Haven for wildlife, nature lovers

KOTA KINABALU: It was a sight to behold and worth the three-hour wait. An up-close view of the famed Borneo pygmy elephants of Sabah browsing on assorted vegetation in their natural habitat is a rare opportunity for most people.

This writer got what she wanted when she recently set out for Kampung Bilit, about 375 kilometres from here, in Kinabatangan district.

From the jetty at Kampung Bilit, she and her photographer colleague took a 30-minute boat ride to the lower banks of Sungai Kinabatangan, which is part of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. They were not the only people there.

About 13 other boats were there too, each with six to eight tourists who were equally eager to see these unique jumbos that are relatively smaller in size and more sociable than the typical Asian species.

The atmosphere livened up when the “stars” appeared. Not one or two but 16 of them, including two calves. They grazed on the grass and ambled over to the river to quench their thirst, unperturbed by all that attention they were getting. Occasionally, the sound of an elephant trumpeting rang out and it almost seemed like they were greeting the humans who were obviously enchanted by them.

The visitors left after the “show” ended, taking with them plenty of photographs and videos and an experience they would cherish forever.

Sightings not guaranteed

The Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary is home to not only the pygmy elephant but also proboscis monkeys and a horde of other animal species.

Sabah's Lower Kinabatangan region was gazetted as a wildlife sanctuary in August 2005 under Section 9 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. The sanctuary covers 26,103 hectares of forested land along Sungai Kinabatangan.

Described by the state government as Sabah's “Gift to the Earth”, Lower Kinabatangan is a hotspot of biodiversity and has enormous potential for tourism.

According to boat operator Roslan Ali, 31, elephant sightings are not guaranteed as sometimes the animals go into the interior parts of the jungle to look for food.

“It depends on how lucky the visitors are. Sometimes we only get to spot them at the riverbank once in three months. It is normal… it's part of nature. So you can imagine the tourists' satisfaction if they are lucky enough to see the pygmy elephants,” said Roslan, who has been ferrying tourists along the lower reaches of Sungai Kinabatangan for four years.

Another boat operator Saib Sabri, 37, agreed that it is difficult to predict the herd's whereabouts as they are always on the move.

Haven for nature lovers

Even if the elephants do not turn up at the riverbank to forage for food, the boat ride to the Kinabatangan river is still worthwhile. The panoramic views of the verdant tropical rainforests blanketing the riverbanks will mesmerise any visitor.

According to boat operator and tour guide Abdul Karim Abdul Hamid, the Lower Kinabatangan area – which also has four villages, namely Kampung Batu Puteh, Kampung Bilit, Kampung Abai and Kampung Sukau – is popular with tourists, particularly those who love nature.

Abdul Karim, 66, who has been taking tourists to Lower Kinabatangan for 25 years, said besides pygmy elephants, orang utan and proboscis monkeys can also be spotted there.

Roslan, Saib and Abdul Karim are conscious of the need to protect the pristine wildlife habitats as their livelihoods depend on the conservation of these animals.

“The pygmy elephants and other wildlife are drawing tourists to Sabah, especially Kinabatangan. Thousands of them come here every year,” Abdul Karim added.

Saib said Kinabatangan's tourism industry has helped local communities there to generate an income by providing boat services and homestay programmes to the visitors.

He earns about RM2,000 a month from his boat services. He charges foreigners RM200 to RM250 for a return trip to the Lower Kinabatangan area while domestic tourists pay about RM150.

“I've taken tourists from Holland, Italy and France and also university students and researchers on my boat to the area,” he said. Ecotourism potential

Dr Isabelle Lackman, director of non-governmental organisation HUTAN, said Kinabatangan's ecotourism sector has huge potential as the region is endowed with unique resources that allow tourists to take home with them valuable experiences.

“Only in Kinabatangan are tourists able to see orang utan, (pygmy) elephants and proboscis monkeys. So many other unique wildlife species are also found here,” said the researcher.

HUTAN is a French NGO that is actively involved in orang utan conservation and it works closely with the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD).

Lackman, who has been based in Kampung Sukau for the past 20 years, hoped that the villagers in Kinabatangan would learn to coexist peacefully with the wildlife as it was key to ensuring the survival of animal species unique to that part of the world.

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew, meanwhile, said to conserve the ecosystems of the pygmy elephant and other wildlife, two companies recently donated 38 plots of land in Lower Kinabatangan measuring a total of 93 hectares to SWD.

Saraya Co Ltd, a Japanese company, and Borneo Conservation Trust Japan bought the land for RM4.5 million and handed it over to SWD to be gazetted as part of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.

The land parcels constitute unprotected fragments in Lower Kinabatangan and the initiative is aimed at merging them with the wildlife sanctuary.

“These fragmented land will be turned into food corridors for the wild elephants, which will help to reduce human-elephant conflicts. Once the new plots of land are gazetted as food corridors, we want to engage the local villagers to plant vegetation over there that will serve as food for the elephants,” said Liew, who is also the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister.

Hoping that Lower Kinabatangan can become a model for elephant conservation, she said its success would also prove to the world that elephants can coexist harmoniously with humans.

“We hope to turn Lower Kinabatangan into a showcase for the pygmy elephant so that people who want to see this particular species will have to come to Kinabatangan,” she added.