Tag Archives: snake

Dangerous Animals of Sabah

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

This passive little semi-transparent marine life lurks in the sea, but can kill the unfortunate swimmers by its deadly touch. The two dangerous species found in our water are the Box Jellyfish or 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.

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

Expedition to the Center of Sabah

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As Tip of Borneo is one of the most visited attractions in Sabah, “Center of Sabah” could be the next popular destination. In theory, if you thread a string through the center of a cut-out cardboard map of Sabah, the cardboard should hang flat in the balance. However, the work to pinpoint the exact Center of Sabah is far more complicated and takes years to find out. Since 2006, Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM) had been collecting reading from 18,600 points along the Sabah coastline to calculate the Center.

The coordinates of the geographical Centre of Sabah is determined at Latitude 117°7’01.8″ East and Longitude 5°+20’38.4″ North (N 5°20’38.4″ E 117°7’01.8″), which is on the top of RISM Hill (Bukit RISM) in the Pinangah Forest Reserve near Telupid (about 280 Kilometers away from Kota Kinabalu city).

For the launching of the Center of Sabah, RISM organized an expedition team of 54 members, comprised of people from RISM, Sabah Surveying and Mapping Department, Sabah Land and Survey Department, Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Tourism Board and media, to visit the Center of Sabah. The flag-off ceremony was carried out in Tun Fuad Stephens Park at 8:35am on 30 Sep 2011.

We departed in a convoy of more than 10 4-wheel drive. We stopped by Nabalu town briefly for breakfast.

Our expedition team also had lunch at Telupid town around 2pm.

Then we entered a dusty, rocky and gravel road at a junction after Telupid at 2:45pm. The ride was bumpy and we saw oil palm plantation most of the time. We also saw a few logging trucks on the way.

Above: passing by Tongod. It’s a remote area of Sabah.

Millian Forestry Center

Above: reaching Pinangah Forest Reserve, where poaching is strictly prohibited.

Our group reached Millian Forestry Centre around 4pm. We spent a night here, before departing to the Center of Sabah in next day.

The accommodation of Millian Forestry Center is basic but quite comfortable. Electricity supply is available (though there was a blackout of 30 minutes). For a shared room like photo above (with air-conditioning and attached bathroom), it’s only RM40 (about USD12) per person per night. For VIP room, it’s RM60 (about USD19).

You can ask them to prepare meal for you (RM20-RM25 per head). They have a nice dining room too. I’m not the fussy kind of tourist who would complain about food not serving on hot plate. With such facilities in forest, it’s better than what I expect. You may contact Yayasan Sabah for booking of room.

Because Millian Forestry Center is in the wilderness, it’s nothing to do at night, so I just took a night walk to explore the jungle nearby.

Anyone knows what is the name of the insect above?

Day 2

After a nice breakfast in next morning, we checked out at 6:30am and headed to the base camp of Pinangah Forest Reserve, which is about 35-minute drive away and the starting point of the trail to the Center of Sabah.

On the way, most are excited about the trip but also a bit worried about the leeches, the little blood suckers in rainforest of Borneo.

The base camp is only a big open space. We parked our 4-wheel drives there and ready for the climb.

Above: marking attendance and briefing before the climb.

The Center of Sabah is located on top of RISM Hill (Bukit RISM), with a height of 584.2 Meters above the mean-sea-level and inaccessible by car, so we have to walk 3.6 Kilometers of jungle trail in Pinangah forest to reach the Center. Personally I like it because it is like an adventure.

We crossed 3 rivers along the way. We also pass by a small waterfall and the water is so clean and refreshing.

The “fern path” at the beginning is a nice view. Very soon we entered the dense and humid secondary forest. A recce team had marked the trail with white paper the day before, so we wouldn’t lose our way. The trail is nature and have no support such as boardwalk, rope and ladder. Some little brown leeches are lurking in the damp forest ground, creating panic among the ladies, fortunately not too many leeches around today.

Above: take a break in halfway

As hunting is not allowed here, we can see the traces of wild animals living happily here, like the wallow of wild boar shown in photo above.

After an hour, a guide shows us his GPS device and tells us the Center is only 500 Meters ahead, as if it is only a few minutes away. We are motivated to move faster, only to find that we are still an hour away from the destination!

The trail is mostly ascending and about 15° in inclination, with 50° for the steepest part. I’m experienced in jungle trekking so I would call this a hiking instead of climbing. The only problem is the crawling plant on the floor that we would trip over.

