So far I have not posted any photo of Borneo's insects, not that we don't have our share of interesting insects, in fact our island is one of the richest places on earth entomologically! So to be fair to the millions of insects my new year's first post is about one of their kind!
Here's a fly! It may not look like one, reminds you of a hammer-head shark, doesn't it? But it's a member of the Diopsidae family in the Order Diptera, thus it is a true fly. Several species of stalk-eyed flies are found in Borneo, but due to their small size, they are seldom noticed.
I have not been able to get this specimen identified to its genus and species, but would post its ID here as soon as I got it. In the mean time I would welcome any comments or help in identifying this fantastic looking creature (some may say weird, but I think it's just wondrous looking, quaint, if you like but definitely not weird).
TheBanded Bullfrog (Kaloula pulchra) is very similar to the Brown Bullfrog (K. baleata) in both appearance and habits. (See my previous post of 23 December 2007) It can be recognized from the latter by the wide yellow band on its sides and by its slightly bigger size. This species is said to be a recent introduction in Borneo and is a frog of human settlements living under rubbish heaps and other debris in town and cities. They emerge in big numbers after a heavy rain to form large noisy breeding groups in flooded drains and ponds. Males inflate themselves into balls as they calls while floating on the water surface.
Ants, as my photos (taken in my brother's house on Labuan Island) show, are their almost exclusive food.
One of the animals that come to eat the tarap fruits at night in my backyard that I was able to photograph is the Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). Possibly another species of civet - the Malay Civet (Viverra tangalunga) also does so though I've never seen it.
A nocturnal omnivore, the palm civet hunts alone. They are expert climbers and spend most of their lives in trees. They eat small vertebrates, insects, ripe fruits and seeds. They are very fond of palm sap, therefore their common name. The sap is used by natives to make a sweet liquor called "toddy", which gives the palm civet its other common name. The palm civet is also fond of coffee cherries. They eat the outer fruit and the coffee beans pass through their digestive tract. An expensive coffee called kopi luwak is supposedly made from these coffee beans. Kopi luwak is said to have a gamy flavor and sells for more than $100 per pound.
The biggest of the birds that come to the feast is the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris), there's a semi-resident pair of them in the neighbourhood.
At least two species of bulbuls - the Olive-winged (Pycnonotus plumosus) (above)
and the very common Yellow-vented (Pycnonotus goiavier) (below)
The smallest - the Orange-bellied Flowerpeckers (Dicaeum trigonostigma)
sometimes feed on the wing, hovering like humming birds. The photo below is
that of a female (or possibly a juvenile). The bottom photo shows a mature male.
A large ripe fruit of the Tarap (Artocarpus odoratissimus) overlooked by the farmer is a bonanza and day-long feast for the neighbourhood's birds, squirrels and other frutivorous animals. Usually a squirrel would have found and made an opening in the thick spiny skin to get at the sweet pulpy flesh in the morning. Then the birds would follow; by late afternoon most of the fruit is gone and if anything is left in the evening, bats would clean it up.
Photo 3: Slender-billed Crows (Corvus enca) are early birds
Or a civet would come in the early evening and open up a just ripened fruit; even a big civet would have difficulty finishing it so when it has had its fill there will be plenty to share with bats and other nocturnal animals and some left over even for the early birds and squirrels.
In this post, and more following posts I hope, I will present photos I took of some of the visitors to MY tarap tree in my backyard when it's in season. I rarely pick the fruits as they are literally for the birds, and squirrels and civets and bats...
Thetarap is a fruit that Borneans love, well, I don't think I know anyone who grew up here who doesn't like it. However visitors or newcomers to this parts either hate it outright or eventually get used to it and like it! They say it's the smell... not like that of the durian but somewhat strong.
Photo 2: A ripe tarap is easily opened with your bare hands - the white stuff is the sweet yummy part!
Botanically it is known as Artocarpus odoratissimus and belongs to the Moraceae plant family like its related cousins the Jackfruit or Nangka, Chempadak and Breadfruit.
The tree of the Tarap grows to a height of 20-25m, and is usually grown from seed, fruiting starts when the tree is about 4-5 years old. The flowers, both male and female look like light-bulb-shaped and sized fruits, the male inflorecence drop to the ground soon after releasing pollen while the female heads continue to grow to a large roundish and almost football sized fruit covered with spiny protrubences. The white flesh-covered seeds are attached to a centre core inside the fruit and can be seen (and eaten) when the skin is removed. The flesh is sweet with a strong fragrance.Photos 3 & 4: Tarap infloresence, these are the flowers, the male
head below is about to wither and drop after releasing pollen
The Tarap is widely cultivated in Borneo and many "improved" varieties are known. Although it is also grown in the Philippines where it is called Marang, experts believe that Tarap is native to, and possibly introduced there from Borneo where wild trees are common in the jungle. Whereas in the Philippines the species only exists as cultivated plants and its distribution there limited to Mindoro, Mindanao, Basilan and the Sulu Archipelago. It is also known in Peninsular Malaysia (terap) and southern Thailand in the wild (with inferior fruits) but is not commonly cultivated.
