Borneo Diaries: The World Congress of Herpetology and Wildlife of Sarawak

Posted onOctober 21, 2024|Fraser Valley Wetlands, News and Events, Reptile and Amphibian Recovery, Western Painted TurtlePhoto: R. Fallas

Approximately once every four years, the world’s herpetologists are brought together at the World Congress of Herpetology to geek out about reptiles and amphibians. This year, I was incredibly fortunate to be able to attend the 10th World Congress of Herpetology (WCH) which was hosted in the lush and multicultural setting of Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo from August 5-9 2024. The sudden influx of over 1500 herpetologists did not go unnoticed by the locals – our presence was acknowledged by local radio stations and even a special address during the opening ceremony from the Premier of the State of Sarawak. Over the course of 5 days, attendees such as myself presented their work, with a total of over 1300 presentations and as many as 15 concurrent sessions running at any given time. Amidst this flurry of presenting, learning and networking, new bonds and connections emerged that will carry the field of herpetology to new and exciting places. However, there was also a great deal of bonding and exploring to be done outside of the Borneo Convention Centre!

Left, Borneo rainforest and right, attendees at the World Congress of Herpetology. Photos: Rachel Fallas

Nighttime Herping in Kubah National Park

Although conferencing is a rather energy-consuming affair, you could hardly expect a herpetologist to resist the urge to explore Borneo’s many offerings. Particularly when national parks such as Kubah are less than an hour away from the city, and said park is also a prime location for frog-searching. Midway through the conference, a Canadian troop of herpetologists set off for Kubah National Park after the day’s talks had concluded, as did many other conference attendees. Many amphibians are nocturnal, and in places that are as warm and tropical as Borneo, soaring daytime temperatures mean that the reptiles are also most active at night. As a result, the unique opportunity to explore the park at night is perfect for finding herps. Conditions were promising – it was as warm and humid as ever, but a timely burst of rainfall provided the ideal conditions for amphibians to emerge. And sure enough, we kicked off the night with an incredible spotting of an elusive caecilian!

An Ichthyophis sp. caecilian that appeared on the wet hiking trail. Photo: Rachel Fallas

The rest of the night was magical, with one finding after another. Our tour guide led us along a hike that was supposedly less than 2 km long, but when we were constantly stopping to ogle every new discovery, we managed to stretch out our hike over several hours. We were led up a slope and finally reached the pinnacle of our hike: the aptly named Frog Pond. A boardwalk encircled the pond from which emanated a chorus of frog calls. Though the boardwalk was fairly elevated above the pond, several of the arboreal frogs met us at eye-level and stared blankly back at us.

Some tree frogs and toads spotted at Kubah National Park – Top-left: A file-eared tree frog (Polypedates otilophus); Top-Right: A dark-eared tree frog (Polypedates macrotis); Bottom-Left: A dwarf slender toad (Ansonia minuta); A spiny slender toad (Ansonia spinulifer). Photos: Rachel Fallas

One of my personal favourite findings from the night was the long-nosed horned frog, also known as the Malayan leaf frog (Megophrys nasuta). The experienced tour guide was able to quickly pick them out in the leaf litter, but the rest of us needed to do a double-take. Indeed, this species is incredibly camouflaged, sharing the fringed texture and colour as the leaves scattered on the forest floor. Their upper eyelids and snout also extend outward into triangular projections or “horns,” hence their common name.

A long-nosed horned frog (Megrophys nasuta) sitting on some wet leaf litter. Photo: Rachel Fallas

And as a final addition to the taxonomic diversity that we encountered, we observed a small juvenile Sumatra Pit Viper (Trimeresurus sumatranus) coiled atop a short shrub. The green pit vipers of southeast Asia are known for their vibrant green colouration and reddish tails, and though the young individual we found was not yet fully developed, their pale mauve tail and subtle banding hinted towards the stark patterning they would one day achieve as an adult.

A juvenile Sumatra pit viper (Trimeresurus sumatranus) peering down from the branch of a shrub. Photo: Rachel Fallas

Meeting Annuar the Bornean Orangutan

When people think of Bornean wildlife, there are several iconic species that come to mind. Referred to as the Borneo Big 5, some of the most recognizable species are the pygmy elephant, rhinoceros hornbill, estuarine crocodile, proboscis monkey, and orangutan. On day five of the conference, I set out with some new friends to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre in the hopes of spotting one of these majestic species.

The wildlife centre offered a shuttle service to take guests up a hill to the main attraction, but my colleagues and I set off on foot. Along the path, we admired the curated gardens that hosted a colourful array of tropical plants and flowers. However, Semenggoh Wildlife Centre is more than a collection of gardens – it is a rehabilitation centre and sanctuary for the critically endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). As we reached the top of the hill, we joined the other nature centre visitors and found some shade within view of a feeding platform. The nature centre’s employees set some fruit out on the platforms twice a day, and we were just in time for the afternoon meal time.

After some time, we were starting to lose hope and were preparing ourselves for the possibility that we would luck out on seeing any orangutans. However, as we were getting ready to leave, the crowd around us stirred as a large orangutan appeared out of the forest. The nature centre employees informed us that this was Annuar, one of the larger males living in Semenggoh. He smoothly climbed up to the platform and started to feast on the assortment of fruit that was laid out before him. Our wait was certainly worth it to be able to view this semi-wild orangutan at such close proximity, and it was clear how deserving the species was of their status amongst the “Borneo Big 5.”