To reach the Center before noon, I was in a hurry and didn’t actively look for interesting flora and fauna. Anyway, I spot tractor millipede, centipede, ginger and some fungus. Someone even saw a small snake being eaten by a centipede. Too bad I miss that.

Reaching the Center of Sabah

Even though the climb is not overly challenging, the hike is still taxing. Finally I arrived the Center at 9:30am.

The climb usually takes 2 to 3 hours, depending on how fit you are. Most of us reached the Center before 10am.

Of course we won’t miss the opportunity to photograph the victorious moment. More climbers come and all of us make it!

With the special permission of the Sabah Forestry Department, for more accurate GPS reading and better view, the hilltop had been cleared so that we get an unobstructed panoramic view of the surrounding hills from the Center of Sabah. We can even see our cars from the hill (see photo above). Can’t believe we make it that far.

The surrounding view of the Center on RISM Hill is mainly forest and mountain range, a lovely sight.

The day is getting hot, so most of us take shelter under a makeshift camp built on a helipad. This helipad was constructed to facilitate helicopter landings. 4 tons of building materials such as cement was brought to the top by helicopter.

When everyone has arrived, we have a simple unveiling ceremony of Center of Sabah Monument.

Above: we are right in the middle of Sabah!!!

Above: there is a logo embedded at each side of the monument, which acknowledges the 4 organizations that make this project a success. The official launching of the Center of Sabah coincides with the 50th anniversary celebration of the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM) in year 2011.

The Centre of Sabah is marked with a survey control point named M500 – Bukit RISM planted at the peak by JUPEM.

There is a toposcope on the monument that shows the direction and distance to the popular attractions in other parts of Sabah, for example, Kota Kinabalu, Tenom, Ranau, Kudat, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Beluran, Beaufort, Long Pasia and Semporna.

Above: a group photo to conclude the end of our expedition.

You may watch the 3-minute video below to see the overall Expedition:

How to get there

As there is no travel agent selling tour package to Centre of Sabah, you will need to arrange your transport, meals, entry permit and guide on your own. It’s not difficult, but you have to communicate with a few parties back and forth. Basically, there are three main tasks:

1. Get a Permit

Because Centre of Sabah is located inside a protected forest reserve (Pinangah), you need to apply an entry permit from Sabah Forestry Department (SFD). Just write to the Director of SFD in Sandakan HQ to request for permission. In your letter, please state:

Number of people going (include your driver too), with details such as Name, ID and Nationality
Date of your visit
Purpose of your visit (i.e. visit Centre of Sabah)
Your contact (phone, H/P, fax, e-mail)
You may request for a guide. I’m sure they will send forest ranger(s) to go with you anyway

*SFD may collect permit or guide fee

Look for general phone number of SFD in Sandakan in their website. Ask for the correct fax number or mailing address to fax / send your letter. They are very efficient and usually get your application processed on next day, but I advise you to apply at least one or two week earlier, because you may need to do paperwork and make payment.

2. Booking the Accommodation

You may spend a night in Millian Forestry Centre (of Yayasan Sabah Group), which is near to the starting point of your climb. Below is the price list of their accommodation and services (rates of Year 2014/2015), and the phone numbers for booking.

Pic: please note you need to add 6% GST Tax on top of final amount

Besides booking a room, you also can pre-book your meals with them. You also find more details at the Facebook of the Centre of Sabah.

3. Other Things

For example, if you don’t have a 4-Wheel Drive, you will need to rent one. You better buy insurance for your trip. Here are some recommended things to bring: backpack (with rain cover), raincoat / poncho, mosquito repellent, anti-leech socks, drinking water, energy bar, GPS device, extra clothing / socks, toiletries.

More Photos

You may check out my photo album if you want to see more nice pictures:

Photos taken in Telupid, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Tabin, the Sanctuary of Borneo Wildlife

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Located in east coast of Sabah, Tabin Wildlife Reserve is one of the best kept lowland rainforest of Borneo. I don’t want to hide the fact that most lowland of Sabah is now blanketed by oil palm. Tabin is surrounded by sea of oil palm, making it an oasis of the ecology desert (oil palm). In fact, this 112,000-hectare protected forest reserve harbors some of the rarest and endangered Bornean animals such as Pygmy Elephant, Sumatran Rhinoceros and Orangutan.

Last month I visited Tabin for 3 days. Though large part of Tabin is secondary rainforest being logged in the past, the forest regenerates really well over the decades. Tabin also has 9,000 hectares undisturbed primary forest known as the Core Area. Do you know that there are nearly 1,000 tree species in 50-hectare area of Borneo rainforest (Temperate Forest is up to 100 species only)?

