USD27). Each sponsor will receive the following as an appreciation:

Have your name displayed on the nest’s label
A certificate of adoption
A Turtle Nest Adoption T-Shirt

You will be informed via e-mail when the eggs in your adopted nest hatch.

Other Turtle Hatcheries in Sabah

The combined island size of Turtle Islands Park is only 18.2 hectares, which is smaller than Manukan Island (20.6 hectares). We can save more turtles if we build more hatcheries because Sabah has 394 islands and nearly 1,000 miles of coastline.

Turtle hatcheries of Lankayan (left) and Sipadan Island (right)

In fact, some Sabah islands such as Libaran, Lankayan, Mabul, Mataking, Sipadan and Dinawan have small turtle hatcheries built under the support of resorts, government and local communities. For example, Libaran Island has released more than 42,000 baby turtles since 2010.

Accommodation on Selingan

A few chalets are available for tourists. Most of the rooms are twin standard bed room, which is clean and comfortable, so is the attached bathroom cum toilet. Electricity is available 24 by 7 to power the air conditioning and ceiling fan. Towel and shower gel are provided.

Twin bedroom and attached bathroom of Selingan Turtle Island Chalet. Towel, shower gel, air-conditioning, ceiling fan and toilet are provided.

Beach of Selingan

The beautiful white sandy beach of Selingan is a bonus of the tour. The beach is kept in clean and pristine state, the way mother turtles love it. What turtles need is just a simple and natural beach for nesting. Sadly, nowadays most beaches are either having too many rubbish or people.

Left: site map of Selingan Island, Right: No nudity warning sign at the beach

After lunch you will have plenty of free and easy time until dinner time. It takes less than an hour to walk one around of the island. North side of the island is rocky shore, so I only explored the sandy beach. I saw hundred of holes dug by the turtles for laying eggs, and the tyre-like tracks they left on the beach.

Monitor lizard and Philippine megapode are two common residents on Selingan Island

Do apply mosquito repellent before you walk in the wood. The three most common animals on Selingan are the roaming monitor lizards (harmless unless provoked), Philippines megapodes (or Tabon scrubfowl) busy scratching soil for food, and hermit crabs (most active at night).

The sandy beach and rocky beach on Selingan Island

The favourite afternoon activity of tourists is snorkeling (gears available for rent on Selingan). Only the beach on the east side of Selingan is open for tourists to swim and snorkel because of the calm and shallow sea. There are life guards on duty at the beach from 8:30am to 5:30pm. You can sunbathe in sexy bikini, but no topless and nude please.

Left: snorkeling on Selingan Island. Right: sea cucumbers. There are probably thousand of sea cucumbers in the shallow sea of Selingan.

From the beach, you can see Lihiman and Great Bakkungaan Islands of the Philippines only 6 Kilometres away. They are the “Philippines side” of the turtle island park. Turtle island parks from Malaysia and Philippines establishes the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area (TIHPA), the world’s first transborder programme between two countries to conserve sea turtles and their habitats in the Sulu Sea since May 1996.

You can see the islands of Philippines from Selingan. They are also part of the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area (TIHPA), the world’s first trans-border protected area for marine turtle. Left: Lihiman Island, Right: Great Bakungan Island at the left and Pulau Bakkungaan Kecil (of Sabah) at the right

The sea water is crystal clear and inviting to beachgoers who want to swim between Malaysia and Philippines water. The sea floor is rocky so a pair of water shoes would help. I saw hundred of sea cucumbers near the shore. The corals and macro lives in deeper water are spectacular. During low tide, avoid snorkel too close to the sharp corals or you would risk getting cut.

Exhibition Hall

No walking on the beach is allowed after 6pm, as the turtles would land anytime. You may visit the small exhibition hall, which is open from 6:30pm to 9pm. Some photographs, specimens and skeleton of marine animals such as turtle, dolphin and giant seashells are displayed.

The labels and information are written in Malaysian and English, for you to learn about the sea turtles and the conservation projects of Turtle Islands Park. This short visit is a good time filler before dinner. Halal / Muslim-friendly food is served. If you are a vegetarian, you can inform the operator of your food preference in advance.

Turtle Nesting

After dinner at 7:30pm, everyone was asked to sit and wait in the dining hall for the highlight activity. Based on the landing records from 1981 to 2016 of the Park, a total of 85,870 unique turtles have been marked involving 81,149 (94.5%) green turtles and 4,721 (5.5%) hawksbill turtles. The Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) rarely comes here (only 6 landing).

After dinner, tourists wait in the dining hall for the tour to see nesting turtle

The number of turtle landings at the Turtle Island Park has increased to between 6,000 to 15,000 annually since 1991. The highest number of turtle landing was 15,219 nests in 2011. It’s safe to say that Turtle Islands Park is one of the most important nesting sites for green turtles in the world.

Green Turtles lay about 120 eggs while a Hawksbill can lay up to 160 eggs on average. Batches of 50 – 80 eggs are the most common.

The wait took less than an hour. Around 8pm, the ranger brought us to the beach where mother turtle nested. It’s only a 10-minute walk, but we were so enthusiastic and brisk walking behind the dim flash light of the rangers. We were requested to keep quiet and turn off our torch, or the excessive noise and light would stress the sensitive mother turtle and turn it away.

Nesting pits dug by the sea turtles for laying their eggs on the beach. These holes are everywhere on the sandy beach of Selingan Island.

By the time we got there, a green turtle had already dug a 16-inch-deep hole in the sand near vegetation line (above high water mark) and started laying eggs. We gathered around the turtle and looking at clutch of ivory-color and perfectly round eggs being laid into the pit.

Tourists gather next to the nesting site of a mother turtle

Everyone was given turn to shoot photos (extra torch, flash light and video taking are prohibited) so we didn’t need to elbow others to move to the front for the best angle. But we still need to keep a distance from the turtle.

The nesting usually takes 30 to 60 minutes. The clutch size varies between 40 – 200 eggs but batches of 50 – 80 are the most common. After the mother turtle was done with nesting, the ranger collected her fresh eggs into a bucket.

The fresh turtle eggs look like ping-pong balls. They are transferred to the turtle hatchery for better protection.

We followed the ranger to the turtle hatchery, where he buried the new turtle eggs for incubation. The nest is labelled with date, clutch size and serial number. These are what rangers do until dawn when they find new nests during night patrol.

Releasing Baby Turtles

The next program is the releasing of baby turtles to the wild. Turtle eggs take about two months to hatch. Once they emerge from the sand, the ranger will put them in a basket ready for releasing at night later.

Newly hatched baby turtles got photographed by excited tourists before their release

Everyone walked to the beach. The baby turtles were so cute and we were in a photo frenzy. Before the release, we were instructed to stand still because the small turtles would run all over the beach and around our feet.

A sleeping sea turtle can remain underwater for 4 to 7 hours

The ranger pointed the torch to the sea, to guide the hatchlings to enter the water. Baby turtles normally use the brightest horizon as clues to find the ocean. Artificial lights would distract them from finding their way, so coastal reclamation is a threat to their habitat.

You might ask, isn’t it easier to pour them all into the water? Sea turtles can sense the Earth’s magnetic field and use it as an internal compass. Release them on the beach would help them to register the magnetic signature of their birthplace, so they will come back to lay eggs in future.

Releasing of baby turtles on the beach. The female turtles would come back to the same beach to lay eggs after 20 years.

During their lifetime, sea turtles will travel thousands of miles across the oceans. It’s remarkable that adult turtles can use the Earth’s magnetic field as a global GPS to navigate back home for laying eggs.

Daily scoreboard of records on turtle landing and number of eggs collected. (GT = Green Turtle, HB = Hawksbill Turtle)

About 22 million hatchlings from over 315,000 turtle nests have been released into the sea from 1979 up to 2023 (1st quarter) in Turtle Islands Park (94% are green turtles, 6% are Hawksbills). The number is impressive but only one in 1,000 hatchlings would survive to adulthood. Every egg counts.

