Bako Favorites

1 more image

Favorite thing: We had a terrific guide who did so much for us and was very experienced. We went with the guide to see Orang Utangs and to Bako. Very reasonable price and good and reliable service. Definitely recommend it. Please go to Holiday Inn in Kuching. There they have a little agency inside the hotel. The lady there also can make you a good deal at one of the Holiday Inns at Damai Beach.

Fondest memory: Among proboscis monkeys big noses are fashionable. The bigger the nose, the more chances males have with girls... In this picture you can see, although not very clearly, a dominant male with a biiig nose!

Their voluminous stomachs are due to their feeding habits, since they can only eat leaves, which require slow diggestions. They must avoid sweet fruits, as they can ben lethal for their diggestive system.

Favorite thing: Recently, there was an interesting article about the Proboscis monkey in Sabah. The endangered Proboscis monkey has now joined the ranks of its popular Orang Utan as another tourist asset for Sabah. It now appears the popularity of the Proboscis has gradually surpassed that of the Orang Utan in Sepilok, Sandakan.
Known locally as the orang Belanda (Belanda in Malay means Dutch), the proboscis was initially thought to have confined to
Sukau, Sandakan. Lately, they were also found in the Klias Wetland, some 120km from Kota Kinabalu, which is about 2-hour drive from Kota Kinabalu. This discovery led to a sudden surge in eco-tourism activities in the Klias Wetland located in the Beaufort district. Apart from their snout-like nose, potbellied stomach and honking calls, the male sexual organ of Proboscis is always in the erect position. This has the researchers scratching their heads, searching for an answer. Perhaps the scientist at Pfizer and Eli-Lily could learn a thing or two from these tree dwellers.

Fondest memory: I got to the Proboscis the closest in Bako, not even in Sukau.

Favorite thing: Another fascinanting creature that appears in the mangroves during the low tide are the mudskippers: small amphibian-like fishes that are able to spend a considerable part of their lives outside of the water.

They have large eyes on top of their heads and extremely modified pectoral fins that allow them to walk both in and out of the water rather than swim.

Favorite thing: Proboscis Monkeys are fascinating. They are known as Orang Belanda in Malay, which means Dutchman. They actually look like a person with their redish fur, their big noses and prominent stomachs.

Proboscis monkeys only live on Borneo and are extremely endangered because of the loss of their habitat and the poaching activities. They are easily spotted in Bako National Park, although they move fast from tree to tree and many time you just hear their intriguing howls.

Favorite thing: Depending on tide conditions, sometime you may not dock at this jetty but have to get down in the shallow water in front of Park's administration office.

This jetty is surely a nice spot to catch some nice pictures.

Favorite thing: Looking out across the seemingly endless jungle, pondering all the interesting life forms that call this place home. Unfortunately the majority of the once pristine jungle of Borneo has been mowed down to make way for export crop industries. Palm oil is the biggest culprit. Every acre that is taken away means that much less habitat for orangutans, hornbills and creepy crawlies.

Favorite thing: The scavenger of scavengers. This fella will put anything in its mouth. He considers offal to be a delicacy. To each his own, I guess, but I, for one, am glad that I am not a bearded pig....and hopefully will not be in the next life either.