Sabah, Borneo 2008 – Jon Hall

Proboscis Monkey, Kinabatang River

In August 2008 I had to visit Melaka in Malaysia for work so I thought I would return to Borneo for a few

days. I particularly wanted to see a Flat-headed Cat so decided to return to the Kinabatang River –

perhaps the best place in the world to look for this species. From there I headed to Tabin Wildlife

Reserve for 3 days.

Travelling in Borneo is best arranged through an agency. I tried to deal direct with the Kinabatang

Jungle Lodge recommended by Richard Webb for their Flat-headed Cat friendly location. But they only

answered my first email: when they found out I was travelling alone they didn’t reply to my

messages. So I booked everything through Intra Travel in Kota Kinabalu, who Richard Webb has also

used. They were good, answering all my emails within 24 hours and organising a few extra things that

were not part of the standard tourist package ( I dealt with Sabrina Stawin there).

Sabrina arranged for Hadi to be my guide and driver. He is a top guy and I will definitely use him again if

I go back. He doesn’t profess to be very knowledgeable about the wildlife but is excellent at spotting

stuff and genuinely enthusiastic. I daresay he is still talking about the 4m Python we saw straddle the

road in Tabin. He was also ready to go spotlighting til midnight with me and generally couldn’t do

enough to help. I met another guide called Kenneth Tizon who works freelance and seemed to know a

good deal about mammals.

Kinabatang River

I arrived into Sandakan at 16.45 direct from Kuala Lumpur and met Hadi. The Kinabatang jungle Lodge is

one of the more basic lodges along the river. But the staff were friendly and the food tasty. It is also

well set up for naturalists (mainly birders) and it is easy to do ad hoc stuff like extended night tours if

you want to see a Flat-headed Cat. You can contact them direct, through Robert Chong at

labukbb@yahoo.com, though I didn’t have much luck getting a reply.

Most of the action along the Kinabatang happens from a boat. I took two morning and two late

afternoon trips. I saw Long-tailed Macaques, Silver Langurs, and Proboscis Monkeys each trip. An

Orang Utan once, an Elephant (upstream) and Pig-tailed Macaques near Sukau. I also saw a Plaintain

Squirrel and a couple of Plain Pygmy Squirrels. One afternoon we headed up stream a fair way and

apart from the elephant, we heard a roar that Hadi said was certainly a Sun Bear.

Long Tailed Macaque

Proboscis Monkey

Around the lodge itself there were numerous microbats and I caught a couple of Fawn Leafnosed Bats

(Hipposideros cervinus) that were feeding around the light outside my room, plus Plain Pygmy and

Prevosts Squirrels. The trail (about 1.5 km I guess) around the lodge’s block of land was very good for

Orang Utans – I saw 5 in three separate groups during two morning strolls. Plaintain Squirrels were also

common and I saw a Bearded Pig feeding on fallen figs. My spotlight batteries were dying and so I

walked just a bit at night and saw a Malayan Civet.

Plain Pygmy Squirrel

We took three night trips. The water had risen the day I arrived which meant Flat-headed Cat watching

wasn’t ideal. The cats hang out mainly along the banks of tributaries to the main river and if the water

level rises they are pushed back further into the forest. Although we were looking out for them, most of

the cruise took place along the main river and didn’t maximise my chances. During the first night cruise

the only mammals we saw were a few Large Flying Foxes.

Fawn Leafnosed Bat

The second night was worse: we saw no mammals. The other boat from the lodge saw a Flat-headed

Cat (about 30 metres into the tributary). We raced back but missed it by a couple of minutes. So on the

third night I’d arranged to go out on my own with the boatman who was the resident Flat-headed Cat

finder-in-chief. He also agreed to stay out til midnight until we found one. The water had dropped over

a metre since I arrived so things were looking up. And within 2 minutes of leaving the lodge we saw

what appeared to be a cat at the edge of the river. But we approached it to fast and though I was fairly

sure was a cat with a long tail I cannot say much more. I guess it was a House Cat. We spent the next

hour going slowly down the tributary until the boatman spotted a Flat-headed Cat. We had great views

for over 20 minutes of the beautiful little thing. Black clouds were looming so we dashed back to the

lodge but were 3 minutes too late. Completely soaked.

Flat Headed Cat

Banded Palm Civets are quite often reported from the Kinabatang. I missed out – apparently your best

bet is to look in a fruiting fig. The drier season – June through August is the best time of year to see Flat-

headed Cats.

Oran Utang

We left the Kinabatang for the 4 hour drive to Tabin stopping at Gomantong Caves en route. Lots of

Wrinkle-lipped Bats, many Roundleaf Bats (some looked like Hipposideros cervinus) and some Short-

nosed Fuit Bats (Cynopterus brachyotis) under the eaves of a white building in the car park.

Round Leaf Bats, Gomantong Caves

Tabin

Mud Volcano, Tabin

Tabin is a comfortable hotel on the edge of a big chunk of good forest amidst palm plantations. I didn’t

know very much about the place other than what I’d read in a trip report from Richard Webb and that

my Thai friends Tu and Jan had seen a Clouded Leopard and some other good mammals here during a

long visit in April 2008.