Macaques

Guess what was the first animal I saw in Tabin. Can you recognise the “aliens” below?

Pic: “Aliens” in Tabin

LOL they are actually the butt of pig-tailed macaques, a common but cheeky monkey. At the left is a male with its testicles, the sexy red butt at the right belongs to a female ready to mate.

In late afternoon, you would see dozens of macaques gathering on the ground feeding, socializing and grooming one another. Tabin Resort doesn’t feed them so they keep a distance from human. But you better lock the door and leave nothing outside your room, because these monkey know how to open door and ransack your stuffs.

I was surprised to see a long-tailed macaque among a herd of pig-tailed macaques as if it’s one of the members. Wonder if both species speak the same language.

Pic: Bornean Gibbon foraging on a fruit tree. You can always hear their “whoop-whoop” loud and long call early in the morning at Tabin.

There are 9 primate species in Tabin, but gorilla isn’t on the list (though the movie says King Kong is from Borneo). The most famous primate here is Orangutan. Tabin is one of the releasing spots for rehabilitated orphan orangutan from Sepilok. To ensure they can survive in the wild, rangers will track and evaluate the new comers for 2 weeks.

Tabin Wildlife Resort

Tabin Wildlife Resort is the only accommodation and tour operator in Tabin Wildlife Reserve. To visit Tabin, you can book a full board tour package with them (Accommodation, meals, transport, activities and guide services are included). They also offer special tours such as bird-watching and frog camp. Please note walk-in tourist might not be entertained.

Pic: River Lodge of Tabin Resort

After an hour of bumpy ride on 44-Kilometres of unsealed road from Lahad Datu town, I checked-in to River Lodge of Tabin Resort around noon. River Lodge is just next to Lipad River and you would see foraging animals at the river bank sometimes.

The chalet looks small from outside, but the room is really spacious and completed with attached bathroom/toilet, private balcony, air conditioner, ceiling fan and hot water shower. The accommodation is comfortable and electricity supply is available 24×7. I’m happy.

Pic: Hill Lodge of Tabin Resort

For honeymooners, Hill Lodge offers more luxurious and private space, so nobody can hear what you both busy doing in your room. I think it’s great for family too.

Pic: Sunbird Cafe of Tabin Resort

Sunbird Cafe is where I have my buffet meals (and free flow of coffee) and it is the gathering point for all activities. The cafe has Wifi so you can check your Facebook, but the line would be slow if too many guests are sharing the connection.

Dusk Drive & Night Safari

Compared to my jungle trips in other places of Sabah, the activities at Tabin are really leisure, nothing made me gasping for air there. But I sweated a lot, as rainforest is warm and humid, when the dense trees trap the heat and moisture under their canopy during daytime.

We started our Dusk Drive at 5pm. Unlike Africa, where you can see hundred of animals on open grassland. In Borneo, you need to look quite hard for the animals hiding among the dense wood. Luckily, the guide does the job for us. A napping monitor lizard high on a tree set off the excitement.

As the habitat of about 260 lowland bird species (FYI, oil palm estate only hosts 9 to 12 species), Tabin is a favorite destination of bird-watchers. Out of 8 hornbill species in Tabin, I saw 4 of them (Oriental Pied Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill and Bushy-crested Hornbill) during my stay. If you are a hardcore birder, they will bring you to Core Area (virgin forest) to look for Blue-headed Pitta and Blue-Banded Pitta, which are endemic to Borneo.

Pic: Crested-serpent eagle is the most common eagle here. We also spotted Wallace’s Hawk-eagle and Changeable Hawk-eagle.

Pic: Bornean Falconet

The highlight is Bornean Falconet (a.k.a. White-fronted Falconet), which is endemic to Sabah and the smallest raptor in the world (about the size of a palm). There was a group of three perching on a tree very far away from us. Fortunately, our guide let us to have a better look with his high-power telescope. I tried to photograph them through the scope but the photo was blur, well. 🙁

Then we heard a loud roar from the elephants deep in the forest beside us. “It was a mother calling its calf”, our guide said. Though there are 200 to 300 elephants in Tabin, sighting of them is not guaranteed. We waited there for over 15 minutes but no sign of them coming near. When I almost gave up, two Bornean pygmy elephants emerged from the wood behind our truck! After wandering on the gravel road for a while, both of them headed to a neighboring plantation for juicy young shots of oil palm. Somehow this smart mammal figures out the time when electrical fence is being turned off lol.