Starry sky of Selingan Island, which is free of air and light pollution

The releasing is the last activity of our tour. Most of the light was off and we were not permitted to wander near the beach until 6am next day, to avoid disturbing the landing of turtles. Without light pollution, the starry sky on Selingan was stunning. Many hermit crabs crawled out in the night. It’s funny but worrying to see that many hermit crabs used plastic waste as their shelter instead of normal seashells.

Hermit crabs use plastic waste as their shelters. This bizarre adaptation is getting common as more beaches are polluted.

People told me that Selingan Island is haunted. The rangers also shared some paranormal activities that they experienced during night patrol. Sometimes they heard people whispering but there was nobody around. One of the most terrifying story is – they saw huge shadow of turtle stood up in the sea. I’m not sure if these are fake stories to discourage tourists from going to the beach at night. I’ll leave it to you to find out. I had a good sleep there anyway.

Before we left Selingan next morning, we caught the nice sunrise view over the Philippines islands. Overall, this is a leisure and educational tour that I would highly recommend to someone who love turtles and tropical islands.

What to Bring

The following are some necessary or useful items for the trip:

Sunblock lotion / spray
Sunglasses & hat
Swimwear or beachwear (e.g. swimsuit, bikini, rough guard)
Beach mat
Cash
Passport / MyKad
Water in refillable bottle
Insect repellent
Light clothing (e.g. T-Shirt, short)
Slipper / Sandal
Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash, soap, shampoo, toilet paper)
Camera & spare batteries / memory cards
Mobile / Cell phone and charger
Portable power bank and charging cable
Torch / Flashlight
Optional: dry bag (water-proof), goggles, waterproof casing for phone / camera, snorkelling gears (mask, snorkel, fins, life vest), water shoes, personal medicines

Note: you can rent the snorkelling gears on Selingan.

Challenges

Having turtle hatcheries and conservation acts are not enough to stop sea turtles from extinction, unless the threats below are mitigated effectively.

Not all Malaysian states ban the consumption of turtle eggs
Poaching of turtle and its eggs
Between 2,000-3,000 turtles are trapped as bycatch of commercial fishing in Malaysia every year
At least half of all sea turtles have already consumed plastic, which is hazardous to their health
Coastal development destroys the nesting beach of turtles

Threats to marine turtles include poaching of turtle eggs, and thousands of turtles trapped and drowned in the net of fishing trawlers every year

References

“Sabah on the world turtle map” by Daily Express (October 29, 2017)
(PDF) “Marine turtles in Malaysia: On the verge of extinction?” by Eng-Heng Chan
“Solutions for fishermen, marine life” by Daily Express (June 21, 2021)
“Turtles use the Earth’s magnetic field as a global GPS” by National Geographic

Bornean Bristlehead, the Superstar Bird of Borneo

Where to see Bornean Bristlehead?

The Rainforest Skywalk and towers of Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) is the best location to see Bornean Bristlehead because it is usually active on middle and upper canopy of the trees in lowland primary or secondary rainforest. There are about 307 bird species in RDC, and 13 of them are endemic to Borneo Island.

Endemic birds of Borneo in Sepilok. The red-headed bird in pictures is Bornean Bristlehead (Nickname: headphone bird)

Bornean Bristlehead is generally scarce but a locally common resident. You need some luck to see it. Some bird watchers can spend hours waiting for Bornean Bristlehead on the canopy walk of Rainforest Discovery Centre. Sometimes Bornean Bristlehead is accompanied by other large forest birds (e.g. babblers, malkohaa, drongos, hornbills, woodpeckers) that form a hunting flock to feed on insects.

Bornean Bristlehead is the icon of Borneo birds. You can find its pictures in logos of birding community and events

You have to believe in the Law of Attraction. If you keep thinking about one thing, no matter it is good or bad, it will come to you. One day in Sandakan, some birders told me that they saw Bornean Bristlehead in the Sepilok forest nearby. When I rushed to the site, there were already a group of birders and photographers waiting for the bird.

Bornean Bristlehead on the tree at RDC. The first time I saw this superstar bird.

In a few minutes, a Bornean Bristlehead showed up on a tree about 15 Metres away from us. It is a fairly active and vocal bird and looks like a crow with head on fire. It was hopping from branch to branch for nearly a minute, until an approaching group of noisy students scared it away. Anyway, I was really happy and took a few photos of this superstar. Please pardon about the poor photo quality, as I didn’t own a bazooka lens like below.

Long camera lens for bird photography. The focal length is usually 500mm or above (about 25x optical zoom)

You just need the ~~most expensive~~ best lens for bird photography, like the lens in pictures above. A good 800mm lens can cost about RM73,000 (about USD17,500)!!! Would you buy a car or this lens?

Waiting for Bornean Bristlehead at canopy walk of Danum Valley, the primary rainforest of Borneo.

Besides RDC in Sandakan, another best place to see Bornean Bristlehead is at the canopy walk of Danum Valley in Lahad Datu. I saw it again there, and it was only 10 Metres from me this time. Bornean Bristlehead likes to perch on branches under big leaves, where it can find insects. We were waiting for it early in the morning for nearly an hour, luckily it showed up and checked us out.

Photos of Bornean Bristlehead I took at Danum Valley. I was using a 200mm Tamron lens with a 2x teleconverter.

After Bornean Bristlehead, another rising star is Bornean Peacock Pheasant (Polyplectron schleiermacheri). It’s also an endemic bird of Borneo, and birders had to travel to Kalimantan to see it, before it was recently discovered in the centre of Sabah. I just got a 600mm long lens for bird photography. Hope I’ll get some good shots to show you in future.

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

The Amazing World of Insects at Borneo Jungle Girl Camp

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About 40 years ago, a young Japanese boy named Satoshi Tajiri was so fascinated by insects that he loved to explore the forest for collecting bugs. In the early 1990s, inspired by the world of insects, Satoshi invented the wildly successful Pokémon video game and you know the rest of the story. If humans are afraid of insects, there would be no Pokémon game, and also no life-changing discoveries such as honey bees and silkworms.

Insect is a source of inspiration for science, artworks, fashion, movies and even games.

Borneo island is the kingdom of insects and bugs, and it offers far more variety of bugs than what Satoshi saw in his childhood. Some of the insects become an attraction, for example, firefly Christmas trees, Gombizau Honey Bee Farm, butod (sago grub).

Insects of Nuluhon Trusmadi forest reserve. In peak seasons, you could see more than 5,000 species of insects there. Photos by LeeLing

The best place to see insects of Borneo is at Borneo Jungle Girl Camp, located in Nuluhon Trusmadi, a 74,736-hectare (747 KM²) Class I (fully protected) forest reserve in Keningau and where Mount Trus Madi, the second highest mountain of Malaysia situated. I had a wonderful time at the camp just two weeks ago.

20 awesome (or weird) things I saw at Borneo Jungle Girl Camp

A trip to Borneo Jungle Girl Camp is a dream vacation for nature lovers, entomologists, and macro photographers. I’ve visited most rainforest of Sabah and thought there would be nothing new. I was wrong. I was awed by the insect world during my 2-day-1-night trip in the forest of Nuluhon Trusmadi. I just share 20 of them below.

1. Jewel Beetles, the gems of rainforest

Many beetles in Nuluhon Trusmadi are endemic to Borneo and some of them are not named yet. Different beetles seem like wearing armoured wings made of various materials such as wood, marble, metals and leather.

Jewel beetles at Borneo Jungle Girl Camp. Photo by LeeLing

The most remarkable group is the jewel beetles that have a metallic iridescence body. Some rhinoceros, stag, scarab and long-horned beetles of Borneo have such shiny shells. Jewel beetles are the most sought-after trophies by insect collectors and the rare ones can be worth as much as jewelry in black market.

Shiny green scarab beetle of Sabah (species: *Pseudochalcothes planiuscula*). Photo by LeeLing

Note: you are forbidden to collect any specimen in the protected forest.

2. Pitcher plant with “eyes”

On the way to the camp, there is a rockface area that is almost fully covered by clumps of pitcher plant. The species of this carnivorous plant is Nepenthes reinwardtiana, which is native to Borneo and Sumatra and is unique for the two “eye spots” on the inside surface of its pitchers. Nepenthes reinwardtiana has many different colour forms. In Sarawak, it’s red colour.

