Rare Species Animals From Borneo

Borneo, the third largest island in the world, was once covered with dense rainforests. With swampy coastal areas fringed with mangrove forests and a mountainous interior, much of the terrain was virtually impassable and unexplored. Headhunters ruled the remote parts of the island until a century ago.

Borneo's forests are some of the most biodiverse on the planet. According to WWF, the island is estimated have at least 222 species of mammals (44 of which are endemic), 420 resident birds (37 endemic), 100 amphibians, 394 fish (19 endemic), and 15,000 plants (6,000 endemic) -- more than 400 of which have been discovered since 1994. Surveys have found more than 700 species of trees in a 10 hectare plot -- a number equal to the total number of trees in Canada and the United States combined.

Several distinct ecosystems are found across Borneo. These are reviewed in WWF's " Borneo: Treasure Island at Risk" report (2005).


BORNEAN CLOUDED LEOPARD (NEOFELIS DIARDI)
A rare and reclusive leopard that hunts among the dense island forests of Borneo and Sumatra in south-east Asia has been identified as an entirely new species of great cat.

Genetic tests and pelt examinations have revealed that the animal, now called the Bornean Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi), is as distinct from other Clouded Leopards that roam mainland Asia as lions are from panthers.



THE PROBOSCIS MONKEY
The greatest concentration of wildlife in Borneo, is found near Sandakan, along the lower regions of Sabah's biggest and longest river, the Kinabatangan. Orangutans, macaques, red and silver leaf monkeys, elephants, birds, eight species of hornbills, crocodiles, civet cats and otters are found in this region, but the most famous and most bizarre animal is the Proboscis monkey (a primate found only in Borneo). With its huge pendulous nose, a characteristic pot belly and strange honking sounds, it is one of the most peculiar and ugliest (or beautiful???) animals in the world. There is only one species of the proboscis monkey, Nasalis larvatus. The distinctive physical feature from which this monkey takes its name is the long pendulous nose of mature males. The Proboscis monkey is found only in the coastal areas of Borneo and the Mentawai islands west of Sumatra living in coastal mangrove swamps and riverine forests on the lower reaches of major rivers coastal and mangrove forests.



BORNEO RHINO

Mysterious, often unseen, and very low in numbers, two of the three Asian rhino species hover on the brink of extinction

Historically hunted for their horn, a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines, and devastated by the destruction of their lowland forest habitat, Asian rhino populations are now distressingly small. These animals are among the world’s most endangered, with one species numbering only around 60 individuals. Throughout their range, their habitat continues to dwindle fast due to illegal logging and other human pressures, and the threat of poaching is ever-present.



Borneo pygmy elephants are smaller than other Asian elephants. The males may only grow to less than 2.5 meters, while other Asian elephants grow up to 3 meters. They also have babyish faces, larger ears, longer tails that reach almost to the ground and are more rotund. These elephants are also less aggressive than other Asian elephants.





ORANGUTAN
The orangutans are two species of great apes known for their intelligence, long arms and reddish-brown hair. Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, they are currently found only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, though fossils have been found in Java, Vietnam and China. They are the only surviving species in the genus Pongo and the subfamily Ponginae (which also includes the extinct genera Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus). Their name derives from the Malay and Indonesian phrase orang hutan, meaning "man of the forest". The orangutan is an official state animal of Sabah in Malaysia.



RHINOCEROS HORNBILL (BUCEROS THINOCEROS)
Hornbills are large, black or brown, and white, mainly arboreal birds, with long, heavy bills. Many species have large protuberant casques on top of the bill which may be gaudily coloured. Hornbills are found throughout Africa and tropical Asia, and throughout Indonesia to New Guinea. They eat fruit and insects and have harsh, penetrating calls.

The nesting habits of the family are interesting. The incubating females are usually sealed into tree hole nests with mud, leaving only a small aperture through which food can be passed by the male. When the young are hatched the female breaks out but reseals the nest entrance again until the young are ready to leave. Ten species of hornbill occur in Sumatra, eight in Borneo, but only three are found in Java.




RAFFLESIA - The Worlds Largest Flower
Rafflesia are endemic to Southeast Asia recorded 17 known species, the Rafflesia flowers have been found only in Indonesia - Sumatra and Java, Malaysia, including Borneo island and south Thailand. Rafflesia have small, brownish, scale like leaves and fleshy, foul-smelling flowers of various sizes from few inches to meter big in diameter. Rafflesia classified as parasite, which means it just takes the nutrient out of its host.

The Rafflesia can be found at altitudes of between 500 and 700 meters in the forests of Malaysia, Southern Thailand, Sumatra and Java in Indonesia. In these tropical rainforests, the climate is continuously warm and humid, with very high humidity. The Rafflesia is rare and fairly hard to locate. It is especially difficult to see in bloom; the buds take up to 10 months to develop and the blossom lasts for just a few days. However, how many these strange plants are survived in primary rainforest is still unknown.

Borneo Island

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Administratively, this island is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Indonesia's region of Borneo is called "Kalimantan" (although Indonesians use the term for the whole island), while Malaysia's region of Borneo is called East Malaysia or Malaysian Borneo. The independent nation of Brunei occupies the remainder of the island.Brunei is the richest and wealthiest state in the island of Borneo.

Geography

Borneo is surrounded by the South China Sea to the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea to the northeast, the Celebes Sea and the Makassar Strait to the east, and the Java Sea and Karimata Strait to the south. It has an area of 743,330 km² (287,000 square miles).

To the west of Borneo [1] are the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. To the south is Java. To the east is the island of Sulawesi (Celebes). To the northeast is the Philippines.

Borneo's highest point is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, with an elevation of 4,095 m (13,435 ft) above sea level. This makes it the world's third highest island.

The largest river systems are the Kapuas River, with approximately 1,143 km the longest river in Indonesia, the Rajang River in Sarawak with some 563 km the longest river in Malaysia, the Barito River about 880 km long and the Mahakam River about 980 km long.

Borneo is also known for its extensive cave systems. Clearwater Cave has one of the world's longest underwater rivers. Deer Cave, thought to be the largest cave passage in the world, is home to over three million bats and guano accumulated to over 100 metres high.

Administration

The Island of Borneo is divided administratively into:

* The Indonesian provinces of East, South, West and Central Kalimantan
* The Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak (the Federal Territory of Labuan is
located on nearshore islands of Borneo, but not on the island of Borneo itself)
* The independent country of Brunei (main part and eastern exclave of Temburong)

History

Political divisions of Borneo

In the 15th century, the Majapahit rule exerted its influence in Borneo. Princess Junjung Buih, the queen of the Hindu kingdom of Negara Dipa (situated in Candi Agung area of Amuntai) married a Javanese prince, Prince Suryanata, and together they ruled the kingdom which is a tributary to the Majapahit Empire (1365). In this way, it became a part of Nusantara. Along the way, the power of Negara Dipa weakened and was replaced by the new court of Negara Daha. When Prince Samudra (Prince Suriansyah) of Negara Daha converted to Islam and formed the Islamic kingdom of Banjar, it inherited some of the areas previously ruled by the Hindu kingdom of Negara Daha.