Richard was quite disappointed in Tabin. I had my own vehicle which helped relieve my frustration, so I

was able to take long night drives without any problem. That said, his comment about the quality of

the guides still stands. My guide, Jodi, was pleasant enough but wasn’t great at finding animals and

pretty much disappeared after the first evening drive (apparently he was sick and so spent most of his

time asleep, something he apparently does well). The hotel has recently been taken over by the

government and – surprise surprise – the quality of the food and general running of the place had

apparently deteriorated. Overall Tabin has potential, and they were more flexible than Borneo

Rainforest Lodge in 2004, but some small changes and better guides could make a world of

difference. Marlin is an excellent guide and I would try to use him if I returned. The lodge manager –

Mr Simon – was also very knowledgeable and I wish I could have talked to him more.

Masked Palm Civet

A drive on the first night from 6 to 8 pm got a Masked Palm Civet (my first good look at this animal) a

couple of Leopard Cats and a Black Flying Squirrel, as well as a 4m Reticulated Python crossing the road.

Reticulated Python

There was a Lesser Mouse Deer grazing in a garden back at the park HQ. We headed out after dinner

along the road to the core area of the park for a couple of hours and saw Sambar, a Malayan Civet, a

couple of Giant Red and one Thomas’s Flying Squirrel and some Flying Foxes.

Bearded Pig

I chose to spend the second night camping out on the observation tower overlooking the mud volcano,

something Richard Webb had done. It was a nice thing to do but the wildlife watching was

disappointing to non-existent. Lots of Bearded Pigs and a Sambar Deer. The bright full moon made

watching for things easier (particularly as my spotlight packed up) but it may have put the animals off

from coming out of the forest (as may have the loud snores coming from Jodi 2 floors below me). There

were heaps of Bornean Gibbons calling in the morning and I saw a family along the road at the start of

the short trail to the Volcano.

Bornean Gibbon

Back at camp and along the Sambar Trail I saw a Greater Mouse Deer, Prevost’s and Low’s

Squirrels. There were Pig-tailed Macaques opposite my room and a colony of Ridley’s Myotis living

under river cabin 5.

Ridley's Myotis

Hose’s Langurs (Grey Leaf Monkeys) are often reported around camp and I finally tracked one down at

5pm on my last afternoon near one of the park buildings, 100 metres from my room. Bornean Gibbons

were hanging out in the same area.

Prevost's Squirrel

Heavy rain set in at 5.30 on my last night which I thought would bode well for the night drive (so long as

the rain stopped). It did stop, bang on cue after dinner, but the night drive was not the repeat

performance of a specatacular drive I’d taken after heavy rain in the Danum. In 2.5 hours I saw a couple

of Mouse Deer, at least two unidentified flying squirrels, a couple of Leopard Cats, a Common Palm

Civet and what was probably a Moon Rat scuttling off the road as well as another smallish rat species. I

also heard an Elephant trumpet at very close range. At 11pm I took a quick look at the half finished

nature trail across the river from the lodge where Simon, the park manager, said he thought there were

Tarsiers. He's something of an expert and had smelt their latrine site. I think I found the smell (a sort of

‘bat roost’ smell) but I couldn’t find the Tarsiers. Truth be told I am not sure I found the trail.

I took a 4am pre-dawn drive on my last morning, which produced Bearded Pigs, Sambar, a Leopard Cat,

the sound of another Elephant and my first Bornean Yellow Muntjac (along the Tabin Road).

Hadi relaxes at the Mud Volcano Observation Tower

Stuff I missed

Clouded Leopards are seen occasionally here, and Jodi, my guide, had seen Marbled Cats twice in July

(or so he said). Sun Bears often raid the plantations at night. There are Sumatran Rhinos in Tabin but

the chances of seeing them are tiny. Tarsiers are around but not easy to see, though they may be

easier in February March time allegedly. Just about every report in the sightings book over the past

couple of months had noted Otters (mainly Small-clawed and less often Smooth), with a group of

about 25 Short-clawed Otters being seen every other day outside the lodge. Unfortunately they left the

day before I arrived and did not return.

Trip list

G - Gomantong, K - Kinabatang, T - Tabin

1. Moonrat T

2. Flying Fox K, T

3. Short-nosed Fruit Bat (Cynopterus brachyotis) G

4. Fawn Leafnosed Bat (Hipposideros cervinus) K, G?

5. Ridley's Myotis (Myotis Ridleyi) T

6. Silvered Langur K

7. Hose’s Langur T

8. Proboscis Monkey K

9. Long-tailed Macaque K,

10. Pig-tailed Macaque K, T

11. Bornean Gibbon T

12 Orang-Utan K

13. Rat sp T

14. Prevosts Squirrel K, T

15. Plain Pygmy Squirrel K

16. Plantain Squirrel K

17. Low’s Squirrel T

18. Black Flying Squirrel T

19. Giant Red Flying Squirrel T

20. Thomas’s Flying Squirrel T

21. Malay Civet K, T

22. Masked Palm Civet T

23. Common Palm Civet T

24. Flat-headed Cat K

25. Leopard Cat T

26. Lesser Mouse Deer T

27. Greater Mouse Deer T

28. Bornean Yellow Muntjak

29. Sambar

30. Elephant K

31. Bearded Pig K, T