My first sighting of Bornean pygmy elephants! (Sullivan Peraino)
My first sighting of Bornean pygmy elephants!
As an avid nature program follower (hence my Attenborough enthusiasm), I thought I had a pretty good handle on the fauna of Borneo. Orangutans, right? To my delight, I found there is so, so much more to see in the jungles of Borneo. Three days on the Kinabatangan River brought me up close with pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, crocodiles, long- and pig-tailed macaques, monitor lizards, oriental pied hornbills and a whole mess of other birds that I won't even begin to name.
A male pygmy elephant grazes with the herd (Sullivan Peraino)
A male pygmy elephant grazes with the herd
My favorite of all the animals happens to occupy the petite end of the size chart, the Bornean pygmy elephant. With males reaching a maximum height of seven feet, the tallest pygmy elephant stands only a few inches higher than the average human and is the smallest elephant in the world! I got to observe these beautiful, yet small, beasts every day of my trip, which I was frequently reminded is very, very rare. From our launch, we first discovered a mother, baby and juvenile elephant munching grass by the riverbank. The baby was maybe two feet tall, about hip-height! This first sighting was enough to raise goosebumps, and my fellow travelers were equally ecstatic.
We just saw elephants in the wild! (Sullivan Peraino)
We just saw elephants in the wild!
Bornean pygmy elephants looking cute but the river (Sullivan Peraino)
Bornean pygmy elephants looking cute by the river
The Bornean pygmy elephant has a very laid-back attitude, generally more passive and less aggressive than its bigger Asian elephant counterpart. This chilled-out behavior led many to believe that they were descendants of domesticated elephants that were given to the Bornean Sultan of Sulu as a gift in the 1600's. It wasn't until 2003 that genetic analysis revealed they are in fact a distinct species in the elephant world - making conservation and habitat preservation all the more important.
Biologists estimate there are only 110 - 120 pygmy elephants in existence, comprising three herds concentrated in the Kinabatangan floodplain. The pygmy elephant's small frame, gentle nature, rounder belly, bigger ears and straight tusks make them truly, to quote the World Wildlife Foundation, the "cutest of all the pachyderms." Another of Borneo's endangered species, the pygmy elephant is threatened by the loss of lowland forest, habitat fragmentation, and human-elephant conflict. Meeting these animals in their home territory was a spectacular experience and I hope that ecotourism helps to increase awareness and support for their management and protection.
Our guide was just as excited as we were to see another herd of elephants (Sullivan Peraino)
Our guide was just as excited as we were to see another herd of elephants
Check out the other inhabitants I found along the Kinabatangan River!
Pig-tailed macaques fight for the top of the tree (Sullivan Peraino)
Pig-tailed macaques fight for the top of the tree
A blue-eared kingfisher on our night cruise (Sullivan Peraino)
A blue-eared kingfisher on our night cruise
Finally close enough to a rhinoceros hornbill to get a picture! (Sullivan Peraino)
Finally close enough to a rhinoceros hornbill to get a picture!
Mary Curry and Elma are always so responsive and nice to deal with.
Michael
13 hours ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
1 day ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
2 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
Nicola Maxwell
1 week ago
Mary Curry and Elma are always so responsive and nice to deal with.
Michael
13 hours ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
1 day ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
2 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
Nicola Maxwell
1 week ago
Mary Curry and Elma are always so responsive and nice to deal with.
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