Sabah

Coronavirus lockdown has stopped my wildlife travels. But it's been a good opportunity to scan old slides from old trips, and relive some magic moments. Twenty-five years ago I joined fellow wildlife photographer Andy Lovering on a trip to Borneo - the 3rd largest island in the world, with an area greater than France. We visited the north of the island: the Malysian province of Sabah.

We started in the provincial capital of Kota Kinabalu, with a plan to first climb Mount Kinabalu and then soak our aching limbs in Poring hot spring.

A walk to the coast at Kota Kinabalu uncovered a couple of photogenic sea creatures, which I posed on a jetty. (n.b.: no animals were harmed during the making of this blog).

The Narrow-lined Pufferfish (Arothron manilensis) lives in estuaries throughout the Indo-pacific region.

I could not find a name for this crab, despite it being large and spectacular.

Mount Kinabalu rises to 4,095 metres above sea level at Low's peak (named after British colonial administrator Hugh Low, who made the first recorded ascent to the summit plateau in March 1851 - though the peak itself was not reached until 1888, by zoologist John Whitehead). Fortunately for us the start of the climb, Timpohon Gate, is already at 1,866m - so we had to climb 'only' 2,229 metres.

One of the main reasons to climb Mount Kinabalu is to see the insectivorous pitcher plants (Nepenthes spp.) that live on its slopes. The 'pitcher' is a modified leaf, filled with a fluid that digests any insects that fall in. There are over 170 species of Nepenthes, distributed mainly through south-east Asia. Forty species are found in Borneo, eight being endemic, and at least 25 of these can be found on and around Mount Kinabalu. They can be divided into lowland species, which occur in the rain forests below 1,000 metres, where there is high temperature and humidity all day, and highland species, which occur above 1,000 metres and prefer cooler wet conditions at night in mossy forests. The mountain climb passes only through highland species habitats.

The first species we encountered was the hairy N. tentaculata, which is adapted to living between 1,000 and 2,500 metres.

Above 2,000 metres we began to see N. Lowii (named after you know who). Some people compare it uncharitably to a toilet.

At this height the huge and chunky N. rajah can also be seen, with a round star shaped collar to its pitcher. This looks like one, only the collar is ragged and pointed at the back. It is probably N. x kinabaluensis - that is a hybrid between N. rajah and an overlapping species, N. villosa. It is only found on Mount Kinabalu.

Above 2,000 metres, the highest living Nepenthes: N. villosa itself. Extraordinary to think this alien-looking structure could evolve from a leaf to eat insects on top of a mountain. It can even be considered an alpine species (though on a tropical mountain) living at an altitude where early morning temperatures are around 5 degrees C.

Above 3,000 metres the plants faded to bare rock, and we slept. The following morning, while still dark, we walked up to the summit plateau under Low's peak and watched the sun rise.

In the cold light of day the scale of the summit becomes apparent: on the left of the picture below you can see the size of the people walking across the plateau to begin their descent.

After our descent we spent the rest of our time on the island in the rainforest - first at Poring hot springs for a well earned soak, then by small plane to the Danum Valley conservation area in the east of Sabah.

We stayed at the luxurious Borneo Rain Forest Lodge on the Danum River.

At sunset we could drink gin and tonics whilst watching otters play on the river bank below, and stare into the wall of the forest.

Tropical lowland rainforest. The temperature averages 31 degrees C during the day, dropping to 23 at night. The humidity is 70% during the day, but reaches 100% at night. Walking at dawn into the forest shrouded in mist reveals a world of giant trees and clear streams.

The rainforest is a wonder to observe, but it is nothing without its soundtrack - the call of biodiversity. Walk into the blog with that soundtrack playing. (The video can only be seen in the web version of the blog - not the mobile version).

The bright green socks being modeled here by a handsome explorer are not a fashion accessory - they`re leech socks, designed to prevent some of our little forest friends from taking blood samples in our boots. 

The Painted Leech (Haemadipsa picta) is the most beautiful of blood suckers - up to 3 cm of brightly coloured stripes. They move along the foliage and stretch out to grab onto passing mammals.

Rainforests have a higher plant diversity than any other habitat, so many people think they will be full of colourful flowers. But, as Alfred Russell Wallace observed in his 19th century natural history travelogue the Malay Archipelago: more flowers can be seen a typical English country lane in summer. The rainforest is subtle - there is diversity but not abundance (though the leeches don't seem to have got that message).

The humid conditions favour epiphytes: plants which live on other plants rather than in the soil. The orchids are most obvious as they have bright flowers designed to attract insects, the main pollinators in rainforests - there are about 1,400 species in Borneo. We saw species of Dendrochilum...

...Coelogyne...

... and Chelonistele.

Plants have evolved other ways to attract insects for pollination. Rafflesia flowers smell of rotting flesh to attract flies. They are parasites of Tetrastigma vines, and have no stems, leaves or roots - only these magnificent five-petaled flowers. There are about 28 species, all restricted to south-east Asia. We saw R. keithii - only found in Sabah and named after Henry George Keith, a former forest conservator.

This Nephila golden orb-weaver spider is not interested in insects for pollination - it's looking for a meal. It loves to spin silk - that's what its name means in Greek.

