Wildlife of S. E. Asia and S. America. A Photo Journal by Francis Burlingham.: 2021-01-31

Introduction

Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to live in Thailand, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia and now Brunei. In my spare time I have had the opportunity to travel fairly widely, camera in hand, in search of wildlife. In these posts I aim to share some of these experiences and show you some of the extraordinary wildlife that can be found in these regions. All of the photographs you see within the posts and pages here are my own unless otherwise stated. Copyright © Francis Burlingham 2015

Friday, 5 February 2021

Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak

Nasalis larvatus (Proboscis Monkey) Bako NP Sarawak Borneo

At the end of 2013, I travelled to Borneo for a week, staying with friends in Brunei Darussalam. I also crossed the border to Miri in Sarawak and flew to Kuching, staying at the Permai Rainforest resorts tree houses. From there I took a trip by long tail boat to Baku National Park before returning to Brunei.

Brunei Darussalam

Visiting Borneo was the fulfilment of a childhood dream and I was not disappointed by the forest areas that I visited. However driving through the vast expanses of palm oil on the island was depressing. Number one on my must see list were the proboscis monkeys, I have always wanted to see these since watching them on wildlife programmes as a child. I saw them both at Baku NP in Sarawak and on the main river near Brunei Darussalam.

Nasalis larvatus (Proboscis Monkey) Bako National Park, Sarawak, Borneo

I also saw Silver Langurs both in Brunei and at Permai resort near Kuching as well as plenty of long tail macaques.

Trachypithecus cristatus (Sundaic Silvered Langur) Brunei Borneo

Macaca fascicularis (Crab-eater Macaque) Brunei Borneo

Trachypithecus cristatus (Sundaic Silvered Langur) Sarawak Borneo

The Permai Resort near Kuching, Sarawak, was a great place to spot wild life, as its grounds were right in the rain forest where a small river meets the sea. At night, I found perhaps my favourite lizard of all time, with stunning blue eyes and a fabulous row of spikes on its back.

Gonocephalus liogaster (Orange-ringed Anglehead Lizard) Male Near Kuching Sarawak

I found two pit vipers in the area near the resort.

Tropidolaemus wagleri (Temple Viper) Near Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo

There were also crabs climbing the trees.

This beautiful swallowtail moth was also in the grounds.

Lyssa zampa Near Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo

I also found my first colugo in the trees at night near my room.

Galeopterus variegatus (Sunda Colugo)

Near Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo

The trip to Baku National Park by narrow boat across a choppy wet season sea was a bit rough but ultimately worth it.

Sus barbatus (Sunda Bearded Pig) Bako NP Sarawak Borneo

The Sunda Bearded pigs were a highlight alongside the proboscis monkeys.

Sus barbatus (Sunda Bearded Pig) Bako NP Sarawak Borneo

Back in Brunei, I found plenty of pitcher plants.

Nepenthes rafflesiana Brunei

Whilst in Brunei I also visited Ulu Temburong NP, his was reached by boat and the final stretch up rapids in a motorised hollowed out canoe.

Gonocephalus borneensis (Borneo Anglehead )
Temburong Brunei

Nasalis larvatus (Proboscis Monkey)
Brunei Borneo

Dysphania sps (Blue Tiger Moth)
Temburong Brunei

Giant Ant Brunei Borneo

Thursday, 4 February 2021

The Wildlife of the East Coast of Malaysia

The east coast of Malaysia has many beautiful islands but the mainland coastline is also well worth a visit with its miles of sandy beaches and azure waters. This is particularly true of Terengganu state with its long sandy coastline and the Perhentian islands lying off shore.

Kampung Mangkuk, Penarik, Terengganu.

The Perhentian islands are particularly beautiful with great reefs for snorkelling, diving or kayaking. I managed to see barracudas, black tip reef sharks and turtles when I visited back in 2014.

A beach where I stayed on the Perhentian Islands

The islands are also home to a number of interesting mammals including dusky langurs, squirrels and the sunda colugo.

Trachypithecus obscura (Dusky Langur) Perhentian Besar Malaysia

Trachypithecus obscura

Callosciurus notatus (Plantain Squirrel)

Galeopterus variegatus (Sunda Colugo)

In April 2015 I drove up the east coast through Terengganu and stopped at a boutique resort in theTerrapuri Heritage Village, Setiu Wetlands, Penarik. This consisted of old wooden buildings which had been rescued and moved from the former state palace. It was a beautiful place to stay.

Terrapuri Heritage Village

The area was great for spotting reptiles that were thriving in the dry sandy conditions. Including butterfly lizards, golden tree snakes and garden fence lizards.

Leiolepis belliana (Common Butterfly Lizard) Penarik Malaysia

Calotes versicolor (Garden Fence Lizard) Penarik Malaysia

Chrysopelea ornata

Cherating beach is an easy 3hrsfrom KL and is good place for a weekend getaway or to start a journey up the east coast. I stayed there we my family a number of times in a simple boutique resort and always managed to see some wildlife in the grounds.

The Hotel Garden

The Beach at Cherating

The pond in the grounds attracted many dragonflies and this stork billed kingfisher was a regular visitor.

Pelargopsis capensis (Stork-billed Kingfisher) Cherating Malaysia

There were also dusky langurs in the trees by the beach and plenty of crab eater macaques.

Trachypithecus obscura (Dusky Langur) Cherating Beach Malaysia

Macaca fascicularis (Crab-eater Macaque) Cherating Beach Malaysia

A large crab on Cherating Beach

Wednesday, 3 February 2021

Belum National Park and Wild Elephants

Looking back, Malaysia was one of my favourite countries that I have visited or lived in. There were many places and experiences that I enjoyed visiting before I started this blog.

Back in 2015, I took a road trip with my family up the east coast and across to Belum National Park on the Thai border where I had one of my most memorable wildlife encounters. Whilst driving west out of the national park along a narrow forested mountain road I came across a young bull elephant some 20m or so downhill from the road. I parked the car as quickly as possible and headed back down the road and over the crash barrier to get a closer look. If the truth be told in my excitement I got a little too close for safety, but I had a good 5 or 10 mins before he spotted me, stared me down and then disappeared off into the forest. I managed to get these shots of him dust bathing before he left.

Elephas maximus Bull Asian Elephant Belum NP Malaysia

Belum-Temengor is a group of forest reserves in Malaysia's Perak state. The forest is estimated to be more than 130 million years old, which makes it even older than the Amazon or the Congo. Lying on the border between Thailand and Malaysia it occupies an interesting climate zone between the distinct wet/dry season monsoon climate of Thailand and the more regular rain forest climate further south. As a result there is a great degree of biodiversity.

Whilst visiting I stayed at the Belum Eco Resort, a collection of A frame huts on a tiny island in Lake Temengor. This lake was created by river-damming in the 1970s and this turned the hills into mini islands. As a result exploring the forest was mainly done by boat.

Journey across the lake from the eco lodge.

The grounds of the resort yielded plenty of wildlife watching opportunities. The highlight for me was this stunning paradise tree snake living in tree fern by the reception.