The daylight was out soon and lot of fireflies flickering on the trees, but we didn’t stop the fun drive. On the way back to resort, our guide turned on the spotlight and here we went for a night safari. Besides a pair of sleeping Rhinoceros Hornbill on the tree, we saw other nocturnal animals such as Common Palm Civet and Leopard Cats. We were also watching a red giant flying squirrel took off from a branch, it could glide 100 Metres from tree to tree, we were told.

Pic: a Buffy Fish Owl. A Brown Wood Owl was nearby too.

Night Walk

Dusk drive is cool but it would be more thrilling to walk around and search for other forest dwellers in the dark. After dinner, everyone grabbed a flashlight and explored deep in the jungle. We pointed our light to the shrubs, tree top, forest ground, tree bark, etc. and came across something interesting.

Pic: Crematogaster inflata, these ants look like carrying a “gold” knapsack, which is the enlarged metapleural gland that can secrete whitish defensive fluid and their bites are very itchy. Thank you Arthur Chung for the ID.

A single tree of Borneo can house 1,000 insect species. There are at least 50,000 insect species in Tabin, which is enough for you to explore for a lifetime.

Pic: mushroom growing on an elephant dung. Everything in rainforest is recycled and exist for a reason.

Pic: a small snake waiting quietly for its prey.

Pic: a giant river toad covered with irregular bumps. The big glands behind its eyes secrete poisonous fluid so don’t touch it!

Lipad Mud Volcano

The next morning we went to the Lipad Mud Volcano, something that makes Tabin special. The jungle trail to the mud volcano is 700 Metres and requires only 20 minutes trekking. We saw some fresh and old elephant dungs along the way, an evidence that elephants frequent this area. Anyway, I only found a tiny mouse deer and a few forest leeches.

Pic: a coral fungus

Pic: the Lipad Mud Volcano is as big as a football field and it is still growing. This might be the largest mud volcano of Borneo. Can you spot the tiny people in the photo?

Pic: elephant tracks at mud volcano

Animals love mud volcano as it is rich in sodium and calcium, the vital minerals that are not readily available in their normal diet. That’s why this is a good spot for wildlife sighting, as animals come here regularly for “salt lick” in late afternoon.

We love mud volcano too, not for salt lick but for skin care. Some says the mud is really good for skin so we collect some for facial SPA later.

Some prefers to enjoy the muddy face mask on the spot.

However, the outer ring of mud volcano is dry mud mixed with coarse sand. To collect the finest and silky wet mud, you have to go to the sources located in the centre, where you can see fresh mud burping and bubbling up from the ground. The mud in centre is deep and soft, so your shoes would be trapped in it. Some even lost their pant here (yes, that happened before).

Pic: the 5-storey observation tower next to the mud volcano. You can overnight there for more animal sighting.

Pic: making handprint certificate with volcano mud.

Lipad Waterfall

After getting ourselves dirty in mud volcano, we got on our truck and moved to Lipad Waterfall. The nature trail to the waterfall is only 400 Metres but we needed to cross a river as deep as our waist level.

Because of the heavy rain the night before, the water looked a bit murky, but it was clean and cooling. We washed away our mud at the river and took a dip in the waterfall pool.

Pic: Lipad Waterfall, pristine and unpolluted.

Other Activities

There are more things to do in Tabin. Just to list a few here.

You may check out the exhibition in Trogon Hall gallery, where they display some photographs and information of Borneo bio-diversity.

Pic: elephant skull in the Gallery

After a long day of trekking, it’s time to relax your tired feet by trying out the Rainforest Foot Soak at Eagle’s Nest. Various traditional tropical herb and plants (e.g. Kaffir lime leaf, Aloe Vera, Lemongrass, Betel Leaf, Pandanus Leaf, Galangal, Tumeric) are put in the hot water, and you can rub your feet against the smooth pebbles at bottom.

So that’s my Tabin trip. You can see that our rainforest is an eco-treasure worths protecting and preserving. The good news is – Sabah government and NGOs are working together to connect all the isolated forest of Sabah, so wildlife can migrate freely among them for food and mates. In future, Tabin forest reserve will be part of the Heart of Borneo.

More Photos

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Photos taken in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Snake Island of Pulau Tiga Park

Snake Island (Pulau Ular)

The trip to Snake Island is optional. You can pay RM40 (≈USD12) to visit two islands (Snake Island and Sands Spit Island) of Pulau Tiga Park. The tour also includes a snorkeling trip off the island, so it is a good deal.