*Nepenthes reinwardtiana* can be found in lowland and highland but is fairly uncommon. The eyespots (see red arrow) are its trademark.

3. Meet the most elegant flying insect

Look like a kite, Moon moth or Luna moth (species: Actias selene vandenberghi and Actias maenas diana) is the most elegant flying insect of Borneo and it has the longest wing tails in insect world. Its swaying long tails are to confuse the predators such as bats, which would target its tails instead of the body. Moth moon is quite rare and I’m glad to see it twice at the camp.

Two types of Moon moths. Left: *Actias selene vandenberghi*. Right: *Actias maenas*

4. Flying dead leaves?

How on earth can some moths be so identical to dry leaves? The best camouflage trick human can pull off is a ghillie suit and it’s not even close to these dead leaf moths. Some moths even have holes on their wings to mimic a decayed foliage perfectly!

Borneo moths that mimic the shapes and colours of leaf

5. Praying Mantis, the Master of Stealth

The lethal claws makes Kungfu mantis the apex predator of the insect world. Some species take it to next level by being stealth to ambush their prey. They even rock back and forth to imitate the movement of leaves in wind. Praying mantis also can turn their heads 180 degree to scan their surrounding. Insects in range only can pray for their lives.

Praying mantis in different camouflage. Top: *Toxodera hauseri*, Bottom: *Deropatlys truncata*

6. Frog with horns. Is it evil?

Before the trip, I haven’t seen any horned frogs that are endemic to Borneo, so it’s high on my bucket list. Believe it or not. In a rainy evening, one of them just jumped to me in the camp. The one I met is known as the rough-backed horned frog (species: Borneophyrs edwardinae). It’s a brown-coloured medium-sized frog with horns above its eyes. Actually the “horn” is a drawn-out, slender, triangular projection from the eyelid. Horned frogs don’t intend to look like a devil, they need that leaf-like horns to hide among foliage.

Rough-backed horned frog (species: *Borneophyrs edwardinae*) is endemic to Borneo.

7. Hide and seek with leaf mimic pygmy grasshoppers

Though this insect is tiny and not as flamboyant as other famous insects, it’s a superstar among entomologists who love extraordinary insects. There are only four Borneo species of leaf mimic pygmy grasshoppers and you can find 2 or 3 of them just 15 metres outside the camp!

Leaf mimic pygmy grasshoppers (*Paraphyllum antennatum*) of Borneo. They are about 1cm in size but they have patterns and colouration that look like an art.

This is exciting as they have very limited distribution. However, it’s fairly hard to spot them as their colours blend into rock faces where they feed on algae. Put them under the magnifying glass and you would see something like a Sail-Backed Dimetrodon (dinosaur).

8. Moth that deceives with pictures

Besides camouflage, moths have another mean to fool predators. Many of them have “faked eyes” on their wings so they look like an owl or snake head.

Left: *Macrocilix maia*, with pictures of feeding flies on its wings. Right: the eye-like marking on the wings of Brahmid Moth (*Brahmaea hearseyi*) makes it looks like an owl.

The funniest strategy is employed by Macrocilix maia, a moth with wings that feature a picture of two flies feeding on a poo, to show that it is not delicious. It’s always jaw-dropping to see the work of nature. Who knows in future we would find a moth with a painting of Mona Lisa on its wings.

9. Misty cloud forest is a heaven for insects

Borneo Jungle Girl Camp is located about 1,170 metres above sea level, a highland zone dominated by lower montane forest (cloud forest). The dense forest is showered by fog, so the environment is cooling and humid, the most ideal habitat for insects, as many of them migrate uphill due to global warming and pesticides.

Borneo Jungle Girl Camp and its natural surrounding. The white things on the clear ground at the right are light traps.

Even if some tourists are not fond of bugs, they still come here for the refreshing air and nature touch.

10. Light trap, a magnet to insects

One of the fun activities at the camp is to check out the light traps at night. You know insects are attracted to light. Four light traps are set up on four corners of a ridge in the evening, then we went for dinner and waited for the insect show. We might lure some rare bugs out of the wood without searching hard.

There are four entomology light traps about 150 metres away from the camp. Photos by LeeLing

By the time we came back around midnight, the screens were already blanketed by hundreds of nocturnal bugs of different colours, sizes and shapes. Most of them are moths, with stick insects, beetles, mantis, cricket, grasshoppers, cicada, and katydid among them. Jimmy the camp manager, smiled and said, “in peak season between March and May, the screens would be totally covered and swarmed by insects. You couldn’t even walk near them.”

11. Moths are more diverse than butterflies

The light trap is like a stage for a fashion show by moths. Moths form a very large group, with about 10,000 species in Borneo, in different sizes, colours and forms. You are lucky if you see the gigantic Atlas Moth (species: Attacus atlas) with a wing span of 25 cm, which is among the biggest insects in the world.

There are about 10,000 species of moths in Borneo. Many species are yet to be fully described. The picture at the far left shows some big jet moths with aerodynamic shape.

Hawkmoth is a common visitor too, it’s nicknamed as Jet because of its hawk-like aerodynamic shape and super flying speed of 50 KM/H, the fastest in the insect Olympic. Some moths look like they are wearing a fur coat or Halloween costumes.

Altas moth is the largest insect in Borneo. Two variations of Altas Moth can be found at Borneo Jungle Girl Camp. Left: *Attacus atlas*, Right: *Archaeoattacus staudingeri*. Note their wing tips look like snake head. Photos by LeeLing

12. Crab + Spider = ?

You know crab and spider have eight legs but they are totally different creatures. If you can “merge” them, it would look like Crab Spider, Jewel Spider, or Parallel-spined Spiny Orbweaver Spider (Gasteracantha diardi). Despite its intimidating appearance, this spider is harmless to humans.

The bright-coloured Crab Spider is one of the most beautiful spiders in nature

Crab spiders fluoresce blue under ultraviolet light, which is to simulate the blooming flowers for luring the insects that use UV vision. You can bring some crab spiders to a disco night to see their cool UV effects.

13. Bird’s dropping that moves

Besides disguising themselves as a dead leaf or the eyes of predators, butterflies and moths have another camouflage tactic called “masquerade,” a defense that helps them look like inedible objects, such as twigs, stones or bird droppings. Bird’s dropping caterpillar is a great example of masquerade, which increases their survival rates by three times.

Bird’s dropping caterpillar looks and poses like a bird poo for a better survival rate. It doesn’t need to hide under the leaves.

Birds have better eyesight than humans, so it’s difficult to fool them. Therefore, a knobbly body with the correct poo colours isn’t enough. Some bird’s dropping caterpillars use bent posture to copy the look of a dollop of excrement.

14. Searching for peace and a sense of purpose? Go Stargazing

City people would think a description like “starry sky studded with diamonds” is just an exaggeration in the romance novels, until they visit a place that has no light and air pollution.

Milky Way in a starry night of Nuluhon Trusmadi Forest Reserve. Photo by LeeLing

Just come to Nuluhon Trusmadi during moonless days and witness it yourself. To see the Milky Way in its brightest time, the best months are between April and September.

15. Butterflies also loves smelly stuffs

Whenever we talk about butterflies, usually what comes to our mind is a picture of a butterfly foraging on a fragrant flower. What if I tell you that butterflies also love dung? On the way to the camp, I saw a group of butterflies sipping pee on the ground.

Butterflies puddling on the animal urine for minerals. The butterflies in the photos are: (1) Commander (*Moduza procris agnata*), (2) Abnormal Sergeant (*Athyma clerica clerica*), (3) Straight line mapwing (*Cyrestis nivea borneensis*), (4) *Athyma selenophora amhara*, and (5) *Athyma assa pseudocama*

In addition to the sweet nectar, butterflies also need some minerals (especially salt) and nutrients that are not available in flowers. You guessed it right. They obtain these from the pee and poo left by other animals. This strange behavior is called puddling, and is mostly seen in male butterflies, which need the materials for their reproduction system.

16. Stick insect the walking stick

At Borneo Jungle Girl Camp, don’t be surprised if you see a walking twig. Stick insect, as the name implies, is an insect that resembles a stick or twig, and it’s the longest insect in the world. Phobaeticus chani or Chan’s megastick, the second longest insect in world’s record (567 mm or 22.3 inches), is from Sabah. Their eggs are large and some village kids eat them like a snack.

