Proboscis monkeys are most famous, just as their name suggests, for their bulbous noses. The critically endangered primates are endemic to Borneo, where locals have long marveled at their protuberant facial appendages, which can grow to as much as 14cm in some of the males and which make the monkey…

There may be only as few as 400 wild Bornean banteng left in Sabah so losing any more of them places the species ever more at risk of going extinct. That is why the poaching of three banteng within the space of a few days recently has alarmed and angered…

Clouded leopards are elusive creatures that hunt at night and spend most of their time away from prying eyes within dense forests. Thus, estimating their numbers in places like Sabah’s forests is a challenging undertaking. Yet a team of scientists led by researchers at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU)…

In order to save endangered animals across Malaysia, we need action. And in order for that action to work, it needs to be planned comprehensively. That’s why it’s a welcome development that a group of scientists, conservationists and officials came together in Sabah to work out a new action plan for…

Ask officials in Sabah, and shark finning is practically nonexistent in the country’s waters. Ask conservationists, though, and it does happen, and rather too often. And not only that, but it can happen in broad daylight in what should be pristine and idyllic marine environments. The Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah has…

Even in Sabah’s biodiverse forests with their cornucopia of exotic animals, proboscis monkeys are stand-outs. The reddish-brown primates are famous for their flamboyant looks, thanks largely to their large and elongated nozzles. They use those mighty sniffers to amplify the sound of their calls through the canopies of forests they call…

A new bridge and a new road. They might be a boon in most places, but not in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, where any new infrastructure will likely pose a clear and present danger to resident animals. And so conservationists have duly raised the alarm about the prospect of a controversial new bridge and…

Last August a Bornean pygmy elephant made headlines globally thanks to its tusks, which had been growing downwards and backwards, giving the jumbo a sabre-toothed look. Nicknamed “Sabre” by local officials, the adult male elephant helped highlight the wondrous diversity of Sabah’s wildlife. A few months on, Sabre is dead, having been killed by…

Wild animals face a variety of threats in Sabah from habitat loss to poaching. Sadly, we also need to add the thriving local bushmeat trade to that list. Local conservationists and animal lovers have been engaged in several educational campaigns to try and wean locals off the meat of wild…