Millipedes seldom make the press - I couldn't even find a decent book on them. What a shame - they're in a class of their own (the Diplopoda, with two pairs of legs on each segment) containing at least 12,000 species. They're quite beautiful, inoffensive, slow moving vegetarians. But don't confuse them with their predatory, fast-moving, venom-injecting cousins - the centipedes (the Chilopoda, with one pair of legs on each segment).

The 'Round-backed' millipedes in the Orders Spirobolida and Spirostrepida have the classical millipede shape.

When they rest you can see why they have the prefix spiro.

The Orders Glomerida and Sphaerotheriida contain the pill millipedes, which curl up like pill bug woodlice.

The 'flat-backed' millipedes are in the Order Polydesmida, recognised by the lateral keels (or paranota) that protude from each segment. I think they are the stars of the millipede world.

There's another reason why rainforest diversity my not seem abundant - camouflage. Sometimes you need to look hard to see what's under your nose.

A green praying mantis holds motionless on a green leaf.

Hardly noticeable on the forest floor, a very small Pygmy Grasshopper of the family Tetrigidae blends in with a mossy log.

This Bush Cricket could easily be mistaken for a forest leaf.

The grasshoppers and crickets all contribute to the rainforest soundtrack through stridulation - rubbing their legs and wings together. But the call of the cicadas are louder - made by the vibration of drum-like membranes in their abdomens. There are at least 70 species of cicadas in Borneo - but again, seeing them is not so easy as hearing them.

Flatids are relatives of the cicada. They will cluster together on the stems of plants to mimic flowers, each a petal or a sepal.

Other close relatives are the magnificent Lanternflies (Fulgoridae) - clearly not worried about being seen. The snout, contrary to the name, does not emit light. We found Pyrops whiteheadi (named after he that first stood on the peak of Mount Kinabalu).

This is a Protohermes species of Dobsonfly, from the same group of insects as our Alder Flies. They also have ferocious looking larvae that hunt in streams.

In these blogs, the wildlife that has been photographed is always only a fraction of that seen. This is particularly true of butterflies - large and colourful they flit through the forest but, as the flowers are sparse, they rarely settle close at hand. I only managed the Dwarf Crow (Euploea tulliolus).

Moths are easier. At night they flew into the lodge, attracted to the light, and settled to be observed over our gin and tonics.

I love the way the band pattern runs across the wings and body of this hawk moth, Amblypterus panopus.

This cossid moth, Xyleutes strix, has a black and white elegance that Fred Astaire would be proud of.

A small green geometrid - one of the many wonderful but nameless hoards of insects we encountered.

The light of the lodge also attracted some big Three-horned Rhinoceros Beetles (Chalcosoma moellenkampi) which flew around like unsteady buzzing drones. This male is ready to joust with another male.

The golden female waits for the winner.

The blister beetle Epicauta ruficeps, found throughout south-east Asia, munching his way through a leaf. Its larvae eat grasshopper eggs.

Whilst walking along a trail, I felt something land on my leg. I looked down to see a splendid Pompilid Spider Hunting Wasp - with a stonking great Huntsman Spider in its mandibles. I flicked it onto the floor and was quick enough on the draw with the camera to get a shot before it flew off.

Frogs also contribute to the rainforest soundtrack. Harlequin tree frogs (Rhacophorus pardalis) are known as 'flying frogs', as they use the strong webbing between their toes to glide from tree to tree.

The arboreal rat snake (Gonyosoma oxycephalum) feeds on birds and bats, catching them in mid-air whilst hanging among branches.

Agamid lizards are also known as 'dragon lizards' - fearful dinosaur-like beasts. The Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella) actually seems quite tame. If threatened it will change its colour to dark brown, to be less visible.

Gonocephalus Angle-headed Lizards look more like dragons. There are two species in Sabah: G. liogaster and G. borneensis. I can't tell them apart.

They are docile creatures, but on one trail we did meet one teenager with a dragon attitude problem - he really didn't want us to pass. I went face to face with him on the ground, and we had a bit of a stand-off. 

No such nonsense from Cytodactylus bent-toed geckos. These are nocturnal species, and have huge eyes to see and hunt in the dark.

A Bornean Giant Turtle (Orlitia borneensis) out for a stroll.

Looking for birds in the rainforest is a pain in the neck - literally. Always looking up into the canopy plays havoc with the upper vertebrae. A better way to get up close is to go out at night with a torch and look at them while they asleep. They sit still, eyes open, seemingly oblivious to the torch light.

We saw an Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher (Ceyx erithaca)...

...and a Rufous-tailed Tailorbird (Orthotomus sericeus).

The most common group of mammals in the world are bats. A species of Pipistrelle kept us company at the lodge.

Otherwise, mammals are notoriously difficult to see in a rainforest - though this Bornean Mountain Ground Squirrel (Dremomys everetti) was quite obliging. It's named after the British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.

One dawn I took a walk on my own along a trail. Crashing sounds in the tree canopy made me look up. There, two young Orangutans (Pongo borneo) looked down at me. It is a jolting experience to look into the eyes of a fellow Great Ape in the wild. In them we can see something of ourselves - a close relative living a parallel life, or even a small child. Peeved by my presence they started breaking off twigs and throwing them in my direction. Then one urinated down on me. For a moment I felt I was going to hear one of them say "who you looking at mate?". Then they were gone.

What a great way to end the blog. But you know it can't be the end - you've seen too many David Attenborough documentaries. In Sabah, over 80% of the rainforest has been cleared for logging and agriculture.

It's almost the end.