Tracking Down Bornean Pygmy Elephants

From Sepilok, the minibus trip took us through rain and mile after mile of palm oil plantation down to Sukau, a small village on the Kinabatangan River where we stayed at a riverside lodge.

First trip on the river is an elephant cruise almost as soon as we arrive at 4pm to catch them before they go to the river.





The weather is not cooperating and we work our way upstream to where the elephants are hiding in long stalks of grass which wave as they move quietly, occasionally breaking the silence with the snapping of stems as they crunch them. Tantalisingly close, the animals don't appear; and we return to base in drizzling rain. En route, we pass more river lodges and small huts; in a clearing outside one shack, there is a fire oozing thick smoke to keep the mozzies at bay.





The reason animals are normally so abundant is the sad fact that thin strips of jungle between 100m and 600m deep are all that has been left of the primary rainforest by the oil plantations on either side of the river.

All night rain thunders down, so we expect more of the same when we head out at 6am after waking at 5:30 to try for shots of the mist over the water.



Again, we are foiled by driving rain, so turn back for base. More rain thunders down and all seems lost. Next morning we gaze at the rain coming down in sheets and agree to wait and wait and wait.

Then, at 3pm, the rain abates and we head upriver. We notice a small cabin on the riverbank and just as Gen is taking a pic, the owner comes out to stand in the doorway and wave at us. We start to wave back, then we realise we are being told to look on the other side where we suddenly spot a herd of elephants in a clearing. What luck! We move closer to watch as the females grasp tufts of grass and shake the soil off with rapid flicks. A small male baby play tussles with a female while the older elephants watch warily. Our guide, Sugi, texts his colleagues and soon we have more tour boats gathered around.







The elephants can communicate dropping their trunks to the ground and sending sounds some 2km to other elephants. Local villagers scare the animals off their crops by burning bamboo stems which make noises like gunshots. The elephants know about the electric fences around the palm oil plantations and lay tree branches across the wires to deflect the current, then step across.

We move on up a small tributary, gliding through the narrow waterway with barely a ripple.



Sugi points out the reddish-brown, furry shape of a flying lemur hugging the trunk of a tree. Nocturnal in its habits, the animal is waiting out the day tucked out of sight.