Sabah: a colorful, diverse and highly unique photographic opportunity

PSA Journal, Jan, 2008 by Graeme R. Guy

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Sabah, the second largest state in Malaysia, is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo and borders the larger state of Sarawak to the southwest. The western part of Sabah is generally mountainous and contains the three highest peaks in Malaysia. The jungles of Sabah are classified as rainforests, with a tropical climate that provides a vast array of animal and plant species; an environment that seems ideal for creating biodiversity, which in turn provides exotic photographic opportunities.

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Four separate trips were taken to Sabah, encompassing a total of six weeks. The first trip was based in Kota Kinabalu, and allowed the exploration of the foothills of Kinabalu National Park and Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary. The second trip was in the company of professional wildlife photographers and visited Sepilok, the Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary at Labuk Bay and Turtle Island, which are essentially tourist destinations.

There are two ecosystems of Sabah that were explored; the heart of the tropical rainforest, exemplified by Danum Valley and the riverine system offered by the meandering lower Kinabatangan River. To really appreciate the diverse species, and promise of unique images in a tropical rainforest, one has to get "down and dirty" or certainly hot and sticky.

In May 2006, several photographic colleagues from Singapore stayed at a guesthouse near Sukau on the Kinabatangan River. Twice daily, early morning and late afternoon, the group settled down in motorized boats with tripods set up and big lenses ready for the riverbank action. The participants glided up tributaries and into ox-bow lakes in search of that definitive shot. Bearded pigs swam across the river in front of the boat, river otters peered curiously from the mangrove mud, and colorful kingfishers plunged into the river ahead in a blur of iridescent blue and orange. Sharmas, babblers and pittas called from the forest floor while monkeys crashed noisily through the bush overhead

One of the major targets in the late afternoon shoot was the Proboscis Monkeys Nasalis larvatus. Though easily seen during the day filling their potbellies with vegetation, these largish monkeys were skittish and moved away from the lenses. A group centered around a large male would forage in the jungle during the day and emerge along the riverbank around half an hour before sunset. The monkeys seem to transit from tree to tree with a careful assessment of distance, and then risk a reckless leap into space hoping that there was foliage to grasp at the end of the void. Mother monkeys held closed-eyed youngsters close to chest, while making tree-to-tree leaps. The onset of the evening seemed to act like a multi-targeted tranquilizer, as the hyperactive troupe would slow down and select a perch where they could spend the night in the cooler conditions above the river. The Proboscis Monkey is an endangered reddish-brown Old World monkey that is only found in Borneo. There is much debate as to the function of the large protruding nose of the males. It appears to have a role in sexual selection, as females prefer big-nosed males. The proboscis monkey is endemic to coastal mangrove, swamps and riverine areas. It lives in small groups of 10 to 32 animals and is both a proficient climber and swimmer.

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There are upwards of nine species of hornbill in Sabah and most of these can be seen along the Kinabatangan River. Early morning or just before dusk is a good time to see the birds and get those typical flap-flap-glide flight shots as they cross the river in search of a fruiting tree or a roosting place.

Fruiting trees on the rivers edge also attract wild orangutans. The first visit to the Kinabatangan River produced six sightings of solitary orangutans. What a buzz it was to see these great apes in the wild. The orangutans are two species of great apes known for intelligence, long arms, and reddish-brown hair. Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, the orangutans are currently found only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, though fossils have been found in Java, Vietnam and China. The name derives from the Malay and Indonesian phrase orang hutan, meaning "person of the forest." Orangutans are the most arboreal of the great apes, spending nearly all of the time in trees, and at night, fashion nests from branches and foliage on which to sleep. More solitary than other apes, males and females generally come together only to mate. Mothers stay with the babies until the offspring reach an age of six or seven years. What is so emotional about seeing orangutans living free is that they appear to be on the brink of extinction. Sabah, once home to some of the world's most biodiverse forests, was largely logged out during the 1980's and 1990's, but some parts of the state still support wild populations of endangered orangutans. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that there are some 30,000 to 40,000 orangutans left in the wild threatened by habitat loss, poached for bush-meat and the illegal wildlife trade.