We depart at 9am and reach the Snake Island after 15 minutes. They only allow you to go during good weather.

According to a legend, Snake Island is the resting place of a heart-broken princess, whose lover is turned into rock by black magic of her sisters. The angry king penalized the evil sisters by turning their islands into mud volcanoes (Pulau Tiga).

Snake Island is so small that you need only 15 minutes to walk one round of the island.

Besides a jetty and a shelter, there is no other facility on Snake Island.

Pic: a warning sign. Watch your steps! You must be accompanied by a guide. We are happy to have Mr. Mohammad Syaheer, the “snake catcher” from Pulau Tiga Resort, to go with us.

Though Snake Island is tiny, it has interesting plant such as tall Pisonia tree, which has smooth bark and grows well in sandstone, limestone and shale of Snake Island.

At first glance, Snake Island looks like an ordinary island with rocky shore. I saw the feather and dropping of white-bellied sea eagle, a bird that preys on sea snake.

Actually the sea snakes are sleeping in the crevices between the rocks. Mohammad is so brave to pull one of them out of the hole. I can’t forget it’s one of the most poisonous snakes in the world!

He even let us to touch and hold the sea snake. Surprisingly, its skin is dry and feel like plastic. We only saw two sea snakes. The guides say probably it’s not mating season and most sea snakes go hunting in sea during daytime.

You may watch the 2-min video below about Snake Island:

Click Here to see wider video

Sands Spit Island

After the visit to Snake Island, we stop briefly on Sands Spit Island (Pulau Kalampunian Besar), which is only a few Kilometers away.

Pic: old aerial photo of Sands Spit Island (Source: Sabah Parks)

Sands Spit Island was used to be a sand bar in the sea (see photo above). Technically, it didn’t look like an island.

However, over the years, some vegetations such as Casaurine trees and salt-tolerant creeping vine (Beach Morning Glory) set foot on Sands Spit Island, giving this white sand bar a green cover. A new island is born…

Personally, I think Sands Spit Island has the BEST Beach in Sabah. The white sandy beach is long and unspoiled, and the sea water is the clean crystal blue color.

Pic: you can see Pulau Tiga from Sands Spit Island

We enjoy every moment on this lovely island. Our footprints are the only human trace on Sands Spit Island. I don’t mind staying there whole day long, but sadly, we have to leave…

You may watch the following 2-min video of Sands Spit Island:

Click Here to see wider video

A new video taken at another end of the Sands Spit Island:

Click Here to see wider video

Snorkeling

As the last activity of the island tour this morning, our boat sends us to Tiga Trail, a snorkeling point near Pulau Tiga. In lucky day, you can see sea turtle there.

Pic: the dark area in the sea is coral reefs rich with marine creatures

The water is warm and only 1 to 4 Meters deep. The weather is nice, so the visibility underwater is very good. The corals are in healthy state, with many reef fishes foraging among rich variety of seagrass and hard & soft corals.

FYI, you can rent snorkeling gears (snorkel, mask and fins) for RM30 (≈USD9) per day, if you don’t have any. For those who are not a good swimmer, they can use the life jacket from the boat.

Pulau Tiga Resort also has a dive center on island. To go deeper to see more marine creatures such as nudibranchs, cuttlefish, bamboo sharks and marbled stingray, you can arrange with the resort for scuba diving trip in Pulau Tiga Park. For non-divers, they still can experience diving in Discovery Scuba Diving programme (RM200≈USD61 per person, RM300≈USD91 for two).

You may watch the following 1-min video of snorkeling in Pulau Tiga:

Click Here to see wider video

Reptile Paradise

Besides rich marine ecosystems, Pulau Tiga Park is also rich in terrestrial flora and fauna. In fact, Pulau Tiga is first protected as a forest reserve, before it is turned into a marine park. To me, Pulau Tiga is the Kingdom of Reptiles. Other than sea kraits, I saw many other reptiles such as the Yellow-ringed snake below:

Again, Syaheer the snake catcher is in action. Yellow-ringed snake is almost a guaranteed found if you do a night walk in the jungle of Pulau Tiga, especially after rain. Some says its poison is mild and cause only serious headache, but some says it’s fatal. Well, the only way you can find out is to let it bites you, just kidding.

Yellow-ringed snake is passive, so it is never a problem to the guests. FYI, its yellow color will fade if it’s very hungry. Python also lives on this island but I saw only its abandoned nest. I spotted the small Lizard Snake twice, but they flee so fast that I can’t photograph them.

