I have started guiding the second fall expedition to Borneo for Natural Habitat Adventures. The first one was my most spectacular trip so far, as the trips just keep getting better and better. I am short on time (as usual) so here is a brief collection of some of my favorite images from one of my favorite places on earth.
I am a confessed frog addict, and Borneo has some amazing species that send out quite a chorus at night. If you know where to look, they can make some great frog watching. We do really well at a frog pond in the Danum Valley.
Harlequin flying frog in the Danum Valley- These guys use their webbed feet not to swim, but to glide from branch to branch.
file eared tree frog, Danum Valley
file eared treefrog
We did amazingly well with giant, alpha male orangutans in the Danum Valley. These 200 plus pound beasts are one of the most impressive animals I have ever encountered anywhere. Watching them navigate through the treetops with incredible strength and skill is humbling, and seeing them stare down at you with mysteriously intelligent eyes in unforgettable.
The rhinoceros hornbills get most of the notoriety here, but our local guide Junior in Sabah’s favorite hornbill is the wrinkled hornbill for good reason- they are amazingly colorful. These very elusive birds were sitting in a treetop in evening light.
Few people know that there are pygmy elephants in the jungles of northeast Borneo. Seeing forest elephants playing in a jungle river at very close range is a sight to behold especially a mom and young baby.
Two Bornean pygmy elephants wrestle in the Kinabatangan River.
a young green sea turtle emerged from the sand as we watched sunset on Seligan Island.
Watching rangers collect eggs laid by a green sea turtle so they can be hatched in safe nurseries.
female green sea turtle, Seligan Island, Turtle Islands National Park in the Sulu Sea off the Northeast coast of Borneo.
A tree crab on a leaf in Sepilok. A tree crab? I guess…. So weird and cool.
A mother orang and her 4 month old baby in Sepilok.
We had amazing views of a sun bear foraging in the canopy at the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center (BSBCC) in Sepilok.
Sun bears are the smallest and most arboreal of the world’s eight bear species, and play an integral role the ecology of the Bornean forests as seed disperses, termite controllers, and cavity excavators as they dig into tree trunks in search of insects, which are used as nesting sites by flying squirrels and hornbills.
I am totally intrigued by sun bears, and so sad that they are so seriously endangered.
Intimate moments with one of the most intelligent creatures on earth.
Amazing eyes. Orangutan, Sepilok, Sabah, Borneo.
Orangutan portrait, Sepilok, Sabah, Borneo
Whiskered tree swift, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo
pig tailed macaque mother and baby, Kinabatangan River
Young male Orang, Sepilok
An extremely rare golden phase of a flying lemur (calugo) in the Kinabatangan.
Scarlet pumped trogan, Kinabatangan River.
Borneo does something to me, it fills all of my wildlife obsessions primates, bears, insects, frogs. I can’t get enough! Thank you Borneo, you are something else.
6 Comments
Brad, those are some of the best photos that I have seen. It looks like this trip is one of your best ones in Borneo. Thanks so much for sending them.
Have you seen the two horned rhino?
I loved those sun bear pictures. Your camera is amazing….just really great photos.
Brad, thank you for sharing your incredible gift with us. The wonderful photography, however, could not happen without your love and respect for Nature. My girls are so proud of their cousin.
Fantastic photos Brad, thank you for sharing them! I love the sun bear but feel so sad that they are endangered. The close ups of the orang-utan are superb!
We are blown away by these photos, and insanely jealous that you got to do Borneo AGAIN this year! The frogs, that trogan, a tree crab! Just WOW. We’re back from the Canadian Rockies–no bears, no moose, but the pikas and marmots were pretty cool. Cavell Meadows Loop was our favorite hike. But we still haven’t lost the glow from Borneo. Best Trip Ever!
Thanks so much guys! Borneo is a magical place….
Magical indeed! I hope to go there one of these days.