Borneo Carnivore Symposium 2011 (BCS2011)

I guess I was very lucky to have the opportunity to attend the 1st Borneo Carnivore Symposium. The symposium is a collaboration between the Leibniz Institute for Zoo & Wildlife Research (IZW) in Germany and of course the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD). This is the first symposium (on wildlife) being conducted in Sabah with the theme "Road Towards Conservation Action Plans". 

My BCS teatime was used to 'photographing' ;)

I must say that I am grateful to be able to meet some of the well known scientists and researchers on conservation that come from different part of the world. The symposium is divided in to 2 main parts ; Part I and Part II. One of the goal is to define potential conservation areas and to develop immediate strategies on long term conservation of the carnivore species in Borneo.
I am more than glad to be involved as one of the many participants in this symposium,even though I know nothing much about conservation( my actual field background is Environmental Engineering), but it has pretty much gives me the idea of what is actually going on with the wildlife and the status of the forests not only in Sabah but the whole island of Borneo.

Sundaland Clouded Leopard- it does look like one of my cats back at home:)

I am impressed on how the speaker could talk continuously without having to pause or think what to say or answer as if everything is already written in their mind (they are the experts anyway, of course they can speak very well). Should I be given a chance to study one of the carnivores in Borneo I would pick the wild cats specifically the Sundaland Clouded Leopard as my choice. Why? It's just probably because I like cats, and yes I do have many of 'em ( by this I am meaning to say the domestic cats not the wild one!). 
If it's not the wild cats, then perhaps it will be the otters specifically the small clawed Asian Otter. Why? Because they look like cats???.. LOL. Anyway they are cute and cuddly but be bear in mind that these animal are actually carnivores that could ripped out your hand once you touch them (well okay, on second thought, they are cute but they are not cuddly).

The Small Clawed Asian Otter (I have actually met the owner of this picture who is also a specialist in otter)-I heart this picture because the otters look like (again) one of my cats:)

I am supposed to join the rest of the participants and speakers for an evening party at Mamutik Island today before they continue the symposium at Rasa Ria on Thursday. But due to my not-so-very good- health condition, I just had to cancelled my participation of the party. The closing ceremony will be held at Rasa Ria Resort. 
What I have to say about this symposium is, I think it's an eye-opener and a good exposure as well as experiences for those who knows nothing much about the carnivores, and perhaps conservation (obviously like me)and a good effort to make the conservation action plans a reality!

It has been raining cats and dogs lately especially in the evening but i just knew  that it was going to be a bright sunny evening that day, so i packed my cam and short and flip-flop with me.

I head off to one of the nearest seaside from my house.My plan was to take some sunset photographs, but i guess sunset didn't turn out beautifully as i was expecting that evening, yet, i can still see the glimpse of it hidden behind the clouds:)

  

Come walk with me.., take off your flip-flop, happiness is a summer breeze, sand between your toes, and your best friend by your side..

Green S.O.S

I always thought about getting myself involved in the conservation world. And so, I had the chance and was sent to a 28 days expedition a few months back. I never thought that it would be tough. I never thought that I will end up climbing limestone rocks and going up and down the hill not less than 5km everyday. Yes I really mean like EVERYDAY (Monday to Sunday) starting at 7.30 in the morning and end at 4 in the evening. Sounds ridiculous, but that was what we did. 

Bangkita Mangrove Forest - Love the forest but not the mosquitoes =="

Stung by bees, bitten by leeches, fell down from slopes, encounters with some aggressive primates and

elephants were some of the scenes which I had to face daily. But i guess the thing that I will remember the most is when we were almost attacked by a bear. Yes, the cute cuddly sun bear. And I thought it was funny when the bear actually fell down just behind me from a tree. Just for your info, bears do climb trees and they even sleep on trees. They love particularly the oak trees. And it's really is a good idea to run for your life when you meet one of these bears. Anyway, I had a good time playing with the bear cubs in the Sunbear Rehabilitation Center a day before the real encounter with the wild bear.

Dipterocarp

Our everyday journey looks like this..

I guess my favorite forest would be the Pangi forest reserve and I actually had my birthday celebrated there (on top of a limestone rocks hill)^^. It wasn't a luxurious way to celebrate a birthday though, but I guess it was nice to have people singing the happy birthday song for me with big smiles on their face =).