The main predator of Pulau Tiga is Monitor Lizard. You can find a dozen of them wandering at the kitchen area behind the resort. Most of them are 4 to 5 feet long. Normally they stay away from human so they never pose a danger to tourists (as long as they don’t provoke the lizard). Below is a 1-min video of them:

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Monitor lizard lives happily on Pulau Tiga like a king. If it lives in city, it’ll just become one of the road kills or have tyre mark on its long tail.

Skink and lizards are just everywhere. To name a few, I saw or heard Rough-backed ground skink, Striped tree skink, Brown skink, Green tree lizard and Tokay gecko.

Pic: near the coastal area, hermit crab is also everywhere.

You can see Oriental Pied Hornbill early in the morning (6am-7am) around resort. I also saw 4 of them perching on a Casaurina Pine in a night walk. They told me the guide and guest saw a white hornbill 2 years ago, probably an albino. Other birds that you can see on Pulau Tiga are Megapod, Frigate Bird, Magpie Robin, Blue-naped Parrot, Great Egret, White-breasted Woodswallow, Nightjar, etc.

Pic: a crab-eating frog in the mangrove stream outside my room. It’s one of the few frogs that can tolerate saline environment.

Long-Tailed Macaques are present in the island, but they prefer to stay in the wood. They can become a major nuisance if tourists feed them.

Monitor lizard and python also prey on this naughty monkey. You can ask the resort staffs who witnessed the terrible scenes of monkey being consumed alive by those reptiles. I hate monkey, so their stories sound awesome to me, especially the part that monitor lizard swallows the head of a baby monkey. Yes, I’m sick, whatever. Anyway, the island needs predators to control the monkey population.

Pic: Ranggu and Keruing trees dominate the island forest
There are 8 nature trails of different length in Pulau Tiga (see map below). The resort tells me they find pangolin and coconut crab in the forest.

Pic: Putat Laut tree (Species: Barringtonia asiatica) only grows on undisturbed beach. Its huge drift seed can survive for 15 years.

Just walk around the beach, you will see some interesting trees such as Putat Laut, Ketapang (Umbrella Tree) and Penaga Laut.

There are so many more to see in Pulau Tiga. I stayed there for 3 days 2 nights and explored only one-third of the island.

More Photos

You may check out my photo album on Pulau Tiga Island if you would like to see more nice pictures:

Photos taken in Kuala Penyu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

The Green Connection

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The Green Connection Aquarium is an eco theme park which showcases the remarkable biodiversity of Sabah. At first I thought it was just another new mini-zoo, until I saw its first-class facilities that are not found elsewhere in Sabah. This park combines zoo, aquarium and science discovery centre into one great environmental education experience.

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A Walk into Sabah’s Biodiversity

Operated by conservationists, the Green Connection houses over 500 native species of animals from 9 major habitats. A friendly staff will guide you for an interpretation walk into different ecology zones: through limestone caves, dense jungle, muddy mangroves, magnificent reefs, coastlines and out into the open ocean.

Cave Zone: a cave-like environment for you to see some creepy cave dwellers such as scorpion and spider in the dark.

Rainforest Zone: information of status and threats of our Borneo jungle. A few big pythons wait to take photo with you.

River Zone: a collection of native freshwater lives such as blade fishes, terrapins, catfish and pig-nosed turtle. Say Hi to reptiles such as monitor lizard, crocodile and snake.

Coastal Zone: see feeding of turtle and stingray. There is a fish tank with a hollow in middle, where you can “pop” your head in and see yourself surrounded by corals and fishes. It is so fun!

The coral garden tanks show various hard and soft corals, sea anemone and giant clams in close distance, without making you wet. You will see highly venomous marine creatures such as sea snakes, stone fish and scorpion fishes.

Ocean Zone: the aquarium tank with 8-inch thick glass is the highlight as it is the largest in South East Asia. During feeding time, you will see cowtail stingray, black-tipped reef sharks, striped catfishes, guitar shark, blue-spotted ray and bat fishes in a frenzy for food.

Above: these bat fishes change color almost every minute.

An Outdoor Classroom

I remember one day I was in Sabah Museum, a boy complained to his parents, “I’m so bored. Can we leave now?” If you ask the children what impresses them in the zoo, they might answer that is the parrot that they touch earlier, not the charismatic animals such as lions and giraffe. Kids are more interested in Nemo than clown fishes. Kids see and learn the world differently.

