{"id":331,"date":"2026-01-20T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/?p=331"},"modified":"2026-01-27T15:26:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T07:26:03","slug":"giant-leech-of-kinabalu-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/giant-leech-of-kinabalu-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Kinabalu Giant Red Leech, the Largest Leech of Borneo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are many scary stories about leeches. When people tell these stories, they often “add salt and sugar,” so I do not really believe most of them. One of the biggest exaggerations I have heard was about someone camping in the jungle. When he woke up, he saw a cucumber-sized object hanging from his arm. When he looked closer, it was a leech filled with his blood. At the time, I thought no leech could grow to such size. In reality, tiger leeches and brown leeches found in Borneo are typically only one to two inches long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tiger\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Tiger leeches (left) and brown leeches (right) in Borneo are usually about one to two inches long.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2007, I attended a talk by Mr. Quentin Phillipps, a bird photographer who lives in London (and the author of the book “Birds of Borneo”). The giant leech photos he presented were so shocking that I asked for his permission to share them. These photos were taken after Quentin finished climbing Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, on his way back down. It was raining heavily, and several giant earthworms had crawled out of the soil. Quentin came across one particularly large individual, nearly one meter long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Left: Giant Earthworm on Mount Kinabalu. Right: The Kinabalu Giant Red Leech that came after it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While he was busy examining the giant earthworm, he noticed a giant leech about 30 cm (around one foot) long approaching. Surprisingly, it was not heading toward Quentin at all. Instead, it chased the earthworm all the way back to its burrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kinabalu Giant Red Leech is only found in Sabah, Malaysia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I know that some leeches attack fish and frogs, but they usually show a strong preference for warm-blooded animals such as buffalo. This is why the behavior of this giant leech puzzles me. Look at the photo below to see the length of the leech relative to an adult\u2019s foot. There is no doubt that it is at least one foot long when its body is fully extended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kinabalu\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
The Kinabalu Giant Red Leech I encountered at two different locations in Kota Belud. Both sightings were on hills after heavy rain, in 2009 (left) and 2026 (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I saw the Kinabalu Giant Red Leech twice in Kota Belud at two different hilly locations after heavy rain. These giant leeches prey on earthworms, which also come out on rainy days, so you have a better chance of spotting them in the open. However, most people mistake them for earthworms and walk right past them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kinabalu\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
The Kinabalu Giant Red Leech looks and moves like an earthworm until you pick it up.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For fun, I asked my friends what these were. Without hesitation, they would reply, ‘It’s an earthworm,’ and look at me as if I had asked a stupid question. Then I would pick up the giant leeches and place them on my palm. They would freak out when they saw the worm move like tiger leeches, the infamous bloodsuckers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
The Kinabalu Giant Red Leech can stretch its body like rubber up to a foot long.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unlike other leeches, the Kinabalu Giant Red Leech does not suck blood.<\/strong> It has a suction cup at its tail, but it lacks the front sucker that modern leeches use to pierce skin and feed on blood. Instead, it preys on earthworms by swallowing them whole, much like slurping a noodle. A 430-million-year-old fossil reveals that ancient leeches began as marine hunters<\/a> rather than bloodsuckers. They swallowed their prey whole, or possibly drank the internal fluids of small, soft-bodied animals, similar to what the Kinabalu Giant Red Leech does today. Giant horse leeches in England also feed on toadlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Left: Kinabalu Giant Red Leech on Mount Kinabalu. Right: Giant Leech of Kota Belud. Are they the same species?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, the BBC filmed the Kinabalu Giant Leech for the first time. You can watch the footage showing the leech swallowing a large earthworm<\/a>, almost like spaghetti. Some viewers may find the scene unsettling, so discretion is advised. The scientific name of the Kinabalu Giant Red Leech is Mimobdella buettikoferi<\/em>, and it is endemic to Mount Kinabalu. I also recorded a video of a giant leech I found in Kota Belud, which you can see below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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