Stick insect from Nuluhon Trusmadi. This one doesn’t have a name yet.

Some stick insects at the camp still wait to be named. Therefore, you can discover the new species there and name the ugly ones over your mother-in-law or boss. Some stick insects are capable of laying eggs without the need to mate with males to produce offspring. Crazy huh?

17. Birdwatching

Very few people know about this so it’s almost like a little secret. The montane forest near the camp is a great birdwatching site. Avid birders would be thrilled to see Bulwer’s pheasant, Bornean Pitta, Whitehead’s Broadbill, Red-naped Trogon, Red-bearded bee-eater and Black-and-yellow broadbill, just to list a few rare or famous ones.

Birds in Nuluhon Trusmadi forest. From left: Red-billed Malkoha, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Dark-necked tailorbird. Photos by LeeLing

If you are too lazy to walk, Temminck’s Sunbird, Bornean Bulbul and Bornean Laughing-thrush are always wondering near the camp.

18. Monkey loves bugs?

Monkey is omnivorous and banana is not its only food. But it’s only in my last trip that I first saw a pig-tailed macaque eating insects as a source of protein. It’s quite picky and only choose the big and juicy ones. The crunchy cicada sounds like its favourite snack and followed by jet moths.

Left: pig-tailed macaque eating insects. Right: the crime scene. You can tell most of them are big moths.

This monkey is one of the four macaques that always hang around the camp. They are probably old beta males that are expelled from the troop and form their own bachelor group. As a matter of fact, insects are nutrient-efficient compared to meat, and they may be the solution for the world hunger problem. It’s safe if our close cousins can eat it.

19. Cicada, the singing orchestra of rainforest

For the sound of rainforest, cicada is always the lead singer as it can produce a noise over 100 decibels, enough to cause hearing loss if you leave it singing next to your ears for long hours. The most interesting species is Pomponia merula, which is also known as Six O’Clock Cicada because they start buzzing at six. I want one as an alarm clock.

Left: 6 O’ Clock Cicada (*Pomponia merula*), native to Borneo. Photo by Pavel Kirillov. Right: 7 O’ Clock Cicada (*Megapomponia imperatoria*), photo by 57Andrew

Their counterpart in Peninsular Malaysia is 7 O’clock Cicada (Megapomponia imperatoria), which sings at 7pm (because sun sets 30 minutes slower in West Malaysia).

20. Borneo Jungle Girl Camp is more than a camp

After all the exciting activities in the forest, I only need a hot shower, some nice food and a cozy bed. I thought I was probably expecting too much from a jungle camp. A camping tent is more realistic in such a remote jungle. To my surprise, Borneo Jungle Girl Camp provides all these. They have clean and spacious bedrooms, and bathroom with hot shower. I have absolutely no problem (in fact, would love to) to stay over a month in the camp.

Borneo Jungle Girl Camp is located at 1,170 metres above sea level and surrounded by mountain range and rainforest

The food was yummy too and the cooling weather there boosted my appetite. During my stay, I had nasi lemak, BBQ, steamboat and even seafood. 4G network is available at certain spots in the camp. Electricity is available from 6pm to 6am.

We had fresh fish, meat, vegetables and fruit as lunch at Borneo Jungle Girl Camp, not instant noodle and canned food. We also had BBQ and steamboat the other day.

About Borneo Jungle Girl Camp

Borneo Jungle Girl Camp was established in 1986. With decades of experience in entomology, the founders believe that Nuluhon Trusmadi forest is the most ideal location for entomology studies and entotourism. During peak season, over 5,000 species of insects can be recorded at the site.

Building of Borneo Jungle Girl Camp. After a few expansion, the campsite is complete with electricity (half-day), bedrooms, dining hall, kitchen, toilets and other amenities.

Therefore, the founders spent most of their personal saving to fund the construction of the entomology camp, and they obtained the operation permit from the Sabah Forestry Department in 2006 for tourism, education and conservation on entomology. After a few phases of upgrade over the years, the humble camping tent is developed into a decent lodge complete with accommodation, dining hall, water and electricity, and other amenities that can host up to 60 guests. The camp has been an academic destination for hundreds of students from overseas universities in China and Japan, as well as local tourists who just want to chill.

Malay civet and porcupine, other residents around the campsite. You would see Kijang (barking deer), pig-tailed macaque, and slow loris too. Photos by LeeLing

You can contact the camp or follow their social media for more information:
Phone / Whatsapp: +60 16-4106078
E-mail: trusmadientomology@gmail.com
Website: www.trusmadientomology.com
Facebook: @trusmadientomologycamp
Instagram: @trus_madi_entomology_camp

Tour and Fees

As Borneo Jungle Girl Camp is situated in the fully protected Nuluhon Trusmadi forest, entry permits are required for visitors and vehicles, so walk-in tourists are not accepted. You can book a tour with Borneo Jungle Girl Camp and they will get the permit(s) for you. The following is the a list of the fees (USD1.00 is approximately RM4.40). Note: though these prices are valid until the end of 2022, they are subject to change:

Nationality	Entry Permit (per person)	Entry Permit (per vehicle)	Camera
Malaysian	RM15 per day	RM100	RM5
Non-Malaysian	RM30 per day	RM100	RM5

*rates are subject to change

Accommodation (meals included)

Room rates per head on twin-sharing basis:

Visitor Type	Standard Room	VIP Room	Chalet
Malaysian	RM300	RM400	RM450
Non-Malaysian	USD120	USD170	USD190

Room rates of Borneo Jungle Girl Camp (valid until the end of 2022)

Rooms are available at Borneo Jungle Girl Camp. You don’t need to bring your sleeping bag and pillow.

The temperature at the camp can drop to between 10 and 16°C (50 – 61°F) at night, so bring some warming clothing such as a windbreaker. Daytime temperature is between 28 to 30°C (82 to 86°F). To see more wildlife, spending two or more nights is recommended.

Sunrise view from the balcony of VIP rooms at Borneo Jungle Girl Camp

How to get there

The distance between Kota Kinabalu City and Borneo Jungle Girl Camp (GPS Coordinates: 5.443048041703671, 116.45120820208399. See Location Map) is about 160 KM, which takes 3 hours and 30 minutes to travel one way. The first 128 KM is asphalt road with fair condition. The last 32 KM to the camp starts at the junction to Jalan Ranggom Kepayan in Apin-Apin (Keningau), which is an old logging road (mainly gravel road) only accessible by four-wheel drive.

You need a 4-wheel drive to reach Borneo Jungle Girl Camp

Don’t worry if you don’t own a 4WD. You can request the camp for a 4WD return transfer for a fee of RM450 per car (can fit in up to 4 tourists). You can park your car in the village of Apin-Apin, and they will pick you up there. If you want them to fetch you in Kota Kinabalu, the fee is RM1,100 (round trip) per car.

Things to Bring

MyKad / Passport
Cash
Extra clothing (overnight trip)
Jacket or warm clothing
Raincoat / poncho / umbrella
Drinking water
Plastic bags (for soiled clothing)
Toilet paper
Toiletries (toothbrush, tooth paste, face wash, etc.)
Towel
Power bank (portable charger) and phone charging cable
Snacks / energy bar
Sunblock lotion
Hat
Sandals / Slippers
Torchlight
Camera (with spared batteries and memory cards)
Personal medicines
Optional: swimwear, binocular, anti-leech socks

Left: beetle with jewel colours, Right: *Ceroplophana modigliani* beetle

My Thoughts

Insects being insects, they just do what they ought to do. No insect is bad. Allah / God creates all living things for a purpose. The insects keep our earth balanced and healthy. It’s up to the people to choose if they want to appreciate bugs and become the next Satoshi Tajiri, or let the unjustified fear of insects turns them into a wuss.

“If all insects on Earth disappeared, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish.” – Jonas Salk

Photos taken in Keningau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Stingless Bee (Kelulut) Farming in Sabah

Honey Bee Vs Kelulut. Which Honey is Better?