The worst experience I had during this 28 days expedition?? That will be walking inside the dirty black and smelly water at Mamiang Mangrove Beach. I guess nobody would like to step inside and go through dirty and smelly water that stinks my, feet, socks and trousers for like weeks!!! And I find it funny yet weird to see wild boars running  along the beach!!!! (LOL).

Mamiang Beach: This was the beach where i saw the wild boar

s.

 

 

Our last day was spent in Deramakot FR. Nice place but a little spooky. You may not want to know about the spooky thingy (LOL). 

The expedition has brought me so many new experiences and I had 'freeze" part of the memory with my compact digital camera (I love cameras anyway ^^, so don't feel weird if i take it with me every where I go).

I've seen the conditions of our forest; some are still in good condition but most of them are in great need of protection. The same thing goes with the wildlife that lives inside the forest. Ever wonder how it feels like if one day the forest doesn't exist anymore?? And the how about the wildlife?...

Bangkita Mangrove Forest - We had a tough time walking on these roots. One wrong step taken and you will end up in the murky mud with the crabs and mud-skippers. Just what the hell we're doing here?? =.="

Samud Cave at Gomantong Forest Reserve - I personally think that this cave looks like a holy grotto;).

A Red Leaf Monkey seen at Gomantong Forest Reserve.

Realized that somewhere far deep in the heart of Borneo, there's a silent S.O.S echoes. Echoes from the forest and the wildlife. 

P/s: I'm not acting like one of the green peace here, just merely trying to deliver the "messages" I get from the expedition =).  

Think green,

~N'gelz~

   

Simple Pleasure

src: staree

The best things in life are nearest:  Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you.  Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. 

I choose to live in simplicity and enjoy the simple pleasure God provides me in my daily life.

Have a wonderful day..:)

Kinabatangan Corridor of Life

It’s common for those who call themselves ‘environmentalist’ doing jobs under the sun and yes not to mention under the rain. Being an outdoor person, I don’t mind all those things (just don’t put me too long indoor, or else,I’ll get rotten! (><,).

Frankly speaking, for the past three years getting myself involve in environmental field, I’ve been to so many places in Sabah (sampai di pisuk-pisuk Sabah sudah saya masuk merantau ni;)). Well that’s the way my job is. Most of the time, I will go to places via roads; an advantage for me to get to know the “road less taken” or “short-cuts” to minimize our travelling time (nahh..buli sudah saya ikut “short-cut” hehe). 

The crew

My most memorable work trip?.. That would probably be the Kinabatangan Corridor of Life. I was up there in the blue sky flying in a chopper (1^st time tu naik chopper ;P).

So what was i doing up there?.. Aerial survey! I used to do socio survey (you know when you go into villages and start asking 'boring' questions? i.e: Berapa lama sudah kamu tinggal di kampung ni? Dari mana sumber air kamu? bla bla bla.. fuhhh...><, 

But this time we did survey from up above. We were trying our best to identify the places, rivers and perhaps elephants (mmmnope.. it wasn't my luck to see even a glimpse of an elephant from up there). We took off from Sabah Air (Sandakan branch) and the journey started from Sandakan town, flew over the Berhala island then heading to Kinabatangan area. The view was spectacular. Armed with my nikon camera  (sadly it's not a dslr, if only i brought it that day ;( )and maps in my hand, i tried my best to identify the places we discussed earlier. 

Flying low over the Kinabatangan River.

It was much easier then to see everything from up there. There was once we flew over some villages in Sukau, when i thought i saw someone was having a shower in a poorly constructed bathroom (open air lagi tu! hehehe notty, notty me!). Those who noticed us waved up. Excited, we waved them back.

an oxbow lake

Up here, i could see two types of view; beautiful scene of mother nature and a scene where mother nature has been 'tortured' by human race;  illegal logging. It is of no wonder why our forest is depleting day by day. 

And that's the reason of the establishment of the Kinabatangan Corridor of Life - aims to establish a balance between the growing demands of private land development, the local community and the need to protects its unique wildlife!

Kinabatangan river.

It was a great pleasure to be able to work with WWF and doing some GIS works. I enjoyed the air trip as well (^^,). 

And not forgetting Mr. Will for treating us ikan bakar for lunch after the trip haha.

The KCOL crews (hmm shouldn't do the vignetting..)

Seriously I don’t think those with a family would love to have a job like me. Anyone in my shoes will have to travel a lot and be resilient. 

But anyway, for me it’s fun (ok lah daripada saya duduk terjeruk di upis hahaha).

~N'gelz~