The Leopard Cat Prionailurus bengalensis (synonym Felis bengalensis) is the commonest wild cat in Borneo although few people have actually seen it. This is because it is a nocturnal animal that is active only at night and spends the day in a den that may be a hollow tree, a cavity under roots or a small cave. It lives and breeds mainly in forests and secondary jungle, as well as plantations and farms near the jungle feeding on rodents, reptiles, small birds, insects, frogs and even sometimes fish – almost anything that it can catch.
It is a beautiful domestic cat-sized animal that looks very much like a mini leopard! But to see it we have to go into the jungle or drive along jungle side roads or in plantations with a bright torch or spot light. That is how I managed to get my photographs.
It looks so cute that many people are tempted to catch them to keep as pets but as everybody knows wild caught animals do not make good pets and could only be kept cruelly imprisoned in a cage. However if you still like to keep adomesticared mini leopard in your home it is possible to buy a Bengal Cat which is a commercially produced by interbreeding a house cat with a P. bengalensis. You may be interested to look at this link:
Prionailurus bengalensisis widely distributed throughout Asia. It is found from Borneo, Java and Bali, north to southeastern Siberia and Manchuria, as far east as India, and westward to Korea and the Philippines. The subspecies found in Borneo is P. b. borneoensis.
Photo 2: This is a pair of courting cats, I was alerted to them by the loud
cat-fight sounds they made - just like those of domestic cats when they mate!
Bornean names: Wild cats in general are called kucing hutan in Malay, while the Kadazan/Dusun/Sungai call them tompu, ompu or talom. I don't know what Leopard Cat are specificly called in this dailects, would be glad if some readers could enlighten me. In Iban wild cats are mayau tebiang, I'm told, while the Muruts and Kelabits have the name tubang for leopard cat.
Filipinosmay have in their pockets their 10-sided 2-peso coins and their 5-sentimo coin with a hole in the middle. The Japanese and Papuans too have hole-in-centre 5-yen and 1-kina coins respectively, but we in British Borneo and Brunei used to have SQUARE 1-cent coins during British rule. Younger Borneans may not know that, so when I rediscovered some of these square coins in my drawer I decide to show them on this blog. People in British Malaya, that is Peninsular Malaysia to us now, shared the same currency with us at that time.
Photos: The "head" sides show King George VI and his daughter Queen Elizabeth II, the "tail" sides show the years of issue of the coins - 1945 and 1956
Everybody (bar none) in Sabah has heard of Nunukan, which is the last town in Indonesia from which the tens of thousand of Indon workers pass through when they come to Sabah. But not many Sabahan or other Malaysian has ever been or want to go there and most only have the faintest idea of how this place looks like. On my trip to Sulawesi in April this year I finally got a little glimpse of this Nunukan as I alighted on its quay from the express boat from Tawau, Sabah and had just enough time to rush up the waiting big ship KM Tidar that would take me to Sulawesi. However on my way back I flew into Nunukan airport in the evening and slept one night near the port and left Indonesia for Tawau in the morning. In this post are some of the few photos I took there. Photo 1: From Tawau Port you take an express boat for the 1.5 hours ride to Nunukan
Photos 2 & 3: Nunukan Port - The big ship is the KM Tidar bound for Sulawesi, South Kalimantan and Java
Nunukan is the name of the island and the town which is situated on its northern side. It is also the name of the Regency (Kabupaten) A kabupaten I think, is an administrative unit somewhat like, but I guess one rank higher than "District" in Malaysia and is headed by a bupati (regent, "district officer"?). Kabupaten Nunukan is in the Province of East Kalimantan (Provinsi Kalimantan Timor or Kaltim for short). Photos 4, 5 & 6: On the return leg of the journey I took a plane (middle photo) fromTarakan to Nunukan. Top photo shows the old terminal in use then, bottom photo shows the brand new terminal beside it.
When I was young I always heard folks talked about the extremely poisonous "GREEN BAMBOO SNAKE". They were so afraid of this snake that all green coloured snakes they encountered were given a wide berth or where possible killed on sight (in fact this applied to all snakes!) and because they dreaded this creature so much that even the stick they killed the snake with was thrown away in case it was contaminated with the snake's venom! Even today this policy hasn’t changed much even though people have become more educated about snakes.
By virtue of its colour, the docile and quite harmless Green Vine (Whip) Snake (Ahaetulla prasina) was, and in many cases is still, thought to be highly poisonous and is called GREEN BAMBOO SNAKEby many ethnic Chinese. I just realized that this is a fallacy handed down from the time of our early migrant forefathers who, having newly set foot on Borneo, mistook this snake for the deadly Green Bamboo Viper Trimeresurus stejnegeri that was common in their native China.
Photo: A green whip snake having its photo taken. Notice how close the snake is to the guy and how brave S M Lo the photographer is!
Born and raised in the northwestern part of the great island of Borneo, I have lived in it ever since. I have travelled this Northland widely and lived in different parts learning and practicing my trade, and visited other parts just for the pleasure of seeing new and wondrous things, having climbed up the highest peak and trekked rainforests that I once thought would remain forever untouched. The small oil-rich Middle Kingdom I have visited too, as also the vast SouthWestland of
Hornbills, but I have yet to explore the even vaster SouthEastland under the Red & White flag... I have had but only a glimpse of its vastness when I recently sailed and flew through it on my vist to neighbouring Sulawesi.