Honey produced by stingless bees has many names such as Meliponine honey, pot honey, sugarbag honey (in Australia), and kelulut honey (in Malaysia). In Malaysia, kelulut honey is acclaimed as a honey healthier than normal honey. The following are some comparisons of both honey:

1. Taste

As you know, honeybee honey is sweet. Kelulut honey is sourish sweet. Usually sweetness is the base taste, and it mixes with varied degree of sourness, and even bitterness, which is greatly depend on the flowers or fruit trees visited by kelulut. Stingless bees store their honey in honey pots which are made of cerumen, produced from the bee’s saliva mixed with pollen, plant resins and flowers, and this chemically affects the taste. Sometimes its honey has slight fruit flavour or herbal aroma.

These stingless bees are *Geniotrigona thoracica* species. They make very delicious honey.

2. Nectar and Viscosity

Kelulut honey is thinner than honey due to higher water content and more prone to spoiling. Many native plant have small flowers that only Meliponine can access to collect the nectar. Kelulut honey is also not as “heaty” as normal honey.

3. Quantity

Honey bees produce about 5 or more times honey than kelulut. In average, a honey bee hive creates 2.25 to 3.75 Kg of honey per month, whereas kelulut is only 0.5 to 2 Kg per month.

Stingless bee (kelulut) honey is more expensive than honeybee honey. Some call Kelulut honey the “Miracle Liquid” because of its medicinal value.

4. Price

In most cases, a standard grade honey costs less than RM90 per Kilogram. Kelulut honey is sold for RM120 to RM150 per Kg locally.

5. Nutrients

According to the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), stingless bee honey is twice as nutritious as ordinary honey. In a Scientific Reports published on 22 July 2020, the researchers found that up to 85% of their sugar is trehalulose, which is a rare and healthy sugar that is “friendly” for diabetes and doesn’t cause tooth decay.

Row of kelulut bee houses. Each log hosts a colony. You can have a few to 100 bee houses in a bee farm

6. Health Benefits

The main selling point of kelulut honey is its stronger health values from anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogen and anti-oxidant properties. It has a history of traditional indigenous in treating cough, fever, cuts and rashes. Some of the claims are proven by research, just to list a few below:

Honey contains more anti-oxidant properties (able to delay the ageing process and preventing cancer) than honey bees, as reported by MARDI.
Stingless bee honeys have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effect
Stingless bee honey is a natural wound healing agent
Stingless bee honey has excellent beneficial effects as anti-microbial, anti-cancer agent, improving hypertension, lipid profiles, and anti-diabetic

Locals believe having a tea spoon of kelulut honey twice a day can strengthen immune system, to prevent cold and flu.

Nest structure of kelulut. At the right are “honey pots” that store the honey

Beekeeping Method (Meliponiculture)

The rearing of stingless bee is known as meliponiculture. There are more than 38 species of stingless bees found in Malaysia, but only a few of them are suitable for beekeeping, for example, Heterotrigona itama and Geniotrigona thoracica are the most preferred species, followed by Lepidotrigona terminata and Tetragonula leviceps.

Kelulut bee farm is best built under shade with lot of flowers and fruit trees nearby. The bees can increase the yield of your crops too.

Generally kelulut is passive. To defend their home, they would attack invaders by biting, but it is more like ant bite and far less painful than honeybee sting. No bee protective suit is required for handling of kelulut. Stingless bees share similar food, behavior, and social structure with honey bees, so you can rear them like normal honey bees.

Stingless bee farm in Kota Belud (Pinolobu Village)

Beekeepers can house the kelulut colony in a bee house called Gelodok or transfer them to a wooden box. You can open the box periodically to harvest honey without doing too much damages to their nest. The old methods of using bamboos, flowerpots, or coconut shells as bee house would be less sustainable as beekeepers need to cut the container in half for collecting honey.

Stingless bee house with top cover makes honey harvesting easier and causes less damage to the nest

Commercial kelulut beekeeping is introduced in Malaysia in 2012. Now there are 750 to 1,000 bee farmers nationwide. Sarawak state produces the most kelulut honey, followed by Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.

Close-up of stingless bees (kelulut) and their nest

Beescaping

Bee houses are placed in shade to avoid excessive heat. Stingless bees have short flight ranges of about 500 metres (honey bees is 2 km). Therefore, for higher honey yield, the bee farm should be nearby the favourable food source of stingless bees, the following are some preferred host plant:

Flowers: air mata pengantin or Honolulu Creeper (Antigonon leptopus), Buttercup (Turnera subulata)
Fruit trees: rambutan, starfruit, passion fruit, coconut, durian
Acacias, rubber and other flowering forest trees

(Note: the choice of plant can affect the taste and colors of the honey)

Small kelulut is vulnerable to attack and raid by bigger bees and hornets. A trick is to place some belacan (shrimp paste) near the bee hives to keep these predators away.

Got Honey, Got Money. A Profitable Business

Malaysia government has initiated the National Kelulut Honey Industry Development Plan 2020-2030 that aims to make the kelulut honey industry a new source of stable and sustainable income because kelulut beekeeping can generate good income quick without high capital and advanced skill as a start. You can get the kelulut nest from the wild or buy it from local open market (tamu). A new colony normally starts producing honey after three months.

Honolulu Creeper (Antigonon leptopus) flower is a good host plant for stingless bee farming

If you have RM1,500, you can start a small farm of three stingless bee colonies. Each kelulut nest produces about 0.33 to 2 Kg of honey monthly. In Sabah, beekeepers earn about RM60 per kg of kelulut honey, which is marketed for RM120 to RM140 per Kg in the shops after processing and packaging. You can build a bee farm of 50 to 1,000 bee colonies with a starting capital of between RM40,000 and RM50,000, that can bring you a monthly income of RM5,000 to RM30,000.

Gelodok bee house for Kelulut (stingless bees) at a village house

Currently, the total market volume of Malaysia’s kelulut honey industry is only RM33.6 million while the market potential is about RM67.2 million. According to data provided by the Agriculture Department in 2017, the total kelulut honey production in Malaysia stood at 134,244 kilograms. From what I heard, the demand for stingless bee honey is high and most go to local consumption. The needs for kelulut honey will grow when it becomes more popular.

Old-fashioned stingless bee houses in village

Besides, about 1,000 downstream products can be made from honey, propolis and pollen from kelulut nests. The ingredients can be used in health supplements, cosmetics, skincare, toothpaste, face cream, essential oil, hand cream, skin disorder ointments, lip salve, etc. These byproducts will increase the revenue generated from bee farms.

Box type of stingless bee houses (in Kiansom)

Training and Funding

Interested in starting a kelulut farm? The organisations below might be able to help you. Good luck!

Big entrance of stingless bee nest. Found in Gaya Island, off Kota Kinabalu city

1. Borneo Honeybee Centre

In Sabah, the State Agriculture Department and Koperasi Pembangunan Desa (KPD) provide advice and conduct courses for stingless bee farming. KPD opened the Borneo Honeybee Centre in Sikuati, Kudat (north of Sabah). The Borneo Honeybee Centre is a centre for collecting, processing and bottling of honey and also conducted the bees farming courses (for about RM350). This 8.5-acre complex has various facilities such as Honey Processing Factory, Bee Gallery, Honeybee Souvenir, Honeybee Café and guided tour for those who want to learn more about beekeeping.

Facebook: BORNEOHONEYBEECENTRE

Borneo Honeybee Centre in Kudat is a hub for collecting, processing and bottling of honey and also provides beekeeping courses

2. Akademi Kelulut Malaysia (AKM)

Located in Bangi, Selangor, this company provides beginner to advanced training on kelulut beekeeping and making of stingless bee products. They also publish some books on stingless bees.

Facebook: akademikelulutmalaysia
E-mail: akademikelulut@gmail.com
Phone: 011-1514 2620

Some courses by Akademi Kelulut Malaysia (AKM) on making of Kelulut products

3. Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi)

MARDI is a government agency established with the main objectives of generating and promoting new, appropriate and efficient technologies towards the advancement of the food, agriculture, food and agro-based industries.