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Therefore, that is why I think the Green Connection is more than a tourist attraction. It is a great outdoor classroom that stimulates learning because it encourages kids to see, touch, feel and smell things in fun way. For example, the Touch Pools allows them to touch starfishes, bamboo sharks and horse-shoe crabs. This should work very well because Malaysians have very itchy hands and want to touch everything.

The science and discovery centre with creative and interactive hands-on modules which are not only fun but an interesting demonstration of oceanography, biology, chemistry, physics, maths, technology & engineering concepts. Even adults find them fun. When you can make the children open their mouths to ask WHY and HOW, you know it’s great chance to educate them. My favourite is a 3D frog illusion projected by manipulation of reflection of light. The frog looks so real and solid but you cannot touch it.

Kids nowadays seldom get in touch with nature. I recall my childhood that is filled with memories of fishing, cycling, tree climbing and “loitering”. But when I look out the window, there are no children plays outside their house. Probably they are busy with computer, video game and TV? How do we expect the younger generation to conserve the environment if they do not love it? The Green Connection does an outstanding job to “connect” them to the nature and learn to love and protect it.

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Above: not everything is touchable. Like the stone fish above. A victim says, “the sting made my hand felt like inside the boiling water for 3 days. It’s so…. hurt.” Its venom can be fatal.

Contact & Info

The Green Connection is situated at 5 KM Tuaran Road, Likas (see Location Map). Just make a turn to the junction near Wisma Wanita, follow the sign and you will see it next to St. John Ambulance. The entrance fee is RM25 for adult and RM15 for children (2 to 16 years old). Please note that they have discount for Family and School groups.

Opening Hours: 9:30am-5:30pm every day (last entry 4:30pm)
Feeding Show: Weekdays: 11:30am & 4:00pm, Weekend & Holidays: 11:30am, 2:00pm & 4:00pm
Address (see Location Map): The Green Connection, Badan Sukarela Complex, Mile 2, Tuaran Road, Lorong Bunga Matahari 2, 88450 Likas, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Website: aadcgreenconnection.com
E-mail: Enquiry@aadcgreenconnection.com
Facebook: Green-Connection-Aquatica-Aquarium-Discovery-Centre-Sdn-Bhd-OFFICIAL
Phone: +60 13-8978005, +60 88-263326

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Green Connection is quite big. I only show the photos of part of (not all) The Green Connection here, as a teaser. Personally I call it a must-visit place to family and recommend it to my friends. After they visit this place, they also become a fan and tell others about the exciting experience.

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Malaysia

Sea Snakes Highway

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Look for a painful death just a few feets away? You can have it in Pulau Banggi (Banggi Island) off Kudat town. If you walk around the Bonggi Resort, you will see the sign below by WWF that reads:

Be Careful!..
Sea Snakes
Scientific Name: Laticauda Colubrina
Group: Elapidae
Sub-group: Hydrophiinae
“This area is a habitat of sea snakes. Sea snake is a venomous snake. It can reach 2 Meters in length. There are more than 50 species of sea snakes. They normally live in beach and sea, and reproduce in land.

Sea snake is not a threat to human, unless provoked or beaten. Thus, when you see it, please do not beat or disturb it because it is a poisonous snake. It is also an unique wildlife that can become an attraction for this region.”

The notice is written in Malaysia language, so the foreigners may not aware that they have entered a danger zone. I only knew it in my second visit to Banggi Island. The locals told me that the sea snakes would leave the sea and wander in this spot after 7pm, then return to sea around 4 and 5am morning. Below is a figure of their moving routes. They love to hide in the tree at the right.

Snake phobia can go to bed early then. Since Pulau Banggi is such a remote place with nothing to do at night, I can sit there and watch them for whole night. The area is dim and not well-lighted, so you can step on the sea snake accidentally. It venom is so potent that one drop of it can kill 7 people, 3 times more poisonous than cobra and can kill us within 2 hours! But its head is very small, unlike most other poisonous snakes.

Right after 7pm, I could see something moving in the dark. It was a sea snake in black and white stripes. Actually I had seen Yellow-lipped sea snakes in Sawangan Beach of Kuala Penyu. The difference is the sea snakes here are not so afraid of human, even we were only a few feets away. It just continued to go to the old tree. Later I saw 2 more. They are about 4 to 6 feet long. I saw about 6 in 2nd night. There might be more coz I didn’t stay there for long.

When we were watching the snakes, the locals came and touched the sea snakes and said how “friendly” these snakes were. I know yellow-lipped sea snake is not aggressive, but I think wildlife is not a pet that love to be touched, so better just leave them alone. I was told that the darker color one is more aggressive.

