SABAH’S NATURE & WILDLIFE: New Bird Species Found In Borneo

Sabah's Nature & Wildlife

According to the World Tourism Organisation, modern travellers are looking for ‘activity-based’ attractions as opposed to ‘destination’ travel. Borneo has always been a destination for nature, culture and adventure tourism; there are many areas in Borneo which have been designated for the protection and preservation of flora and fauna.

Sabah, Malaysian Borneo is the second largest state in Malaysia and has pristine tropical forests, fascinating landscape, rich and complex marine life and intriguing tribal indigenous communities. Sabah, Malaysian Borneo is located on the northern part of Borneo, the third largest island in the world.

Adventure-seekers will find that Sabah, Malaysian Borneo as the most ideal nature playground; it has a tropical climate and holds a rich and diverse biological repository of flora and fauna, with over 15,000 species of flowering plants, 3,000 species of trees, 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of birds.

Sabah, Malaysian Borneo has fascinating landscape where it has the three highest mountains in Malaysia, namely; Mount Kinabalu (4093m), Mount Trusmadi (2642m) and Mount Tambuyukon (2579m) offer sufficient challenges for novice hikers, trekkers, scramblers and rock-climbers. Such mountainous range in Sabah also offers excellent sites for bird-watching, white water rafting, paragliding, etc.

For nature-lovers, Sabah has 130 million years old rainforest and posses a great diversity of plants, which make Sabah, Malaysian Borneo a botanical paradise. With over half the species growing above 900 metres, the walking trails enable adventurers to enjoy the lush diterocarp rainforest, housing spectacular flowers including orchids, rhododendruns, the insect eating Nepenthes and the enormous rafflesia.

Sabah, Malaysian Borneo also has several easily accessible world-class national parks and reserves such as Maliau Basin (Sabah’s Lost World), Danum Valley (Research Centre), Tabin Wildlife Sanctuary, Crocker Range National Park, Kinabatangan Floodplain, Kinabalu World Heritage Park, Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, etc. – undoubtedly the last remaining natural habitat and they are home to some highly endangered wildlife in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo such as the gentle great red-ape, the Orang-Utan and other endangered species like the Sumatran Rhino, Clouded Leopard and Asian Elephant, to name a few.