Facebook: mardimalaysia
Website: mardi.gov.my
Twitter: mardimalaysia
Blog: blogmardi.wordpress.com

The potential market of kelulut honey is huge

4. Young Agropreneur Programme

Implemented by Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries’ (MAFI) in 2016, the Young Agropreneur Programme aims to encourage the involvement of youths (18 – 40 years old) in entrepreneurial activities in the agricultural sector’s value chain. If you are eligible, you can apply funding at: mafi.gov.my.

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

How to prevent leech bite?

32 Replies

Some of us might get bitten by leeches when we trek in the Malaysia forest. Leeches don’t kill but they are extremely irritating and disgusting blood suckers. I was first bitten by the forest leech when I was on the way to Poring waterfall. I still hate leech bite, so I never stop asking the experienced trekkers how to avoid leech bite. Below are some of the tips that I’ve collected so far.

Above: Tiger leech gets its name from its orange stripes

Above: a fully-fed happy brown leech

6 Ways to Prevent Leech Bite

1. Anti-Leech Socks

Anti-Leech sock is the MOST effective way of preventing leech bite. It does not contain any chemical to drive away the leech. Basically it is just an oversized sock that you wear it over your trousers as outer layer to cover the opening of your sock and jean. If a leech crawls on your leech sock, then you can spot it and get rid of it. FYI, you can buy anti-leech socks online shop such as Shopee (search by keywords “leech socks”).

Left & Middle: anti-leech socks cover the opening of your trousers. Right: Herb that can stop the bleeding caused by leech bite.

Click Here to read “How to use and where to buy anti-leech sock?” if you want to get a pair of leech socks

2. Tobacco Sock

Tobacco can kill leech in minutes. Spend a few dollars to buy some grinded tobacco leaves from the tamu or pasar (local market). Put it in a container and soak it in water (but not too much). Soak the socks in the tobacco water overnight. Leave the socks dry up next day. If you wear the sock, leech may crawl on it but it’ll halt moving after a while due to the poisoning by tobacco.

To see if tobacco can kill leech, I sprinkled some tobacco leaves on a leech and it died within a minute.

3. Dettol

Heard this from the villagers in Long Pasia. During World War II, people were wondering how the Japanese soldiers bear the leech bites in jungle warfare. Later they learn that the army applied Dettol on their hands, necks and legs. The strong smell kept the leeches away. However, if you go for wildlife watching, I won’t advise you to do this because your smell will scare away all the wildlife hundred feet away.

Above: the body size of leech can double or even triple after sucking blood. One full meal can last it for several months.

4. Lady’s Stockings

I heard from someone that there is a scientist in Danum Valley, who enters the forest frequently for research and seldom got leech bite, though he wears short pant. His secret is to wear the stockings (yes, the pantyhose used by lady).

5. Insecticide Socks

I got this tip from a friend who works for a lumbering company. Just got a pair of long soccer socks, like the one wore by ah pak (old uncles) for jogging. Wear it all the way up to your knee (also cover the opening of your jean). Then spray Baygon brand insecticide on the sock and shoe. FYI, other brands such as Ridsect does not work well. The leech dies almost instantly the moment it touches your shoe or sock.

Pic: Baygon insect (pest) spray, only some supermarkets or stores selling it.

6. Insect Repellent

The easiest way is to buy a bottle of Mosi-Guard at Guardian (also available in other local pharmacy / drugstore) and spray it on your shoes and socks. It is an insect repellent but its eucalyptus extract can prevent mosquito, as well as leech attack up to 6 hours. Insect repellent with DEET is also effective but it is very hard to find here (probably local restriction on such chemical). You may click the picture below to read the article:

Above: Mosi-Guard insect repellent also can repel leeches. You can find it in many pharmacy shops in Sabah.

I spray Mosi-Guard insect repellent on my shoes and anti-leech socks, and I almost got 0 leech bite during jungle trekking in most leech-infested area of Borneo. This repellent only makes you smell terrible to the leeches. A few stubborn leeches still want to get on your shoes but most of them won’t move on.

More Useful Facts

1. Leeches live in humid area. So you can expect more leeches near the river and during the rainy session. The forest that has more wildlife tend to have more leeches too. Leeches not only hide on the ground, you also can find them on the leaves and twigs of low shrub. Leech is the most abundant in lowland forest. I encounter leeches in altitude of 800 Meters above sea level, but the number is a lot lesser. However, in drought season, you may not see a single leech in the forest.

Above: tiger leech can attack you from any direction.

2. Some says, if you walk in group, the people at the front have less chance of getting leech bite, most victims are people at the back. Leech is sensitive to body heat and vibration. The first person passing by will “wake” them up, making them active and look for the next comers. Well, based on my experience, everyone has equal chance. In fact, first person gets very high chance of leech bite because he always has to stop to wait for the slow movers behind, giving leeches more time to crawl onto his body.

3. Leech is blind and likes to bite warmer area (due to thinner skin) such as armpit, skin between toes and butt. That’s why I hate it. It loves sensitive spots. You better wear long sleeve and tuck in your t-shirt. How does it gain access to your butt? For example, fashionable girls who like low cut jean, or you do your no.2 in the forest. Whatever, just don’t bite my balls.

4. Some may tell you that leech can leap / jump to you. It’s just an exaggeration from people who are so afraid of leeches so their imagination goes wild. Leeches only can crawl. That’s it. I have walked hundred of Kilometers of forest trail and never see any leech that can jump.

5. Someone even say if you cut a leech into half. Each half will grow into a new leech. It’s bullshit. I tried that before. The leech just turned pale and died.

6. I don’t believe the widely circulated non-sense + scary leech stories such as leeches grow in your brain. But I do believe that if you let leech got into your nose, it will live inside permanently due to free flow of food supply. My mom personally saw this happened to one of her dogs. Avoid washing your face in forest stream and don’t swim in still water.

Pic: fully-fed tiger leech sleeping on a twig

I was bitten by leech. What should I do? OH NO, Help!!! I’m going to die!

Don’t panic, don’t scream. It’s just a bug as weak as mosquito. If you are bitten by a leech, do not try to pull it away by force. This would leave permanent scar on your perfect skin. You can apply salt, tobacco, eucalyptus oil, lime fruit juice, tiger balm or medicated oil (e.g. Minyak Kapak or 驱风油) on it and it will shrivel and drop. Or just let it finishes its meal and drop off itself. The last resort is to put your finger on your skin next to its oral sucker, then gently (but firmly) slide your fingernail toward its mouth to detach it from your skin.

Above: bleeding caused by leech bites. Look scary, but from their smiles, you know it is no big deal. Just treat it as a leech therapy. You won’t bleed to dead anyway. Leech also doesn’t carry any disease and poison.

Due to anticoagulant to facilitate blood flowing, leech bite will cause your wound to bleed for hour but it will stop eventually. A guide taught me to stick a small pieces of paper on the wound to speed up the clotting and it works! Apply anti-septic cream on the wound to prevent infection and you will be fine. Keep your wound dry and clean. It will itch for a few days before fully healed, but don’t scratch it.

Types of Forest Leeches

There are 2 types of leeches in Borneo rainforest, namely, tiger leech (species: Haemadipsa picta) and brown leech (species: Haemadipsa zeylanica). The Tiger Leech can extend its body more than 6cm long, while Brown (ground) Leech is much more smaller, only about 2 cm. The bite of tiger leech is sharp & painful (like 5 mosquitoes bite you on same spot). If brown leech bites you, you may not feel anything at all, due to the anesthetic chemical in its saliva.

How to use and where to buy anti-leech sock?

40 Replies

The 130-million-year rainforest of Borneo is older than Amazon, but there is one small bug that scares its visitors. Like other rainforest in South East Asia, the best lowland forest of Malaysia is always infested with forest leeches, the little wiggling and slimy blood suckers, which are extremely persistent to crawl onto your naked skin for a feast.

Their bite is nothing more than a minor cut, but the anti-clotting agent in their saliva causes you to bleed profusely for hour, some find the bloody view a terrifying experience. I was always shocked by the screaming of the girls who find leech on their skin, so I decide to write this guide.

Leech sucks, so how to prevent being leeched? The MOST EFFECTIVE way to prevent leech bite is by wearing anti-leech socks or leech-proof socks (leech socks in short), as shown in the photo above. Leech socks have become a standard part of the outfit for jungle trekking in Borneo.