Annuar the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) eating fruit on a wooden platform. Photo: Rachel Fallas

From Ocean to Hilltop and Everything in Between: Bako National Park

The conference was now finished, but I had one final day to do some exploring around Kuching, and I took the opportunity to visit one of the other major parks near Kuching, Bako National Park. I was joined by two fellow Canadian conference attendees, Briar Hunter and Megan Winand, who both contributed to the important role of spotting as much interesting wildlife as possible.

The landscape and scenery of Bako National Park’s rainforest and intertidal areas. Photos: Rachel Fallas

Getting to Bako required a few extra steps since it is only accessible by boat. We hired a charter boat and were shuttled out to the access point for the park. It was a 20 minute boat ride and we sped along the coastline past some mangroves. We finally arrived at a large beach and we hopped out of the boat into the shallow waters. We were immediately greeted by a western bearded pig (Sus barbatus) and some little crabs flitting across the sand. Making our way up from the beach into the mangrove habitat, we encountered a lot of unique coastal critters.

Mangrove trees in and of themselves are incredible plants with special adaptations that allow them to live in intertidal areas that spend a portion of the day submerged beneath the salty ocean water. Since the ground is usually waterlogged, the roots aren’t able to take up much oxygen, but mangroves have special structures called pneumatophores, which are root-like structures that stick out of the ground to take up extra oxygen. Meanwhile, the mangroves deal with the salty conditions using an efficient salt filtration system that allows them to expel excess salt from the rest of the plant. In some species, you can see the formation of salt crystals on the leaves after they were filtered out of the plant!

Left: A Rhizophora sp. mangrove tree; Right: Salt crystals forming on the leaf of a grey mangrove (Avicennia marina), Photo: Peripirus

Weaving between the mangrove pneumatophores, we spotted a Littoral whiptail-skink, also aptly referred to as the mangrove skink (Emoia atrocostata). Meanwhile, fiddler crabs were present in abundance, waving their lopsided claws in the air. Near puddles, we could also see some mudskippers which distinguish themselves from other fish by being able to move about for extended periods of time outside of water. And finally, we stumbled across two Mangrove horseshoe crabs (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda). These are animals that have fascinated scientists from a variety of fields. Horseshoe crabs have been found in fossils over 400 million years old from the mid-Paleozoic era and have remained practically unchanged for all this time. These living fossils are also incredibly important in the medical field for the development of vaccines, drugs and cancer treatments. Mangrove Horseshoe Crabs in particular produce a type of toxin that actually has medical applications in cancer pain treatment.

Fauna of the mangrove ecosystem – Top: Littoral whiptail-skink (Emoia atrocostata); Bottom-Left: A ring-legged fiddler crab (Austruca annulipes); Bottom-Middle: A Periophthalmus sp. Mudskipper; Bottom-Right: A mangrove horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda). Photos: Rachel Fallas

As we proceeded along our hike, we transitioned from mangrove habitat to rainforest. Under the leafy canopy, we stumbled across a North Philippine temple pit viper (Tropidolaemus subannulatus). This snake was still a juvenile, but a little larger than the other Sumatra pit viper we spotted several nights before at Kubah. Being nocturnal, it wasn’t surprising that this individual was completely still and inactive – however, given their lack of eyelids, it was impossible to tell whether they were asleep or awake!

A North Philippine temple pit viper (Tropidolaemus subannulatus) resting on a leaf. Photos: Rachel Fallas

As we continued to gain some elevation, we heard a sudden crash in the trees and we paused to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. As we waited, we heard some more movement and sure enough, we spotted several proboscis monkeys swinging smoothly from branch to branch. Later on in the hike, we managed to get a closer look at one that had found a clearing where it was munching on some greenery.

A proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) eating some leaves in a clearing. Photo: Rachel Fallas

When we reached the highpoint of our hike, the trees opened up to a heath forest ecosystem, known locally as Kerangas (an Iban term that means “land which cannot grow rice”). This new landscape housed a completely new assortment of plants, with smaller trees and other unique pitcher plants, ferns and mosses. However, being a little more exposed to the beating midday sun, there were few animals to be seen.

The vegetation of the Kerangas/heath forest ecosystem – Left: Raffles’ pitcher plant (Nepenthes rafflesiana); Middle: Glimpse of a distant hill through the trees and shrubs; Right: A tree with a Lecanopteris sp. fern growing on its bark. Photos: Rachel Fallas

As we returned back to the park headquarters, Briar wondered off to do some final exploring on her own and was incredibly lucky to spot a Sunda Colugo, a unique gliding mammal also referred to as a flying lemur, to round off the day. Meanwhile, Megan and I contended with the mischievous macaques that were running around and stealing people’s food, and some unfortunate soul’s backpack. But before long, it was time for us to be back at the beach where we had arrived to make it onto one of the final boats of the day.

With that, my trip to Borneo had come to an end. I was able to experience a whole lot during the week or so I was in Kuching, and I was leaving with some incredible new friends and memories. But as I made my way to the airport, there was no question in my mind – I’ll be back! The only questions are, how soon can I return, and what will I see next time?

Rachel Fallas

Reptile and Amphibian Program Biologist

Rachel joined WPC’s Reptile & Amphibian program in 2024 to help coordinate research and conservation activities in southern Ontario. She has been involved in herpetological research throughout her undergraduate and master’s degree and is currently completing her M.Sc. on the topic of massasauga rattlesnake overwintering habitat. Rachel is passionate about wildlife conservation and her interests lie in the spatial and thermal ecology of herpetofauna and the ecohydrology of their habitat.

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