The Brunei Sultanate during its golden age from the 15th to 17th centuries ruled a large part of northern Borneo. In 1703 (other sources say 1658), the Sultanate of Sulu received North Borneo from the Sultan of Brunei, after Sulu sent aid against a rebellion in Brunei. During the 1450s, Shari'ful Hashem Syed Abu Bakr, an Arab born in Johor, arrived in Sulu from Malacca. In 1457, he founded the Sultanate of Sulu; he then renamed himself "Paduka Maulana Mahasari Sharif Sultan Hashem Abu Bakr". Subsequently HM Sultan Jamalul Ahlam Kiram (1863-1881) the 29th reigning Sultan of Sulu leased North Borneo in 1878 to Gustavus Baron de Overbeck & Alfred Dent representing the British North Borneo Company [2] in what is now Sabah part of Malaysia. The company also exerted control on inland territories that were inhabited by numerous tribes. In the 19th Century coastal areas ruled by the Brunei Sultanate in the west of the island were gradually taken by the Brooke dynasty.

By the 18th century, the area from Sambas to Berau were tributaries to the Banjar Kingdom, but this eventually shrunk to the size of what is now South Kalimantan as a result of agreements with the Dutch. In the Karang Intan Agreement during the reign of Prince Nata Dilaga (Susuhunan Nata Alam) (1808-1825), the Banjar Kingdom gave up its territories to the Dutch Indies which included Bulungan, Kutai, Pasir, Pagatan and Kotawaringin. Other territories given up to the Dutch Indies were Landak, Sambas, Sintang and Sukadana.

In the early 19th century, British and Dutch governments signed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 to exchange trading ports under their controls and assert spheres of influences, in which indirectly set apart the two parts of Borneo into British and Dutch controlled areas. China has had historical trading links with the inhabitants of the island. Some of the Chinese beads and wares found their way deep into the interior of Borneo.

Moreover in the 19th century, the Dutch admitted the founding of district kingdoms with native leaders who were under the power of the Dutch (Indirect Bestuur). The Dutch assign a resident to head their rule over Kalimantan. List of the residents and governors of Kalimantan:

1. C.A. Kroesen (1898), resident
2. C.J. Van Kempen (1924), resident
3. J. De Haan (1924-1929), resident
4. R. Koppenel (1929-1931), resident
5. W.G. Morggeustrom (1933-1937), resident
6. Dr. A. Haga (1938-1942), governor
7. Pangeran Musa Ardi Kesuma (1942-1945), Ridzie
8. Ir. Pangeran Muhammad Noor (1945), governor

Since 1938, Dutch-Borneo (Kalimantan) was one administrative territory under a governor (Governor Haga) whose seat was in Banjarmasin. In 1957 following the independence of Indonesia, Kalimantan was divided into 3 provinces which is South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and West Kalimantan. The province of Central Kalimantan separated from South Kalimantan to have their own territory in 1958.

During the Second World War, Japanese forces gained control of Borneo (1941–45). They decimated many local populations and Malay intellectuals, including the elimination of the Malay Sultanate of Sambas in Kalimantan [4]. Borneo was the main site of the confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia between 1962 and 1966, as well as the communist revolts to gain control of the whole area. Before the formation of Malaysian Federation, the Philippines claimed that the Malaysian state of Sabah in north Borneo is within their territorial rights based on historical facts of the Sultanate of Sulu's leasing agreement with the North Borneo Company, is presently an unresolved claim against Malaysia. Several other territorial claims such as Sipadan were resolved at The Hague international courts.

Ecology

Nepenthes villosa, a species of pitcher plant endemic to Kinabalu National Park, Borneo.

Borneo is very rich in biodiversity compared to many other areas (MacKinnon et al. 1998). There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees (267 species are dipterocarps), 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo (MacKinnon et al. 1998). It is also the centre of evolution and radiation of many endemic species of plants and animals. The remaining Borneo rainforest is the only natural habitat for the endangered Bornean Orangutan. It is also an important refuge for many endemic forest species, and the Asian Elephant, the Sumatran Rhinoceros, the Sumatran tiger[citation needed], the Bornean Clouded Leopard, and the Dayak Fruit Bat.

Tropical Rainforest in Borneo

The World Wildlife Fund divides the island into seven distinct ecoregions. The Borneo lowland rain forests cover most of the island, with an area of 427,500 km². Other lowland ecoregions are the Borneo peat swamp forests, the Kerangas or Sundaland heath forests, the Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests, and the Sunda Shelf mangroves. The Borneo mountain rain forests lie in the central highlands of the island, above the 1000 meter elevation. The highest elevations of Mount Kinabalu are home to the Kinabalu mountain alpine meadow, an alpine shrubland notable for its numerous endemic species, including many orchids.

The island historically had extensive rainforest cover, but the area shranked rapidly due to heavy logging for the needs of the Malaysian plywood industry. Two forestry researchers of Sepilok Research Centre, Sandakan, Sabah in the early 80's indentified four fast-growing hardwoods and a breakthrough on seed collection and handling of Acacia mangium and Gmelina arborea, a fast growing tropical trees were planted on huge track of formerly logged and deforested areas primarily in the northern part of Borneo Island. One half of the annual tropical timber acquisition of the whole world comes from Borneo. Furthermore, Palm oil plantations are rapidly encroaching on the last remnants of primary rainforest. The rainforest was also greatly destroyed due to the forest fires in 1997 to 1998 which were started by people and coincided with an exceptional drought season of El Niño. During the great fire, hotspots could be seen on satellite images and a haze was created that affected Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

In order to combat overpopulation and AIDS in Java, the Indonesian government started a massive transmigration (transmigrasi) of poor farmers and landless peasants into Borneo in the 70's and 80's, to farm the logged areas, albeit with little success as the fertility of the land has been removed with the trees and what soil remains is washed away in tropical downpours.

Ethnic and biological diversity

Satellite image of the island of Borneo on August 19, 2002, showing smoke from burning peat swamp forests.

There are over 30 Dayak sub-ethnic groups living in Borneo, making the population of this island one of the most varied of human social groups. The native ethnic groups are Dayak Austronesians and their languages belong to the Malayo-Polynesian language family. Some sub-ethnicities are now represented by only 30-100 individuals and are threatened with extinction. Much culture, language, ethnomusic and traditional knowledge has yet to be documented by anthropologists. Ancestral knowledge of ethnobotany and ethnozoology is useful in drug discovery (for example, bintangor plant for AIDS) or as future alternative food sources (such as sago starch for lactic acid production and sago maggots as a protein source).

