Bako Warnings Or Dangers

Be careful when wading out to boats near the National Park offices. My wife stood on a stingray who took offence and gave her a nasty jab in the ankle. Believe me a stingray wound is a painful experience and it can take nearly 2 hours to get to the clinic in Kuching from Bako.

Beaches are lovely and quiet, although the water is not very clear, because of the proximity to the Sarawak river estuary. However, you will not resist a long time under the extreme heat and humidity of the Equatorial latitudes.

These monkeys are really brave & nasty, and found abundantly in Bako National Park. Beware of you baggage & foods supplies, they will sneak into bedroom or kitchen and clean sweep your belonging.

You aught to tight several daypacks together and make them heavy enough, or you'll find out bags ended up on top of the tree.

This particular monkey actually snatches an apple from one of the girl right in front of us & left the girl in shock. Nasty huh!!!!

The macaque monkeys are quite easy to spot at Bako. Just go to the canteen, order a plate of food and the macaques will be on top of you before you even sit down. These guys are fearless when it comes to pilfering a meal. I saw one macaque pose for a photo, while the young woman fiddled around trying to focus, the macaque leaped on her table flung the plate on the floor and greedily ate as much as possible before the proprietor came out of the kitchen with his trusty slingshot (slingshots are the only thing macaques fear.)

Another time I was relaxing on the deck of our cabin and a stealthy macaque crept up on a table where my friend had put his napsack. Before I realized what was happening, the monkey had deftly unzipped the bag and had his head inside looking for anything edible. Of course, chasing the macaque back to the lawn resulted in a great spilling of all the contents of the napsack and a general upheaval of all furniture on the deck.

Far from fearing humans, macaques regard people and their dwellings as food sources. You are more likely to see macaques in Sarawak than any other monkey. You are also likely to be "robbed" by one. They often rifle unguarded bags looking for food. Any inedible contents are flung contemptuously away. The best way to avoid this is to watch your belongings and not leave food lying around.
There are two species in the State, the pig tailed and the long tailed macaque. Both are highly intelligent, highly sociable and live in large troops. The constant struggle for dominance among senior mates and females and younger troop members often amuses human spectators.

If you go to Borneo you must be prepared for the possibility that you might encouter a snake, and a pretty good sized one at that.

One morning I was walking to the canteen to get some water and maybe a little breakfast. I was walking along a boardwalk from our hovel to the canteen and came across a snake that I estimate was some twenty feet long. I stopped cold and let it slither on its merry way--luckily it was ahead of me and going in the direction I was headed. I'm not sure what I would have done if it had been coming towards me. Probably would have shrieked like a little girl and wet myself.

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Please be aware and extra careful that snakes lurk around in Bako NP. E.g. the Green Viper, which is venomous. If you are not with a guide, pay extra attention.