So you want a leech sock huh?

There are 4 types of leech socks (see following photo). In most cases, you only need to pick type no.1 or 2. Type 3 and 4 are less common and listed here FYI only:

Please see photo above for numbering.
No.1: Elastic-strap leech socks – most commonly used.
No.2: “Deluxe” leech socks – expensive but the best.
No.3: String leech socks – old fashion but still in use.
No.4: Long leech socks – same as No.1 but longer.

Though look different, all of them employ the same simple mechanism to keep leeches at bay. Basically they are just oversized socks for you wear over the trousers, to block leeches from accessing your skin from the opening of your trousers.

1. Elastic-strap Leech Socks

A pair costs RM18 to RM24 (USD5-USD6.50) and made of cotton cloth. It is the most commonly used. If you don’t want to read further, just buy this one.

FYI, you can buy anti-leech socks at online shop such as Shopee (search by keywords “leech socks”).

To use it (it is easier to wear it in sitting position), (1) wear it like socks all the way up but at outer layer, so you can cover the opening of your pant. (2) Then pull the elastic strap to tighten and seal the opening. (3) Note the adjustment knot to control the tightness of the strap. (4) repeat the steps for another foot and put on your hiking boot or shoes.

Keep your legs comfortable, an extremely strong tight is not necessary. I know you worry that leech might sneak in through the sealed opening but that’s very unlikely. The closed loop of the strap always hooks on something in forest, so you may want to hide it behind the socks.

Below is a 1-min video to show you how to wear this anti-leech sock:

The Good: reasonable price and comfortable to wear.

The Bad: during long walk, the socks will slide down gradually. You have to pull it up regularly. It is made of cotton cloth, so it gets wet easily during rain or if the trail is muddy.

2. Deluxe Leech Socks (Water Resistant)

A pair costs RM38 (USD11.50) and made of nylon material (upper part) and linen cloth (lower part). I call it “Deluxe” because it is very expensive.

Just wear it like other leech sock. This leech sock has internal elastic grip on top and bottom of the nylon (blue part), so you don’t need to tie any string. But I find it a bit tight though. Maybe it’s new.

Above: close-up of Deluxe Leech Socks

You may watch the 1-min video below to see Deluxe Leech Socks:

Personally, I think this is the BEST leech sock, due to the reasons below.
The Good: The materials are more water-resistant and durable. That means the socks can be cleaned (e.g. mud) and dried quickly. This is important for long period of jungle trip, because wet sock is very hard to dry up in humid forest of Borneo. The double grip points also keep the leech sock in position.

The Bad: the most expensive type. For that price, you can buy two pairs of other leech socks.

3. String Leech Socks

A pair costs RM15 (?USD4.50) and made of cotton cloth too. This design is phasing out and replaced by Elastic-strap Leech Socks.

The design is similar to other cotton leech socks. Since it has no elastic grip, you need to tie a noose on the cord to seal the opening, like how you tie shoe lace.

The Good: cheaper. If you know the right technique to tie the knot, the socks won’t slide down.

The Bad: The strap is not elastic so you have to tighten it stronger to hold the sock in place. However, this causes extra stress and discomfort to my skin. After long day of jungle trekking, it will leave thin lines of bruises on my skin at the strap area.

4. Long Leech Socks

A pair costs RM34 (?USD9) and made of cotton cloth.

In general, it is same as Elastic-strap Leech Socks, but it is a few inches longer and have two elastic straps.

To compare the difference, I wear both long and short leech socks, as shown in photo above. I think it’s for people who wear short pants.

The funny thing is – leech sock is for leech-phobia tourists. Our local people don’t wear leech socks. Those villagers who always go in and out forest normally wear long soccer socks, less effective (60-70% leech proof) but costs only a few dollars. In fact, most of them don’t really bother about leeches.

If you can’t find any leech socks for sale, you can use soccer socks instead, which is readily available and cheap. Make sure you get the long one with very tight weaving that leaves no tiny seam for leech to wiggle its way in. The soft-bodied leech only needs a loose hole as tiny as pencil tip to puncture your skin for blood.

Does anti-leech sock make me 100% leech-proof?

Good question! The answer is NO. But it’s 90% leech-proof and does make a big difference. To understand why, you need to know how leeches “attack”.

There are 2 types of leeches in Borneo jungle, namely, Tiger Leech and Brown Leech. Brown leeches are smaller and usually active on ground level with wet leaf litter. Occasionally you may see it crawling on grass. When it crawls on your leech socks, you can just flick it off. Brown leech can be fend off easily by leech socks.

However, for tiger leech which is bigger and active from ground to waist level, you have to be vigilant all the time. Especially in wet season, tiger leeches will hide and wait in the leaves and twigs of shrubs along the trail. If your body touches the bushes, you will pick up tiger leeches on your legs or waist. The leeches will crawl up and look for exposed skin on upper part of your body, for example, armpit, neck and belly. Leech socks won’t work in this case. So you need to keep an eye on your body (or ask your buddy to check regularly). Anyway, just avoid contacting any low shrub and you shall be safe.

When leeches crawl to your leech socks, 90% of them will go inside your shoes. Leech dislikes dry surface so the dry cloth of leech sock deters them slightly. You will find half-death leeches in your shoes. But it is different story when it rains and your leech sock is wet.

Where to buy leech socks?

You can buy them in online shops such as Shopee and Lazada (search by keywords: “leech socks”).

There are also a few places in Kota Kinabalu where you can find anti-leech socks. I only name two shops here. When you buy leech sock, check the sewing and make sure there is no hole on the socks.

Montanic Adventure Store

Montanic Adventure Store is on the second floor of Suria Sabah shopping mall (in Kota Kinabalu City).

Below is their contact:
Address: 2-78, 2nd Floor Suria Sabah Shopping Mall, 88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Tel: +60 88-274538
Facebook: @MontanicSuria

Some popular nature destinations such as Tabin Wildlife Reserve and Danum Valley also sell leech socks in their souvenir shops, but at higher price. Please share with us here if you know any other shop selling leech socks.

To learn more tips to combat leeches, you may Click Here to read “How to prevent leech bite?”.

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Dangerous Animals of Sabah

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30% of Sabah is in wilderness, and there are something that we should watch out for, or they will remind us that they deserve our respect. My eyes roll whenever I hear tourists say something ignorant like, “Oh dear, the orangutan / elephant / monkey is so cute!!!” Wildlife is not our house pet. They don’t like human so don’t expect they welcome us (though they may look or act friendly).

1. Elephants

Bornean Pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) is the biggest mammal in Sabah, and there are less than 1,500 of them left. With 2.5 Metres in height and body weight in tons, you know you can’t afford to trust this giant babe.

Above: the habitat of our elephants is destroyed by logging and oil palm plantation. Read more here…

Due to oil palm plantation, logging and land clearing for farmland, the loss of lowland forest has brought the elephants into more contact and conflict with people. Bornean Pygmy Elephant is timid but a very protective parent. The overexcited tourists, who come too close to the herd that has calf around, would find themselves in danger.

Pic: Memorial stone for Jenna O’Grady Donley

In 2011, a Australian tourist, Jenna O’Grady Donley, was stabbed to death by a bull elephant in Tabin Wildlife Reserve. She was an animal lover and sadly she was too close to a bull elephant which was said to be mentally unstable. Rest in peace Jenna. On 25 Dec 2022, a Borneo pygmy elephant gored its handler to death at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, when he was tending a wounded calf.

Above: the elephants are in stress even at this distance. They round up to protect the calf. Photo of Kinabatangan.

In the video below, you can see that an elephant was agitated when we were too close to them:

2. Crocodiles

Saltwater or estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest crocodiles in the world and they are found in rivers and swampy areas of Sabah. Crocodile is the master of sneak attack, so it is a threat to the villagers who wash their cloth and fish in the rivers.

Above: this crocodile killed a few villagers. Photo of Tuaran Crocodile Farm

Basically there is no hope for survival when we are grabbed by the powerful jaws of this 4-Metres aggressive monster. Sometimes people see them having sun bathe in unlikely places such as Tuaran and Papar.