Mount Kinabalu, a major center of biodiversity in Borneo.

Certain indigenous Dayak people (such as the Kayan, Kenyah, Punan Bah and Penan) living on the island have been struggling for decades for their right to preserve their environment from loggers and transmigrant settlers and colonists. Land reform is needed for future development in the face of rapid economic changes.

The type of rainforests found in Borneo include the high diversity mixed dipterocarp forest, the rare peat swamp forests and heath forest.

Researchers scouring swamps in the heart of Borneo island have discovered a venomous species of snake that can change its skin color. Scientists named their find the Kapuas mud snake, and speculated it might only occur in the Kapuas River drainage system.

World Wildlife Fund has stated that 361 animal and plant species have been discovered in Borneo since 1996, underscoring its unparalleled biodiversity. In the 18 month period from July 2005 until December 2006, another 52 new species were found.

A Treasure For South East Asia

Borneo forest magic - A treasure for Southeast Asia
15 Mar 2007

There is only one place remaining in Southeast Asia where tropical rainforests can still be conserved on a very large scale – a place where endangered species such as orangutans, elephants and rhinos, and countless other undiscovered species continue to thrive.
This area straddles the transboundary highlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, and reaches out through the foothills into adjacent lowlands and to parts of Brunei.

We call this area the Heart of Borneo.

The forests of the Heart of Borneo are some of the most biologically diverse habitats on Earth, possessing staggeringly high numbers of unique plant and animal species.

The Heart of Borneo's forest area is 1 of the only 2 places on Earth where orang-utans, elephants and rhinoceros still co-exist and where forests are currently large enough to maintain viable populations.

WWF aims to assist Borneo’s 3 nations (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) to conserve the area known as the Heart of Borneo – a total of 220,000 km² of equatorial rainforest - through a network of protected areas and sustainably-managed forests, and through international co-operation led by the Bornean governments, supported by a global effort.

The future of this transboundary area depends on the collaboration of all 3 governments as no one country can protect these unique uplands alone.

The Heart of Borneo presents a unique opportunity to conserve pristine tropical rainforest on a huge scale - almost 30% of the world’s third largest island.

But if the Heart of Borneo is going to happen, it has to be now or never.

Find out about Borneo animals and plants, the island’s people and the problems they all face.

New Species Discovered In Borneo

Evolution in all its magnificence

10 years, 360 species discovered

New life forms keep coming in.

Between 1994 and 2004, at least 361 new species have been described from Borneo: 260 insects, 50 plants, 30 freshwater fish, 7 frogs, 6 lizards, 5 crabs, 2 snakes and a toad.

Yet, this is most certainly an underestimate, as many species discovered have not been published in the scientific literature or the press. In fact, whole groups of animals remain understudied.

Still, amongst larger mammals, key discoveries have been made about the genetic distinctiveness of the Bornean elephant and the orang-utan.

Hide and seek in the rainforest
Conducting studies in the rainforest is no easy task, hence the lack of knowledge about the species still at large in Borneo. Most species are highly cryptic (secretive or difficult to distinguish) in their appearance and behaviour.

Further, many species are active at night, hiding in burrows or tree holes during the day. Even their capture and systematic study requires considerable effort, with generally low trapping success.

In Borneo's tropical rainforests, endangered species such as the pygmy elephant and the Sumatran rhino meet orang-utans, along with an assortment of other animals with colourful names including the clouded leopard, the moonrat and the sun bear.

Here squirrels, lemurs and foxes fly. And what some species don't have in a name they make up for in appearance. For example, the proboscis monkey’s nose, long and flattened, is one of the most characteristic in the animal realm.

Only in Borneo

Borneo is conservatively estimated to hold 222 mammals (including 44 endemic – not found anywhere else in the world), 420 resident birds (37 endemic), 100 amphibians and 394 fish (19 endemic).

Borneo has a cat species unique to the island, the bay cat, which is considered one of the rarest cats in the world. Just in the Heart of Borneo, a 220,000-km2 region in the mountainous centre of the island, there are 10 primate species, over 350 bird species, and 150 reptiles and amphibian species.

At least 15,000 plants, of which 6,000 are found nowhere else in the world, grace the swamps, mangroves, and lowland and montane forests of the island. The Heart of Borneo is home to approximately 10,000 of these.

What accounts for Borneo’s huge biodiversity?

Borneo’s tropical rainforests and climate provide the ideal conditions for a wide variety of species to thrive. Dipterocarp trees hold the greatest insect diversity on Borneo - as many as 1,000 species have been found in just 1 tree.

They are also home to thousands of plants, lichens and fungi, which in turn form the base of a food chain that nurtures a wide array of species. This web of life is at the heart of the Borneo tropical rainforests.

Find out more about dipterocarp forests

Science magnet

Borneo has lured scientists for over 150 years, and has played a key role in the discovery of evolution. Notably, Alfred Wallace's theories of natural selection were inspired by his travels on the island in the 19th century.

Since that time, scientists have busied themselves discovering and naming new species, and the latest research suggests that they will continue doing so for decades to come - if the forests are not wiped out by deforestation.

Where to look for rare wildlife

The place that holds the largest potential for new discoveries is the Heart of Borneo, as it harbours large, and more importantly, continuous tracts of virgin montane forest, many of which remain unexplored.

The montane forests of Borneo form high altitude islands in a sea of lowland dipterocarp forests. As a result of their isolation, these places harbour a unique and rich selection of species from Asian and Australasian families, making Borneo's montane habitats some of the most diverse on Earth compared to similar ones elsewhere.

Eaglewood or Gaharu

Eaglewood
Apo Kayan plateau, Kalimantan

In the mountainous area of northeastern Kalimantan, close to the border with Sarawak, lies the Apo Kayan plateau.
To get there, visitors must brave dense forest, rugged terrain and dangerous rapids. The only relatively safe way to reach the destination is by hitching a ride on one of the small planes operated by the Missionary Aviation Fellowship.

Apo Kayan is mostly inhabited by Kenyah people, a Dayak indigenous group. Their territory is still recognized as one customary land, or wilayah adat, under the leadership of the customary chief, or kepala adat besar, in the village of Long Nawang .

Introducing eaglewood
One of the activities still practised in the Apo Kayan area is the extraction of non-timber forest products. Gaharu is one example. Also known as eaglewood or aloes wood, the fragrant resinous wood produced by a fungal infection in trees of the genus Aquilaria, it is an export product which is used in the manufacture of incense, perfume, and medicinals. There is no local use for gaharu in Apo Kayan.

A few guidelines for collectors
How does one obtain gaharu? First, the telling signs have to be identified, such as evidence of infection, specific colour of the leaves or the texture of the bark. Local people recognize that this method, while based on local ecological knowledge and experience, is not certain.

Moreover, there is no way to tell what part of the tree might contain the infected heartwood. Sometimes, gaharu collectors might decide to cut a tree with no apparent sign of infection, just to check if it has any.

From small trade beginnings…
In the past, gaharu was traded in small quantities from the Apo Kayan during expeditions to the lowlands. A small collecting boom took place in the 1970s, but it was limited in scope.

Collectors were mostly coming from neighbouring Kenyah villages to harvest high-grade aloes wood. The traders were also mostly Dayak entrepreneurs.

…to serious business
Then things suddenly changed. In early 1991, an increasing number of outside collectors organized in teams and sponsored by traders based in Samarinda, on the south coast of Kalimantan, started appearing. This first gaharu rush lasted until 1995.

After a brief lull, a surge in activities with involvement of outside middlemen and traders re-occurred in 1998, in the sub-district of Kayan Hilir. Today, the trade is still ongoing. With some brief exceptions, the market value of gaharu has increased steadily or, at least, remained constant over the years. Prices rose dramatically right after the economic crisis hit the Southeast Asian countries in 1997-1998.

Credit to WWF news.

Borneo Clouded Leopard

The Bornean Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi) is a medium-sized wild cat found on Borneo, Sumatra and the Batu Islands in the Malay Archipelago and publicised under that name by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on March 14, 2007. Its coat is marked with irregularly-shaped, dark-edged ovals which are said to be shaped like clouds, hence its common name. Though scientists have known of its existence since the early 19th century, it was positively identified as being a distinct species in its own right in 2006, having long been believed to be a subspecies of the mainland Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). WWF quoted Dr. Stephen O'Brien of the U.S. National Cancer Institute as saying, "Genetic research results clearly indicate that the clouded leopard of Borneo should be considered a separate species".

Habitat

N. diardi's preferred habitat is tropical and subtropical forest at altitudes up to about 2,000 metres (6,500 ft).

Behaviour

The habits of the Bornean Clouded Leopard are largely unknown because of the animal's secretive nature. It is assumed that it is generally a solitary creature.

Etymology and taxonomic history

Despite its name, the Bornean Clouded Leopard is not closely related to the leopard. The species was named Neofelis diardi in honor of French naturalist and explorer Pierre-Médard Diard; in the 19th century Felis diardii designated the Clouded Leopard/Bornean Clouded Leopard, colloquially "Diard's Cat". The local names, "Macan Dahan" in Indonesian and "Harimau Dahan" in Malay (also reported historically in Sumatra), mean "tree branch tiger".


The species was long regarded as a subspecies of the Clouded Leopard, named Neofelis nebulosa diardi. In December 2006, two articles in the journal Current Biology detailed a strong case for reclassifying and redefining two distinct species of Clouded Leopard: Neofelis nebulosa from mainland Asia and Neofelis diardi from the Malay archipelago, except Peninsular Malaysia. A UK study led by Andrew C. Kitchener detailed geographical variations in the Clouded Leopard, indicating a split of two species. The results of a morphometric analysis of the pelages of fifty-seven Clouded Leopards sampled throughout the genus' wide geographical range concluded that there were two distinct morphological groups, differing primarily in the size of their cloud markings. Another study led by Valerie A. Buckley-Beason cited molecular evidence for the species-level distinction of the Clouded Leopard, although the study only used DNA samples from the Bornean population and mainland Asia and not from the Sumatran population. The genetics study found differences in the molecular genetic analyses (mtDNA, nuclear DNA sequences, microsatellite variation, and cytogenetic differences) of the different species of Clouded Leopard. Among the molecular disparities between the two species were thirty-six fixed mitochondrial and nuclear nucleotide differences and 20 microsatellite loci with nonoverlapping allele-size ranges. The study stated that the degree of differentiation was similar to the differences between the five Panthera species, thus concluding that Neofelis diardi is a separate species from Neofelis nebulosa.

Evolutionary history

The genetic analysis of Neofelis nebulosa and Neofelis diardi suggest the two species diverged 1.4 million years ago, after the animals used a now submerged land bridge to reach Borneo and Sumatra from mainland Asia.


Conservation

Because the Bornean Clouded Leopard's habits make it difficult to study, exact figures of its population do not exist. However, recent studies estimate the population to be between 5,000 and 11,000 great cats left on Borneo, and 3,000 to 7,000 on Sumatra. In the countries of its native range, hunting of the Clouded Leopard is prohibited. However, these bans are very poorly enforced.

A recent study conducted in 2006, focusing on classifying tracks found in Sabah (northeastern Borneo), placed an estimate on the population: 1,500–3,200 cats in Sabah, with only 275–585 of them in large protected reserves.

Encroachment upon and complete destruction of the Bornean Clouded Leopards' natural habitat, primarily by logging and the creation of rubber and palm oil plantations, continues to threaten the whole fauna of Borneo.

Borneo Clouded Leopard With Largest Fangs In Cat World

New species: The Bornean clouded leopard

Long thought to be identical to the clouded leopards living on mainland South East Asia, genetic analysis has shown that the Bornean big cat is in fact a separate species.

Scientists have counted at least 40 key differences in the DNA of the two felines - making the two species of clouded leopard almost as different as a lion is to a tiger.

Some of the differences are clear to the naked eye, with the elliptical spots or 'clouds' which give it its name, being smaller and darker on the island variety.

The Bornean clouded leopard also has darker fur than its mainland cousin.

Dr Andrew Kitchener, of National Museums Scotland, said: "The moment we started comparing the skins of the mainland clouded leopard with the leopard found on Borneo, it was clear we were comparing two different species.

"It's incredible that no one has ever noticed these differences."

The research, which forms part of the WWF's Heart of Borneo conservation project, brings the number of new species to have emerged from the island's jungles in the last year to over 50.

Plants and animals new to science include two species of tree frog and 30 types of fish, including a catfish with an adhesive belly that allows it to stick to rocks.

The scientists say the remote, and for a long time, inaccessible, forests of the world's third largest island are one of the 'final frontiers for science - a Lost World that must be preserved from threats from the logging and rubber industries.

The Heart of Borneo, an 84,000 square mile, wild, mountainous region, covered with equatorial rain forest in the centre of the island, is the last great home of the Bornean clouded leopard.

The island's most fearsome predator, the clouded leopard has the longest canine teeth of any feline, with fully-grown cats boasting fangs that are up to two-inches long.

Only the long-extinct sabre-tooth tiger had longer canine teeth for its body size.

Tails as long as their bodies allow the secretive and solitary creatures to balance in trees, where they perch to pounce on their prey.

Monkeys, barking deer and bearded pigs can be killed with a single bite, with the leopard having no fear of seeking out prey that is bigger than itself.

Such adept hunting skills put the clouded leopard, which at 35 inches from head to start of tail is about the size of a small Labrador, right at the top of the island's food chain.

Stuart Chapman, of the Heart of Borneo programme, said: "Who said a leopard can never change its spots?

"For over a hundred years, we have been looking at this animal and never realised it is unique.

"The fact that Borneo's top predator is now considered a separate species further emphasises the importance of conserving the Heart of Borneo."

It is thought there are up to 11,000 of the new species of clouded leopard, Neofelis diardi on Borneo and a further 3,000 to 7,000 on the neighbouring island of Sumatra.

It is estimated the Bornean and Sumatran populations broke away from mainland populations around 1.4 million years ago.

Some Leopard facts:

• With a body that measures just over a foot, the clouded leopard is the smallest of the 'big cats'.

• It is also the best tree-climber, with flexible ankle joints and keen claws allowing it to run down tree trunks head first. It can run along the underside of branches and hang by the back feet alone - freeing up their front paws to snatch at prey.

• Its two-inch canine teeth are the longest of any living feline and lead to comparisons with the long-extinct sabre-tooth tiger.

• Its jaws can open wider than those of any other cat and the fangs are as big as a tiger's, even although tigers are ten times bigger.

• They often ambush their prey from the treetops, landing on the taget's back before delivering one fatal bite.

• The young, which are born with solid spots, rather than mottled 'clouds', are weaned at five months and become independent at nine months.

• The creatures, which live up to 11 years in the wild and 17 in captivity, emit calls ranging from pet cat-like purrs, to roars, growls and hisses.

Although protected by law, the clouded leopard is still hunted for its beautiful pelt and the supposed healing powers of its bones and teeth.

Scientists Find Borneo's Clouded Leopards To Be New Species

GENEVA, March 15 Kyodo

U.S. scientists have discovered that the clouded leopard found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra is an entirely new species of cat, the conservationist group WWF International announced Thursday.

The secretive rainforest animal was originally thought to be the same species as the one found in mainland Southeast Asia, based on their general physical appearance.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Genomic Diversity in Maryland found genetic differences between the two types to be equivalent to or greater than those between lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars.

In terms of appearance, the clouded leopards in Borneo and Sumatra have small cloud markings with many distinct spots within the clouds. They are darker in color than those of the mainland, which have larger cloud markings with fewer spots within the clouds.

''For over a hundred years we have been looking at this animal and never realized it was unique,'' Stuart Chapman, international coordinator of the WWF's Heart of Borneo program, was quoted as saying.

''The fact that Borneo's top predator is now considered a separate species further emphasizes the importance of conserving one of the most biologically diverse habitats on Earth,'' he said.

The news comes just a few weeks after a WWF report showed that scientists had identified at least 52 new species of animals and plants over the past year on Borneo.

WWF roughly estimates there are between 5,000 and 11,000 Bornean clouded leopards and between 3,000 to 7,000 Sumatran ones.

With the reclassification, the scientific name of the clouded leopard from the mainland remains Neofelis nebulosa, while the clouded leopard from Borneo and Sumatra is now called Neofelis diardi.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

Borneo Clouded Leopard Video

Borneo Porboscis Monkey

THE PROBOSCIS MONKEY

The greatest concentration of wildlife in Borneo, is found near Sandakan, along the lower regions of Sabah's biggest and longest river, the Kinabatangan. Orangutans, macaques, red and silver leaf monkeys, elephants, birds, eight species of hornbills, crocodiles, civet cats and otters are found in this region, but the most famous and most bizarre animal is the Proboscis monkey (a primate found only in Borneo). With its huge pendulous nose, a characteristic pot belly and strange honking sounds, it is one of the most peculiar and ugliest (or beautiful?) animals in the world. There is only one species of the proboscis monkey, Nasalis larvatus. The distinctive physical feature from which this monkey takes its name is the long pendulous nose of mature males. The Proboscis Monkey is found only in the coastal areas of Borneo and the Mentawai islands west of Sumatra living in coastal mangrove swamps and riverine forests on the lower reaches of major rivers coastal and mangrove forests


CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Primates
SUBORDER : Anthropoidea

FAMILY : Cercopithectdae which includes 18 genera and 81 species. These monkeys are widely distributed in the Old World, from southern Europe (Gibraltar) to Africa and through central and SE Asia, including southern China and Japan.

SUBFAMILY: Colobinae
GENUS: Nasalis
SPECIES: larvatus (Proboscis monkey)

MALAYSIAN NAME: Monyet Belanda - "Dutchman Monkey". The proboscis monkey got its Malay name during the colonial period. The locals felt that the Proboscis resembled the European traders and colonialists (both were hairy, both had big noses, both had pot bellies!).

SIZE: males -56 to 72 cm
WEIGHT: 8.2 to 23. kg

GESTATION: 166 days. One young is born at a time, and breeding is not restricted to a season.

COLORATION: Reddish-brown or chestnut color on the back, orange on the shoulders with grey limbs and long white tails. A little dark red fur on the top of the head goes down the back

BEHAVIOUR: Proboscis monkeys move about and live in groups of 11-32. They live in single-male harems with about seven females. The small harems often come together to form multiple-male bands which are thought to be temporary foraging aggregations. Often bands of up to 60 can be found roosting together in trees near rivers at night. Males usually leave their natal groups and can be either solitary or form bachelor herds before getting their own harems. Females may move from one harem to another when young, but otherwise harems are stable. Males confront intruders.

DIET: Proboscis monkeys are vegetarian and predominantly eat leaves, although fruit, seeds, and flowers are included in their diet when available. The prefer the pedada leaves.

HABITAT: Proboscis monkeys live almost exclusively in mangrove forests near fresh water and in lowland rainforests. They can be found near rivers edges, resting and sleeping. Areas around human settlements are completely avoided. They are mostly arboreal (tree living) but have been known to leave the trees in order to cross open ground, or pass through nipah palms.

FEATURES: The male and female are distinguished by the size of the body and the nose. The male is bigger than the female and its nose is more pointed. Females do not have this characteristic. The nose of male, can be 4 inches long, hangs down like a small trunk to the end of the monkey's mouth. In the female and the young, the nose is shorter and turned up at the end. The males' big nose is a secondary sex characteristic: the bigger the nose is, the sexier the monkey is. It has also been suggested that the nose aids in radiating excess body heat. These monkeys are also proficient swimmers and expert at leaping from tree to tree, or from a riverside tree into the middle of a river. They often cross rivers and narrow points in big groups because they run a risk of being preyed upon by crocodiles, while in the water.

Though protected by law and listed as endangered by the USDI and Appendix 1 of CITES, this unusual monkey is threatened with extinction owing to loss of habitat and hunting. Their habitat is under severe threat from logging and land clearing for plantations. Deforestation is the main threat to the Proboscis Monkey. Hunting by locals, has also contributed to the decline in the monkey's population.
In 1977, about 6,400 proboscis monkeys were found living in Sarawak. Today there are only 1,000. There are 2,000 in Sabah and maybe 4,000 or so in Kalimantan. A number of conservation measures have been implemented to protect the proboscis monkey. The Sarawak Forestry Department was the first to do a detailed study of the species, and the government has gazetted national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to provide protection. The Forestry Department also has an education unit which educates the people, living in villages, on the importance of wildlife conservation.

Sabah is Malaysia's most important nature conservation area. The Sabah State Government is in the process of establishing the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. WWF Malaysia has been working with the Sabah Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Development, Sabah Forestry Department and Sabah Wildlife Department since 1983 on a number of projects in the Kinabatangan area. These projects include surveys of crocodiles, orang- utans, waterbirds and other wildlife.

WWF Official Information On Porboscis Monkey

WWF official Proboscis Monkey Information

We support the good work of the WWF but what they do in order to save Proboscis Monkey we hope to hear from them soon. Enclosed their recent info:

Distribution, habitat and behaviour

* Endemic to Borneo. Can be found along the coastal areas, mangrove swamps and riverine forests of Borneo.

* In 1977, there were about 6400 of them in Sarawak, but now there are only about 1000 in Sarawak, with perhaps another 2000 in Sabah and 4000 in Kalimantan. Some populations along the west coast of Sabah have disappeared entirely.

* The only known reserves to have a sustained and secure proboscis population are Tanjung Puting and possibly Mount Palung National Park in Kalimantan.


Description and natural history

* A very bizarre-looking primate, the tree-dwelling proboscis monkey gets its name from its huge pendulous nose. The nose overhangs the mouth and the monkey has to push it aside in order to eat. The female has a shorter and more snubby version.

* They have pot bellies and are very noisy primates with their strange honking sounds.

* Only primate species adapted for swimming with some webbing between its fingers. They are proficient swimmers, moving quietly (so as not to attract its natural predator, the crocodile) using a form of dog paddle, and like to dive off a tree branch high above the water, sometimes with babies clinging to their mothers’ fur.

* The male averages 24kg in weight, twice as much as the female. Hence it tends to move more carefully than the females or younger males do.

* Adults have an orangey red coat, greyish on their bottom half, and a long thick white tail. Newborns have deep blue faces with upturned noses, but assume adult colouring when they are about nine months old.

* Lives on a special diet of leaves, flowers and seeds of vegetation found only in riverine, peat swamps and mangrove forests.

Threats

* Because it feeds and lives in mangrove and riverine forests, the draining of wetlands and development along riverbanks for agricultural purposes and human settlement are its biggest threat through habitat loss.

* Peat fires.

* Sedimentation of lower river banks that change coastal soil ecology and vegetation.

Conservation

* Now listed as an endangered species, their long-term survival is dependent on protection given by gazetted parks and wildlife sanctuaries such as the proposed Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, an important wetland in Sabah.

* Enforce protection, institute strict regulations on land use of wetlands and pollution management to minimise environmental damage to the specie’s natural habitats.

Porboscis Monkey Videos

Borneo Pygmy Elephant

PYGMY ELEPHANT

Common Name - Borneo Pygmy Elephant

Scientific Name - Elephas maximus or sometimes Elephas maximus borneensis, although they have not been officially determined to be a separate subspecies from mainland Asian elephants

Habitat - Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests

Location - Sabah, Borneo (northeast tip of the island), Malaysia and occasionally into East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Status - Endangered

Population - Unknown, estimated to be 1500 or fewer

Borneo pygmy elephants are smaller than other Asian elephants. The males may only grow to less than 2.5 meters, while other Asian elephants grow up to 3 meters. They also have babyish faces, larger ears, longer tails that reach almost to the ground and are more rotund. These elephants are also less aggressive than other Asian elephants.

Habitat

Major Habitat Type

Concentrated in Sabah, particularly the floodplain, tributaries and the upper catchment of the Kinabatangan River - but their route has been cut off by illegal loggers and the elephants have not been there in years. They occasionally range into East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Biogeographic Realm - Indo- Malaya

Range States - Malaysia, Indonesia

Geographical Location - Northeast Borneo


Physical Description

Why is this species important?

Until recently the pygmy elephants of Borneo were believed to be a remnant population of a domesticated herd abandoned on the island by the Sultan of Sulu in the 17th century. But a 2003 DNA analysis carried out by WWF and Columbia University proved that the pygmy elephants were genetically distinct from other Asian elephants, thereby recognizing it as a likely new subspecies and emphasizing its conservation priority.

According to the DNA evidence these elephants were isolated about 300,000 years ago from their cousins on mainland Asia and Sumatra. During that period, they became smaller with relatively larger ears, longer tails and straighter tusks.

The evolutionary history of Borneo's elephants justifies their recognition as a separate evolutionary significant unit (ESU).

Ecology and habitat

Diet

The Asian elephant is one of the largest forest herbivores in the world. A single adult can eat up to 150 kgs of vegetation everyday, feeding mostly on species of palms, grasses and wild bananas. They also require minerals which they receive from salt licks or mineral concentrations in limestone outcrops.

Threats

The primary threat to these elephants is the loss of continuous forests. Mammals of their size require large feeding grounds and viable breeding populations with sizeable male- to female ratios. Shrinking forests have also brought the elephants into more frequent contact with people, increasing human elephant conflict in the region.

The large blocks of forests they require are now being fragmented by encroachment in forest areas and conversion of natural forests into commercial plantations. Human disturbances within forests such as logging, increased agriculture, building of palm oil mills with associated settlements and hunting are rapidly breaking up contact between sub populations, as well as minimizing the areas of forests available for each small group to live and feed on.

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The Borneo Elephant, also called the Borneo Pygmy Elephant, (Elephas maximus borneensis) is a subspecies of the Asian Elephant and found in north Borneo (east Sabah and extreme north Kalimantan).

Origins

The origin of Borneo elephants is controversial. Two competing hypotheses argued that they are either indigenous, or were introduced, descending from elephants imported in the 16th–18th centuries. In 2003, mitochondrial DNA research has discovered that its ancestors separated from the mainland population during the Pleistocene, about 300,000 years ago. The subspecies currently living in Borneo possibly became isolated from other Asian elephant populations when land bridges that linked Borneo with the other Sunda Islands and the mainland disappeared after the Last Glacial Maximum, 18,000 years ago. Isolation may be the reason it has become smaller with relatively larger ears, longer tails, and relatively straight tusks. Other scientists argue that the Borneo elephant was introduced by the Sultan of Sulu and abandoned, and that the population on Sulu, never considered to be native, was imported from Java. Thus the Borneo elephant may be actually the extinct Javan elephant. Many facts support this hypothesis, including no archaeological evidence of long term elephant habitation of Borneo, a corroboration in folklore and the lack of the elephants colonizing the entire island of Borneo

Description

The Borneo elephant is smaller than all the other subspecies of the Asian elephant. The Borneo elephant is also remarkably tame and passive, another reason some scientists think it was descended from a domestic collection.

Conservation status

Wild Asian elephant populations are disappearing as expanding human development disrupts their migration routes, depletes their food sources, and destroys their habitat. Recognizing these elephants as native to Borneo makes their conservation a high priority and gives biologists important clues about how to manage them.

In Aug 2007 it was reported that there are probably not more than 1,000 pygmy elephants left in Sabah, after a two year study by WWF.

Tagging Pygmy Elephants In Borneo

PHYGMY ELEPHANT FEATURE STORY

Tagging pygmy elephants in Borneo
By Jan Vertefeuille


There’s an elephant less than six metres in front of me and yet I can’t make out any part of her in the dense Borneo jungle. So congested is the jungle with vines and leaves that seeing and walking become arduous tasks.

But we can hear her. Immobilized by the sedative shot into her rump but still conscious, the pygmy elephant calls out to her herd for help using infrasound, uttering a soft, low rumble from the back of her throat. Elephants are famously protective of their families and the rest of the herd is distressed by their matriarch’s apparent troubles. There is much trumpeting from the bush. How many elephants are surrounding us, we can’t tell.

The WWF team moves quickly, and quietly, to lessen the stress on our target elephant. We’re here to put a satellite tracking collar on her as part of WWF’s research to learn more about the pygmy elephants of Borneo and how best to protect them. It’s the first time anyone has ever studied Borneo’s elephants and WWF is collaring five of them on the northeast tip of the island. It will be the largest study ever done to track Asian elephants via satellite.

Searching for an elephant in a jungle
The elephant in front of us has been dubbed Nancy, in honour of long-time elephant conservation supporter Nancy Abraham. One member of our team covers the elephant’s eyes with cotton as WWF scientist Dr Christy Williams hoists the 10kg collar over her neck. Enough room is left to ensure the collar isn’t too tight, but not so loose that she could slip it off. The collar houses GPS and satellite units that will convey Nancy’s location to a website checked daily by WWF scientists to track the herd’s movements through the Borneo rain forest.

The Borneo jungle doesn’t give up its secrets easily. Following in an elephant’s footsteps through knee-deep mud, through walls of vines that cling to every surface, and beneath underbrush dripping with hungry leeches is a slow and sometimes frustrating process. Who would have thought finding and darting an animal as a large as an elephant would be so hard. It’s almost like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The collaring team from the Sabah Wildlife Department in Malaysia and WWF’s Borneo office are used to spending days, sometimes weeks, inside the jungle looking for the elusive species.

“If you go inside the jungle, you can feel how big it is,” says William Joseph, a 35-year-old elephant tracker with WWF in Borneo.

Joseph and his fellow tracker and brother, Engelbert, can look at grass bent over by elephants and know which way they went, or see a pile of elephant dung on the road and know how long since they have passed by and how many there were.

Make room for the pygmies
The jungles of Borneo are big. In fact, the island’s forests are one of the only places left in Southeast Asia where it is still possible to conserve forests on a very large scale. But world demand for palm oil — used in common products like hand lotion, ice cream and chocolate — is driving the rapid conversion of the pygmy elephants’ forests into palm oil plantations.

Elephants — even pygmy ones — require large feeding grounds, as well as access to members of the opposite sex for breeding. Shrinking forests and blocks of habitat cut off from one another make it difficult for elephants to thrive. It also brings the elephants into more frequent contact with people, increasing human-elephant conflict in the region. As forests shrink, elephants are increasingly closer to fields and cultivated land, generating conflict with humans that often result in the death of the elephants by poisoning or capture, as well as economic losses to humans.

Putting collars on the elephants will be a huge step forward in scientists’ understanding of the pygmy elephants and which forests are most important to them — and hence, the most crucial to preserve. And the collars will make keeping track of them much easier for WWF, the only conservation organization working to protect the population.

“Our field team has tracked elephants on foot for weeks at a time to gather data, but it’s very difficult and labor-intensive,” says Raymond Alfred, WWF’s project manager of the Asian Rhinoceros and Elephant Action Strategy (AREAS). “We are still in the process of figuring out how to get optimum outputs from the use of this tagging technology.”

WWF elephant experts expect the collars to give them insight into how much ground each herd covers, what type of forest they prefer to feed in, how they react to logging and other human disturbance in the forest, and what habitat is most crucial to the elephants’ future survival. Nancy doesn’t know it, but she’s helping scientists save her species.

Survival of the species
So little is known about the Borneo pygmy elephant that it’s not even known how many there are. WWF’s AREAS Programme estimates that there are about 1,000 to 1,500 of them, but probably no more than that.

“Further studies are needed to better understand this population and exactly how it differs from other Asian elephants,” said Williams, who leads WWF’s Asian elephant conservation efforts.

What is known is that Borneo elephants are less aggressive and smaller than other Asian elephants, with males growing perhaps only as tall as 2.5m, while other Asian elephants can grow to 3m. They also have larger ears and longer tails and are more rotund, making even adult pygmy elephants look like juveniles.

As Nancy gets fitted with her new collar, another member of the collaring team takes her measurements with a very large measuring tape, while another team member does a quick walkaround to check for scars, injuries and other identifying marks. She’s a big elephant, probably around 40, and appears to be pregnant — something the team will be able to determine in the coming months as it starts to keep closer tabs on her.

Until recently, the origins of the Borneo pygmy elephant were in dispute. Many believed they were remnants of a domesticated herd abandoned on the island by the Sultan of Sulu in the 17th century. If they were simply domesticated elephants gone feral, that would make them a low conservation priority for the Malaysian government. But in 2003, a DNA analysis by WWF and Columbia University researchers proved the pygmy elephants are genetically different from other Asian elephants and thus a separate subspecies. The evidence suggests that they became isolated from other elephant populations about 300,000 years ago and developed their distinctive characteristics over this time.

As an endangered subspecies, they are of high conservation priority. WWF is moving quickly to learn all we can about them, as much of their rain forest habitat is converted into commercial tree plantations.

In less than 25 minutes, the collaring is complete. Everyone backs quickly away as a team member injects a dartful of antidote into her rump. Nancy calls to her herd and angry trumpets can be heard from the group as they rush to check on her.

Wonder what they think of the new neckwear she’s now sporting?

* Jan Vertefeuille is a Senior Communications Officer at WW-US.

END NOTES:

• The Island of Borneo, the world’s third largest island — split between the countries of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia — is known for its rain forests, which rival those of the Amazon and New Guinea in biological diversity. These rich forests provide habitat for elephants, rhinos and orangutans, as well as a vast array of distinct creatures, from giant moths to flying squirrels, horn-billed birds to color-changing lizards.

• According to a WWF report — Borneo: Treasure Island at Risk — rampant logging and the conversion of forests to plantations are driving the destruction of Borneo's forests. There about 2.5 million hectares of oil palm plantations in Borneo. With a current deforestation rate of 1.3 million hectares per year, only peat and montane forests would survive in the coming years. Today, only half of Borneo's forest cover remains, down from 75 per cent in the mid 1980s.

• Through WWF’s Heart of Borneo initiative, the global conservation organization aims to assist Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia to conserve a total of 220,000km² of equatorial rainforest through a network of protected areas and sustainably-managed forest, and through international cooperation led by the Bornean governments and supported by a global effort.

Pygmy Elephant Videos

Wild Pygmy Elephant.



Lok Kawi, Malaysia Wildlife Park.

Borneo One Horned Rhino

BORNEO RHINO

Species

Greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis),
Javan rhino (R. sondaicus),
Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)
Habitat Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannahs and shrublands, to tropical moist forests
Location Southeast Asia, South Asia
Status Endangered to Critically Endangered (IUCN-The World Conservation Union)
Population Less than 3,000

Mysterious, often unseen, and very low in numbers, two of the three Asian rhino species hover on the brink of extinction

Historically hunted for their horn, a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines, and devastated by the destruction of their lowland forest habitat, Asian rhino populations are now distressingly small. These animals are among the world’s most endangered, with one species numbering only around 60 individuals. Throughout their range, their habitat continues to dwindle fast due to illegal logging and other human pressures, and the threat of poaching is ever-present.

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia/Gland, Switzerland – A motion-triggered camera trap set up in a remote jungle has captured the first-ever photo of a rhino in the wild on the island of Borneo, the Sabah Wildlife Department and WWF announced today.

The rhino is believed to be one of a population of as few as 13 individuals whose existence was confirmed during a field survey last year in the interior forests of Sabah, Malaysia in an area known as the “Heart of Borneo”.

A handful of rhinos are thought to survive in addition to the 13, scattered across Sabah but isolated from each other.

Conservationists hope that this population of 13 is viable and will be able to reproduce if protected from poaching. A full-time rhino monitoring team was established at the end of 2005 in Sabah to monitor the rhinos and their habitat, and to keep poachers away. The camera traps, set up in February 2006, are remotely activated by infrared triggers when animals walk by.

“This is an encouraging sign for the future of rhinoceros conservation work in Sabah,” said Mahedi Andau, Director of the Sabah Wildlife Department.

"While the total number of Borneo rhinos remaining is uncertain, we do know there are very, very few. To capture a photo of one just a few months after placing camera traps in the area is extraordinary.”

The rhinos on Borneo spend their lives in dense jungle where they are rarely seen, which accounts for the lack of any previous photographs of them in the wild.

“These are very shy animals that are almost never seen in the wild,” said Raymond Alfred, Project Manager of WWF-Malaysia’s Asian Rhinoceros and Elephant Action Strategy (AREAS).

“Based on the photo, we can tell this is a mature and healthy individual thanks to the availability of plentiful, good-quality forage in the forest. We hope to take more photos over the coming months of other rhinos so we can piece together clues about this tiny, precarious population.”

The rhinos found on Borneo are regarded as a subspecies of the Sumatran rhinoceros, which means it has different physical characteristics to the animals found in Sumatra (Indonesia) and Peninsular Malaysia. The Sumatran rhinoceros is one of the world’s most critically endangered species, with a total global population of fewer than 300. On Borneo, there have been no confirmed reports of the species, apart from those in Sabah, for almost 20 years, leading experts to fear that rhinos may now be extinct on the rest of the island.

The main threats to the last rhinos on Borneo are poaching – its horn and virtually all of its body parts are valuable on the black market – and loss of its forested habitat due to land conversion for other uses such as agriculture. WWF is working with the Sabah Foundation and the Sabah Wildlife Department to establish a Rhinoceros and Orangutan Research Programme Centre in the Heart of Borneo forest area to bolster the rhino monitoring and research work in that area.

Sabah and the forests of the Heart of Borneo still hold huge tracts of continuous natural forests, which are some of the most biologically diverse habitats on Earth, with high numbers of unique animal and plant species. This is one of the world’s only two places – the other being Indonesia’s Sumatra Island – where orang-utans, elephants and rhinos still co-exist and where forests are currently large enough to maintain viable populations.

WWF aims to assist Borneo's three nations (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) to conserve the Heart of Borneo – a total of 220,000km2 of equatorial rainforest – through a network of protected areas and sustainably managed forest, and through international cooperation led by the Bornean governments and supported by a global effort.




END NOTES:

• The Borneo rhino is considered to be a separate subspecies (D. S. harrissoni) from the rhinos on Sumatra and mainland Malaysia. They feed on the leaves of a wide variety of seedlings and young trees. Unlike other rhino species and other large herbivorous mammals in Borneo (elephant, wild cattle, deer), the Sumatran rhino is a strict forest-dweller that ventures out of forest cover only in unusual situations. Sumatran rhinos are currently found in Peninsular Malaysia, and on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.


• The main reasons for the drop in rhino numbers are due to illegal hunting and the fact that the remaining rhinos are so isolated they may rarely or never meet to breed. In addition, there is evidence that a high proportion of the female rhinos on Borneo have reproductive problems. Many of the remaining rhinos are old and possibly beyond reproductive age, so the death rate may be exceeding the birth rate.


• Other threatened wildlife in Borneo includes clouded leopards, sun bears, and three species of leaf monkeys found nowhere else in the world. The island is also home to ten primate species, more than 350 bird species, 150 reptiles and amphibians and 15,000 plants.


• A field survey of Sabah’s rhinos in May 2005 involved about 120 people in 16 teams. It was undertaken by the Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Parks, the Sabah Foundation, WWF-Malaysia, the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project, SOS Rhino, Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Operation Raleigh. Also participating in the effort to protect Borneo’s remaining rhinos are the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Sabah Foundation, SOS Rhino and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.