From its flat and paddle-shape tail that is equipped for swimming, you can tell that it is a sea snake. This type of sea snake has the habit to come to land to sleep and lay eggs at night. I have been watching them for 2 night. They just moved back and forth, before really settled down under the trees. I guess the interesting phenomenon here have started about as old as the tree. Even though human has claimed this area long ago, the snakes insist to come back every night.

Sea snakes are always trapped in the fishing net. When the fishermen are busy sorting out the fishes, they might be bitten by this sea snake and don’t know it, due to the anesthetic effect of the venom. Later the fisherman will die mysteriously, and his co-workers would think that it is the act of sea ghost. They will place the dead body in the sea, and “let the sea ghost takes him away”.

Another good reason not to anger this snake is — there is NO antidote for the poison. The hospital would use other substituted antidote for the cure, which is less effective. If the situation worsen, the poison will dissolve the muscles of our body, it is very very very very very painful, then our urine will turn into cola red color. The color is actually the protein of the muscle cells dissolved by the venom. Our kidney will try to filter this protein and will eventually fail due to unbearable burden. At last, we die in agony.

Therefore, if you want a wonderful and unforgettable travel experience, do not mess with sea snake. I hope you get it, I mean the advice, not the snake bite itself. Don’t ask me why those Pulau Tiga guide asks the tourists to hold this snake in Snake Island. Personally I don’t think they should disturb the snakes, no matter they are harmful or not.

JFYI, ALL species of sea snakes are poisonous.

Photos taken in Banggi Island (Kudat), Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Wild Kundasang

Jungle Trekking in Kinabalu Park, Part 2 of 2

1. Bug and Insect (Page 1, 2)

The creepy, the weird, the slimy, the unknown… bug are all in these 2 pages. Most of them is active at night.

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The leech from Bukit Ular trail is only 0.5 inch (1 CM) long. After I removed it from my shoe, it just “stood” upright still on the ground, pointing to sky for minutes, like it was praying to God. Poor leech, in this cold day, I really hoped I could give him a few drops of blood and a warm jacket to put on. BTW, Kinabalu Park is also the best place to find big beetles.

2. Flower and Plant (Page 3, 4)

Various flower, fruits, and plant in Kinabalu Park. Most were taken in the jungle trails.

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Those plants live well in low-light condition under canopy. Some of them may carry secret ingredient that can cure the deadly diseases. They are such a potential precious asset that our government is very strict in controlling the export. I can’t identify most of the plant. Probably those who know can tell me what they are.

3. Snakes, Mushroom and Fungus (Page 5)

Day-shift rangers will tell you that it is rare to see snake, while night-shift rangers will tell you they see snakes every day. Most snakes show up at night. I consider I am quite lucky coz I see 4 snakes in Kinabalu Park. The green viper is only 1 foot long, but it is highly venomous. I saw them twice. The first time was in the grass next to the main road, near the hostel in the evening. When I took photos, those busybodies gathered around me and scared away the snake… The 3-feet brown snake below was found in Liwagu trail. It was hidding under the grass. I tried to use my walking stick to move it gently to open space for photography, but it escaped.

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One day later, seeing me busy searching around for snake at night, a ranger took out a mineral water bottle, which contains a small green viper inside, and asked me if I was interested in taking its photo (heck, wonder why he was carrying such a deadly snake around in his bag). The snake refused to go out. We used our torch light to light up the bottle, to make it moved to the opening (darker). It has a heat sensor near its nose and will not hesitate to strike if it senses any threat. Luckily, I managed to take a few photos.

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The last snake I saw was near Balsam Cafe. This yellow snake saw me and crawled inside a burrow. Damn my stupid and slow camera that needs more than 3 seconds to focus in the dark, so I couldn’t get a good shot. It has a very small head and a few yellow stripes on its body.

4. Moth (Page 6)

Moths are everywhere, especially at night, and it has become an interesting “feature” of Kinabalu Park. They come with different size, shape, pattern and colours. For those scientists who look for many moth specimens and species, all they need to do is to sit under the street lamp at night and see hundreds of moth come to them.

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Pop Quiz: How do you differentiate a moth and a butterfly?
They both look alike. While roosted, the moth will open its wing, but butterfly will close its wing. I can easily get photos of hundred types of moth, but I picked only 24 good-looking or odd-looking moths for sharing here.

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5. River and Nature Trails (Page 7, 8)

These are the photos of jungle trails, trees, and river. Please refer to my previous blog (Kinabalu Park, Part 1 of 2) for detail description.

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Photos taken in Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo