In June, I visited the Maliau Basin Reserve in Sabah with a group of butterfly photographers from Malaysia and Singapore. I met the group on the net and they kindly invited me along to participate in a survey of the butterflies near the headquarters of the reserve.
I was happy to visit since it is difficult to gain access to the Maliau Basin. Reaching the reserve involved a five hour drive by 4x4 from the coastal city of Tawau. It was sad to see the extent of habitat loss in this part of Sabah. Nearly four hours of the journey passed through oil palm plantations and these stretched to the horizon in all directions. Sometimes, I saw the skeletons of old trees but the rainforest that once covered this area was completely gone. The last hour of the trip passed through selectively logged forest where all of the big trees had been removed. The forest canopy was broken so there were lots of vines and ferns in the understorey. Walking through this was impossible but I heard/saw quite a variety of birds including forest species such as pittas, trogons and hornbills. The headquarters was situated in selectively logged forest although it was in reasonable condition. The slopes and basin itself were never logged so the forest there was primary.
Here is a distant view of the Maliau Basin. The northern slopes are higher than those in the south. The headquarters is situated just below the southern slope of the reserve.
...selectively logged forest near the headquarters:
Here is our accommodation at the headquarters of the reserve. It was a nice place with great views of the surrounding trees. At night, all sorts of interesting inverts and moths visited the lights.
The forest was often "steamy" in the early mornings:
We sat in the mornings and evenings and watched hornbills flying back and forth from these trees to a nearby fruiting Ficus. Hornbills were abundant and included many Rhinoceros, Helmeted, Wreathed, Black and Bushy-crested.
It seems that access to the Maliau Basin is restricted to those who travel with a few tour companies (big $$$) or those who apply and are granted a permit that allows them to conduct biological research. My group arranged the later permit but we were restricted to the roads and a single nature trail near the headquarters. We were not allowed to venture along other trails that entered the basin.
The Maliau Basin was a fairly late discovery last century. The basin is surrounded by steep sided mountains and receives heavy rainfall. This is one of those locations in the world where there are still new animals to be discovered. One recent discovery that we heard about was a small frog that only lives in pitcher plants. I am sure that someone will find new species of butterflies in some of the remote, unusual habitats of the reserve. Our group added a number of species not previously recorded in this area and our total list after seven days of searching was about 140 species. Sabah is rich with butterflies.
Here is a topographical display of the reserve. The white marker (centre right) is the location of the headquarters.
We were allowed on a nature trail across the Maliau River. The river marked the boundary of the primary forest.
There also was a skywalk here. The walkway was built out from a ridge and allowed good views into the canopy and then to the treetops of the smaller trees. At times, it was a great place for birds and I was able to look down on species that I normally had a hard time seeing in the canopy. Helmeted Hornbills were particularly common here and I now understand why I always hear these but so rarely see them in the Asian rainforest.
Here is a shot of the guys in action. Our party of eight was equally divided between macro photographers and butterfly photographers. Both groups were superb photographers and I learned lots from the guys.
Tiger Leeches were one of the most common animals in the forest. These creatures were so affectionate. They just loved us.
One of the guys suggested that this shot would make a nice Valentine's Card.
Blue-eyed Dragon (Gonocephalus liogaster)
Asian House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus)?
Any ideas about the identity of this little juvenile gecko? The webbed toes and colour pattern remind me of Ptychozoon sp. but it had an ordinary rather than elaborately lobed tail. The gecko scampered across the ceiling of the veranda one night while we were photographing the inverts.
Not certain but I think that this might be a Worm Gecko (Hemiphyllodactylus typus). Is that correct? I found this during the day on a pot plant at the headquarters.
Sphenomorphus sp. It resembles the shot of S. haasi in Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo but I am not certain of the species.
Sphenomorphus sp. It resembles the shot of S. multisquamatus in Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo but again, I am not certain of the species.
I think that the following two skinks are a juvenile and adult of the same species. They look much like Black-banded Skinks (Mabuya rudis) in the Borneo guide.
Water Monitors (Varanus salvator) were common in a pond at the headquarters. This one swam beneath a bridge where I was standing.
I think that this little monitor was a juvenile V. salvator.
Frog. Id? These were common on plants around the headquarters. I watched a Malay Civet eat one of these.
Maliau Basin was great for mammals. I went out each night on a walk and ended up seeing four species of civets (Malay, Banded Palm, Small-toothed Palm and Binturong), Long-tailed Macaques, Bornean Gibbons, Slow Loris, Colugo, Giant Flying Squirrels, Leopard Cat, Mouse Deer, and Bearded Pigs. A Costa Rican ornithologist that I met found a Flat-headed Cat along the river at night.
I awakened to the territorial songs of Bornean Gibbons every morning. On one occasion, they came close to the accommodation buildings to feed in a fruiting tree.
Malay Civet: Saw these animals every night below the walkway of the accommodation. They seemed to be hunting frogs and inverts near the lights at night.
Colugo: Saw two of these. One was found licking sap at night and the other was disturbed during the day and scampered up a tree.
Birds were good and included several species of trogons, Blue-headed/Black-crowned Pittas, 5 species of hornbills, many babblers, two species of broadbills, four species of kingfishers and on and on.
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher: a stunning bird.
... asleep at night.
Black Hornbills were a common sight and sound.
Rhinoceros Hornbill: These were a daily sight as were the big Helmeted Hornbills. They usually were seen flying from a giant tree near the accommodation to a fruiting fig.
Brown Wood Owl: seen most evening at lights along the walkways of the accommodation. It appeared to hunt the giant cicadas that would visit the lights at night.
Rufous-bellied Eagle
Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker, a Bornean endemic.
Whip Scorpions were seen a few times at night.
Bird-dropping mimic spider. One of the macro photographers pointed out this spider to me. It certainly looked like bird droppings so was easy to overlook.
huntsman?
This House Centipede was huge!
"Pill" Millipede. These are about the size of a golf ball when curled.
Stag Beetle: This beetle was one of my favourite finds on the trip. It was huge and had enormous almost tusk-like jaws.
Violin Beetle: Arrived at the lights on a rainy night. Another odd and fabulous beetle.
Rhinoceros Beetles of several species were common. The second species below had incredible horns.
Weevil
Lantern Bugs are always a nice sight. One of the macro photographers loves to photograph these insects. He methodically searched the bases of trees and eventually found three species of these insects.
Plant Hoppers
Dead-leaf Mantis: An amazing species! They were so well disguised when standing on leaf little.
Lace Mantis was a fast mover. It could race away when disturbed.
Katydids were diverse. They also included one of the largest insects that I have observed (first couple of shots below).
Tessaratomidae: These are big, showy hemipterans.
Ichneumon wasp with an incredibly long ovipositer. It looked like a white ribbon was trailing behind the insect when in flight.
... more tomorrow
I was happy to visit since it is difficult to gain access to the Maliau Basin. Reaching the reserve involved a five hour drive by 4x4 from the coastal city of Tawau. It was sad to see the extent of habitat loss in this part of Sabah. Nearly four hours of the journey passed through oil palm plantations and these stretched to the horizon in all directions. Sometimes, I saw the skeletons of old trees but the rainforest that once covered this area was completely gone. The last hour of the trip passed through selectively logged forest where all of the big trees had been removed. The forest canopy was broken so there were lots of vines and ferns in the understorey. Walking through this was impossible but I heard/saw quite a variety of birds including forest species such as pittas, trogons and hornbills. The headquarters was situated in selectively logged forest although it was in reasonable condition. The slopes and basin itself were never logged so the forest there was primary.
Here is a distant view of the Maliau Basin. The northern slopes are higher than those in the south. The headquarters is situated just below the southern slope of the reserve.
...selectively logged forest near the headquarters:
Here is our accommodation at the headquarters of the reserve. It was a nice place with great views of the surrounding trees. At night, all sorts of interesting inverts and moths visited the lights.
The forest was often "steamy" in the early mornings:
We sat in the mornings and evenings and watched hornbills flying back and forth from these trees to a nearby fruiting Ficus. Hornbills were abundant and included many Rhinoceros, Helmeted, Wreathed, Black and Bushy-crested.
It seems that access to the Maliau Basin is restricted to those who travel with a few tour companies (big $$$) or those who apply and are granted a permit that allows them to conduct biological research. My group arranged the later permit but we were restricted to the roads and a single nature trail near the headquarters. We were not allowed to venture along other trails that entered the basin.
The Maliau Basin was a fairly late discovery last century. The basin is surrounded by steep sided mountains and receives heavy rainfall. This is one of those locations in the world where there are still new animals to be discovered. One recent discovery that we heard about was a small frog that only lives in pitcher plants. I am sure that someone will find new species of butterflies in some of the remote, unusual habitats of the reserve. Our group added a number of species not previously recorded in this area and our total list after seven days of searching was about 140 species. Sabah is rich with butterflies.
Here is a topographical display of the reserve. The white marker (centre right) is the location of the headquarters.
We were allowed on a nature trail across the Maliau River. The river marked the boundary of the primary forest.
There also was a skywalk here. The walkway was built out from a ridge and allowed good views into the canopy and then to the treetops of the smaller trees. At times, it was a great place for birds and I was able to look down on species that I normally had a hard time seeing in the canopy. Helmeted Hornbills were particularly common here and I now understand why I always hear these but so rarely see them in the Asian rainforest.
Here is a shot of the guys in action. Our party of eight was equally divided between macro photographers and butterfly photographers. Both groups were superb photographers and I learned lots from the guys.
Tiger Leeches were one of the most common animals in the forest. These creatures were so affectionate. They just loved us.
One of the guys suggested that this shot would make a nice Valentine's Card.
Blue-eyed Dragon (Gonocephalus liogaster)
Asian House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus)?
Any ideas about the identity of this little juvenile gecko? The webbed toes and colour pattern remind me of Ptychozoon sp. but it had an ordinary rather than elaborately lobed tail. The gecko scampered across the ceiling of the veranda one night while we were photographing the inverts.
Not certain but I think that this might be a Worm Gecko (Hemiphyllodactylus typus). Is that correct? I found this during the day on a pot plant at the headquarters.
Sphenomorphus sp. It resembles the shot of S. haasi in Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo but I am not certain of the species.
Sphenomorphus sp. It resembles the shot of S. multisquamatus in Snakes and Other Reptiles of Borneo but again, I am not certain of the species.
I think that the following two skinks are a juvenile and adult of the same species. They look much like Black-banded Skinks (Mabuya rudis) in the Borneo guide.
Water Monitors (Varanus salvator) were common in a pond at the headquarters. This one swam beneath a bridge where I was standing.
I think that this little monitor was a juvenile V. salvator.
Frog. Id? These were common on plants around the headquarters. I watched a Malay Civet eat one of these.
Maliau Basin was great for mammals. I went out each night on a walk and ended up seeing four species of civets (Malay, Banded Palm, Small-toothed Palm and Binturong), Long-tailed Macaques, Bornean Gibbons, Slow Loris, Colugo, Giant Flying Squirrels, Leopard Cat, Mouse Deer, and Bearded Pigs. A Costa Rican ornithologist that I met found a Flat-headed Cat along the river at night.
I awakened to the territorial songs of Bornean Gibbons every morning. On one occasion, they came close to the accommodation buildings to feed in a fruiting tree.
Malay Civet: Saw these animals every night below the walkway of the accommodation. They seemed to be hunting frogs and inverts near the lights at night.
Colugo: Saw two of these. One was found licking sap at night and the other was disturbed during the day and scampered up a tree.
Birds were good and included several species of trogons, Blue-headed/Black-crowned Pittas, 5 species of hornbills, many babblers, two species of broadbills, four species of kingfishers and on and on.
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher: a stunning bird.
... asleep at night.
Black Hornbills were a common sight and sound.
Rhinoceros Hornbill: These were a daily sight as were the big Helmeted Hornbills. They usually were seen flying from a giant tree near the accommodation to a fruiting fig.
Brown Wood Owl: seen most evening at lights along the walkways of the accommodation. It appeared to hunt the giant cicadas that would visit the lights at night.
Rufous-bellied Eagle
Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker, a Bornean endemic.
Whip Scorpions were seen a few times at night.
Bird-dropping mimic spider. One of the macro photographers pointed out this spider to me. It certainly looked like bird droppings so was easy to overlook.
huntsman?
This House Centipede was huge!
"Pill" Millipede. These are about the size of a golf ball when curled.
Stag Beetle: This beetle was one of my favourite finds on the trip. It was huge and had enormous almost tusk-like jaws.
Violin Beetle: Arrived at the lights on a rainy night. Another odd and fabulous beetle.
Rhinoceros Beetles of several species were common. The second species below had incredible horns.
Weevil
Lantern Bugs are always a nice sight. One of the macro photographers loves to photograph these insects. He methodically searched the bases of trees and eventually found three species of these insects.
Plant Hoppers
Dead-leaf Mantis: An amazing species! They were so well disguised when standing on leaf little.
Lace Mantis was a fast mover. It could race away when disturbed.
Katydids were diverse. They also included one of the largest insects that I have observed (first couple of shots below).
Tessaratomidae: These are big, showy hemipterans.
Ichneumon wasp with an incredibly long ovipositer. It looked like a white ribbon was trailing behind the insect when in flight.
... more tomorrow