Above: warning sign at Kinabatangan River

On 1 Dec 2022, a crocodile attacked a father and a one-year-old son who were rowing a boat on the river of Lahad Datu. Unfortunately, the boy was killed. Between 2020 and 2022, there are a total of 12 crocodile attacks reported in Lahad Datu, out of which eight were fatal.

3. Snakes

One drop of venom from the banded sea krait or yellow-lipped sea krait (Laticauda colubrine) can kill three adult and there is no antidote. Sea snakes are trapped in the fishing net occasionally. When the unlucky fisherman is busy sorting out the fishes, he might be bitten by sea snake without knowing it, due to the anesthetic effect of the venom. The poison will dissolve the muscles of his body and his urine will turn into cola red color. At last, he dies in enormous suffering. Good news is – sea snakes are not aggressive unless threatened, though all sea snake species are highly venomous. Sometimes they approach scuba divers just out of curiosity but they mean no harm.

The most dangerous snakes in Borneo forest are pit vipers and king cobra. You would encounter a viper if you hike in jungle that is frequented by small animals such as rodents and frogs. King Cobra is known for aggressively guarding its nest. The locals believe that carrying a Kayu Tas wood can drive the snakes away.

Above: sea snake is more poisonous than cobra but it’s not aggressive. Photo from Banggi Island

Above: yellow-lipped sea kraits in fish tank of the Green Connection

Above: reticulated python can eat a human if it is big enough

4. Jellyfish

There are 17 species of jellyfish in the waters of Sabah, and eight of them can pose dangers to humans; three of them are the Balung (Chironex Yamaguchii), Box Jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri), whose toxin could kill victims in less than five minutes, and Ubur-ubur merah.

Above: jellyfish warning on Manukan Island

The application of vinegar, which contains acetic acid, can disable the jellyfish’s nematocysts that have not yet been discharged into the bloodstream. After the death of a few tourists, vinegar is always available for such first aid in islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park. If you are stung, look for the lifeguard on the beach immediately; they know what to do. Do not pee on the wound, it will not work.

5. Hornet and Bee

If one stung is painful, 100 stung will be a painful death, so terrible that nobody would want to commit suicide by intentionally provoking the hornets, especially Lesser Banded Hornet (Vespa affinis). If you are allergic to bee sting, a few jabs can cause anaphylactic shock that is potentially fatal. It is also advisable not to agitate a hornet near a nest, as the distress signal will trigger the entire hive to attack. If that happens, submerge into the water is probably the only way to save you. For your info, perfumes can be mistaken as the pheromone of hornets and set off the attack too. The same advices go to giant honey bee (Apis dorsata), which is far more aggressive than other honey bee species.

Hornet also likes to build nest under the roof and water tank of houses. The nest may be as small as a tennis ball in the beginning. But if you don’t eliminate it in early stage, it will grow to the size of sandbag and pose a serious threat to the residents. By that time, only Fire Department can help you to remove the huge nest safely.

If you are too close to a bee hive, the patrolling bees will come and buzzing around you to investigate if you are a threat. It’s very important that you stay still and don’t agitate them (with sudden move or swatting them). After the guard bees leave, move slowly away from their territory. In contrast to honeybee, a hornet can sting multiple times. If a child has anaphylactic reaction to bee sting, attack by one hornet is deadly enough.

6. Mosquito

Finally the last one but not the least is mosquito. If one mosquito gets into your room, you know you will have problem sleeping whole night long. Anyway, causing bad sleep is not how mosquito kills hundred of people every year. Mosquito is deadliest disease vector which spreads infectious diseases such as Malaria, Dengue and Yellow Fever. Parts of Sabah are the red zone for Malaria. Therefore, please make sure your house is free of stagnant water that serves as a breeding ground for them.

Pic: Among all mosquito species, Aedes aegypti (locally known as Nyamuk Aedes) is the most dangerous, as it can spread diseases such as dengue fever and yellow fever. It is easily recognized by white stripes on its legs and body.

7. Cattle / Cow

The domesticated cattle of Kota Belud town always roam in middle of the road. You will need to be extra careful when you drive in the countryside. Do not honk them, otherwise the group will disperse and running like mad cow in all directions on the road, causing danger to other motorists. Well, I will not pay a single cent of compensation for accidentally knocking down a cattle, because it is illegal to let them wander around in the first place. But do you know what’s more dangerous? The angry villagers who don’t reason with you.

8. Wild Boar

In contrast to their domesticated cousin (pig), wild boars are agile and the favourite target of hunting game because they are difficult to catch. Wild boars are elusive and prefer to flee from our sight in most cases, so it is hard to believe that they have the record of killing bears and tigers in battle. Wild boars rarely attack but they can pose a danger to people who act like a threat to their piglets. Jungle trekkers are best to move away quietly and leave them alone.

Above: adult wild boar has long tusk that can kill.

There is no tiger in Borneo, in case you wonder why it isn’t on the list. As you may see by now, dangerous animal is not necessary a man eater or a big animal. Even if it can look friendly and adorable, wildlife is wild, never treat it like a pet. Most of the time, those wildlife look timid and afraid of human, and tourists can get away most of the time. But you need only one incident to lose your life.

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Highway to Mount Kinabalu? My half-day trip to Tempasuk Plains

Birdwatching at Tempasuk Plains

Bring a binocular! When you approach Tempasuk Plains, it’s hard not to notice that there are hundred of birds foraging in paddy fields and wetlands there. In fact, Tempasuk Plains is the best place in Borneo to see migrant waterbirds and raptors from October to April, according to the book “Phillipps’ Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo” written by Quentin Phillipps and Karen Phillipps, the best selling bird-watching guide book on Borneo birds.

Tempasuk Plains is an important wetland and stopover for migrant birds

To escape the cold, a total of 244 migrant bird species and about 15 millions of them fly thousand of miles from Siberia and North East Asia (e.g. Russia, China, Japan, Korea) to Borneo when it’s winter in Northern Hemisphere. Nearly 100 species land and rest in Tempasuk Plains, where they find abundant food, for example, fishes and insects, turning Tempasuk Plains into a busy airport (probably the birds think that long road is an airstrip, just kidding). They will fly home once the cold season in their homeland is over.

Ten of thousands of migrant birds from North East Asia visit Tempasuk Plains every year

The special migrant birds at Tempasuk include raptors such as Peregrine, Mash Harrier, Black-winged Kite and Kestrel, and rare visitors like wild ducks, Pratincoles, Hoopoe, Ruddy Kingfisher, Black Drongo. In Dec 2021, a rare Black-faced spoonbill was spotted here. Avid birders will look for Grass Owl and skulking warblers too. Other common migrant birds like Egrets, Sandpipers, long-toed stint, Whiskered tern, Black-winged Stilt, and Greenshank are just everywhere. The high diversity of birds makes this plain one of the favourite spots of bird photographers.

Tempasuk Plains offers variety of habitat for birds, for example, paddy fields, swamps, lake, rivers, grassland, low hills.

Tempasuk Plains is part of Kota Belud Bird Sanctuary, which is approximately 12,200 ha (about 122 Square Kilometres) in size, a stopover for half a million migrant birds, and house 127 bird species in different habitats such as swamps, mudflats, coastal grassland, paddy field, mangrove, low hills, and open countryside in Kota Belud.

To spot more exciting bird species, you could explore this sanctuary with a bird guide. Personally I recommend Jason and Ceekay, both are my friends who have over 20 years of birding experience.

Even during non-peak months for migrant birds, birders still can find many resident birds in Tempasuk, to name a few, White-breasted Waterhen, Dusky Munia, spotted Dove, Oriental Darter, Swamphern, Striated Grassbird, Common Moorhen, and Heron. Some migrant birds have become resident too, e.g. great egret, honey buzzard, Peregrine Falcon, Ruddy Kingfisher and Brown Flycatcher. Beginner birders will be overjoyed to write off a long list of birds from their bucket list.

Instead of taking only a few photos there, now you have more reasons to visit Tempasuk. Would you bring a binocular or bicycle?

Many locals cycle and jog around Tempasuk Plains in the morning hence many cars parked along the road

Photos taken in Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo