The activity began with a short presentation on the Natural History of the Hornbills in Langkawi the night before the project held at TM Resort Pantai Tengah Langkawi. It was given by Senior Naturalist and amateur Ornithologist extraordinaire, Irshad Mobarak who explained in detail the life history and behavior and photographic images of the birds as well showed the participants a satellite map of the state of the rainforest in Langkawi which is fast depleting threatening the survival of these birds and all other flora and fauna on the Island.

The participants were also given a mini workshop on how to use birding binocular, how to use the count sheet as well as photos of the three species of Hornbills to assist in the identifying of the birds in the field. To round up the night, some safety tips to be adhered to while birding on the mountain were also touched on by Irshad.

Early the next day, the participants met at the foothill of Gunung Raya at 6.30am to be given the final round of briefing by Irshad. The participants were divided into 10 teams and each team were transported up by vans to their designated checkpoint up the mountain to begin the bird count. Each team had their own team leader and a naturalist from Junglewalla. It was a glorious day of sunshine and the birding had begun!

The teams had all sorts of interesting encounters up the mountain but the most fascinating one was the group stationed very close to the foothill who witnessed firsthand a pair of Great Hornbills training and feeding their adolescent chick. It was a sight to behold and be amazed at and a good sign to know that here in the mountain of Langkawi, Hornbills are surviving another generation of the challenges that face them in the future.

At the end of the activity, all ten teams reported sightings of the three species of hornbills that inhabit Gunung Raya with variations in their count sheet. Irshad gathered all ten teams at the last station and gave them a debrief on the day’s activities and presented them with the Rainforest Aid certificate and a poster of Hornbills to the school head.

Post By: Gary Ruben – Lepidopterist

The teams were given a short briefing at the base station on the geological formation and features of Mat Cinchang as well clues to the evidence of these ancient formations at the summit. The teams were told to capture photographic images of the evidence. Other aspects of Natural History of the area were also touched in brief. They were also informed about the constructers of the cable car.  The first round of the activity lasted about thirty minutes up the mountains.

The second round of the activity commenced when the teams returned from the summit. A quiz consisting 5 questions on the mountain’s geography and geology as well as general issues on the cable car were asked to each team with every correct answer awarded one point for a maximum of 5 points in total. The total points obtained from the quiz were added on to a score sheet that had points gotten from the other scheduled activities.

The cable car ride to the summit of Gunung Mat Cinchang enabled the teams to experience the  ancient geological formation of the mountain as well as eye witness for themselves an ancient shallow marine environment fossilized in stone , the evidence being ripple marks of that stone which was correctly identified by all 6 teams through photographic images . All teams also correctly named the mountain range, its approximate summit height, the age of the mountain as well as correctly named the constructor of the cable car.

Post By: Gary Ruben – Lepidopterist

The groups gathered at Kilim Jetty and after getting everyone organized safely onto two boats, the groups then departed the jetty toward the site of the planting. Along the way , our Senior Naturalist, Irshad Mobarak proceeded in giving the first group a short but informative and captivating briefing on the Natural History of the mangroves and some planting techniques for the mangrove seedlings or propagule . This certainly sparked awe and wonder amongst the school children!

After a short boat ride up the Kilim river, the first group headed by Senior Junglewalla Naturalist Francis Samuel and yours truly pulled over the first designated planting spot along the mangrove swamp . Irshad lead the second group to the next location and the same briefing was presented by him along the way.

The group lead by Francis quickly settled down in the various spots in the mangrove swamp and after some quick safety tips given by Francis on potential poisonous creatures and plants in the mangrove as well as a quick reminder on the proper planting technique, the group proceeded to plant all around the swamp with such a high level of enthusiasm and passion. Some of the teachers and students enquired about the flora and fauna of the mangroves and were delighted to be told by us that it was teeming with wildlife and plant life. The sight of birds, mudskippers , butterflies, mangrove snails and the infamous ‘blind your eye’ plant Excoecaria agallocha also known buta buta in the Malay language ( buta meaning blind) truly gripped the attention of the participants.

After an afternoon of successful planting, the two groups converged at the Bat Cave located on the same river where they were given a tour of the   caves and an explanation of the Natural History of the caves . The two species of bats inhabiting the caves were sighted much to the delight of the students. Irshad gave an intriguing briefing on the ancient marine origin of the caves .

The excursion for the day ended well with a return trip back to Kilim Jetty and a final note of appreciation by Irshad who praised the group for their efforts in the planting of the mangrove seedlings and the significance it would eventually hold for the conservation of the mangroves and the people who depend on them for their livelihood.

Post By : Gary Ruben – Lepidopterist

Randy with the coral nursery behind

Apart from Dr Gerry Goeden who developed this fascinating nursery, Randy is an important person who maintains the nursery so that all the inhabitants are healthy and happy everyday. Thank you, Randy!

Randy takes his delicate tasks seriously. On this picture, Randy is explaining how to prepare the yummy blended shrimp and shares his experiences in looking after the nursery

Post By : Wendy (Nature Guide)

One exception to this rule are the Kingfisher, and here in our bay you can find 2 resident species. They are the Collared Kingfisher and The Brown-winged Kingfisher. In the case of Kingfishers the male and female are equally colorful. Why are kingfisher females colorful as well, surely she too has babies to hide?  Well she hide their young very well, usually by digging a burrow into a sandy bank or even a remnant termite nest. It is like living in a cave and a cave is always in total darkness. So her young are very well hidden and on the outside the female can be equally colorful for the same reasons like the males.

As in the case of the the birds of prey like the White-bellied Sea Eagle and Brahminy Kite found here, the male bird breaks the rule for he too like the female are not colorful. Well these are birds of prey and being a top predator and colorful would mean everyone will know that the circus is coming to town. A big disadvantage when it comes to catching prey therefore he too had to take the camouflage colors.

These are some examples or exceptions to the rule but there is one rule in nature where there is no exception to……………….

To know that answer join us on one of our nature walks and ask the guide.

Post By : Irshad Mobarak – Naturalist

Malaysia is home to probably the oldest rainforest in the world. 130 million years to be exact. The forests all over the country is facing a constant threat from logging and development. We but cannot look at it inwardly but in a global perspective.

In 2007, the 13th round of climate change talks were held in Bali. This involved the issue of reducing gas emissions from deforestation in developing countries.

Major efforts have been carried out by the international community, donor countries and rainforest countries. Nonetheless, significant challenges remain. The economic drivers of deforestation are strong. Global demand for timber, palm oil, sugar, soya and beef, increasing in the light of population growth and higher standards of living. This and higher standards of living will continue to yield pressure on the forests.

How do we help reduce global deforestation of forests? Significant incentives need to thought off. Leaving it business as usual will result in devastating consequences.

Firstly, the destruction of tropical forests could cause as much as one sixth of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The two degree target will be impossible to reach without significant reductions in tropical deforestations. Secondly, forests are the home of indigenous peoples, and constitute a safety net for some of the world’s poorest people. One billion people depend directly or indirectly on forests for their livelihoods.Thirdly, tropical forests contain half of the world’s terrestrial species on only seven percent of the world surface area. Biodiversity is the natural capital for sustainable development. Today, 17.000 plant and animal species are endangered globally. You could say that life’s library is in flames and extinction is forever.

The loss of biodiversity in our age can be compared to previous mass extinctions, but this time, human beings are the ones responsible. Degradation of ecosystems combined with climate change may lead to so called “tipping points” that could make negative developments spin out of human control altogether.

The prospects of saving the world’s remaining fainforests have looked positive. At a recent UN climate change negotiations in Durban, South Africa, the international community further discussed a framework to work collectively to slow, half and reverse emissions from forests in developing countries.

A broad spectrum of forest countries have emerged to get Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation on the ground. A variety of academic institutions and NGOs are creating a global community to support this action. We are learning and sharing valuable lessons everyday.

With more developing countries willing to step up their efforts to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, there is every reason to be optimistic.

Post By : Francis – Nature Guide

Love is a powerful emotion and choice. It creates strong affection and builds the bonds of relationship. It embodies the virtues of loyalty, kindness, charity, compassion, and affection. Among 220 species of birds that fly in Langkawi, the Great Hornbill is the most incredible and absolutely amazes me. The Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) is a large, principally frugivorous, and endangered species of south- and southeast Asian rainforests. Their flight is often noisy as air rushes through the bases of the flight feathers which are not covered with stiff coverts. The plumage is black with patches of white on the neck, abdomen, wings, and tail; the tail has a subterminal black bar. Great hornbills feed primarily on fruits, especially figs. They also hunt actively for small animals, snakes, lizards, bird nestlings, beetles, and insects. It is interesting to note that they have never been recorded drinking water.

As we know, more than 90 percent of the world’s bird species are monogamous and same goes to Great hornbills. They will remain monogamously mated to the same partner for several years, possibly until death unless the pair is unable to produce chicks successfully. Mated pairs may return to the same nest-site year after year. Being monogamous means staying loyal to a mate during the breeding and nesting season from the time of courtship through laying the eggs, incubating the brood and caring for the young hatchlings until they leave the nest. Monogamous pairs of birds frequently share the duties necessary to raise their young. Building the nest, incubating the eggs and feeding the young birds will be done by both male and female parents, though not always in equal proportions. It is showed as the famous love quote “When you make a commitment to a relationship, you invest your attention and energy in it more profoundly because you now experience ownership of that relationship”.

In order to increase their population and avoiding from extinction, a lot of efforts and sacrifices had to be done. He was constructed the nests before she arrives is a way for him to claim territory and show the suitable nesting areas he can defend. He only choose the tree cavities high up in tall living trees that more than 20m high and  should be placed in a quiet corner with a visual barrier between the nest and the adjacent enclosure to prevent disturbance. The distance between the enclosure floor and nest bottom should preferably be more than 1.5 m, in order to give her and coming baby a safe feeling. A roof or screen above nests is recommended to protect the nest from direct sun, rain and may also encourage breeding. She may then choose the nest she prefers. I called it as ‘penthouse’ where he chooses the perfect location, comfortable and safety environment for her breeds their baby.

Offering food is another common part of the bird courtship behavior for many species. He will place a seed or insect directly in her mouth just as he might be expected to do when helping feed hungry nestlings. He regularly inserted regurgitated food in the female’s bill probably fruits, into the cavity. It is not easy as we think where he also facing the rejected proposal by her. A story from friend that stayed at Tanjung Sanctuary for several nights really make me shocked. A pair of Great hornbills was perched just in front of their balcony in between 5.00pm until 6.30pm everyday at the same spot. He try to propose her by offered the fruits (Ficus) but he been rejected where she does not accepted it. He tried really hard to get her attention in several days at the same spot and same times until my friend was leave. I do hope he already got her. I had seen a courtship behavior of a pair Wreath hornbill at Raya Mountain during bird watching trip. Its looked like watching romantic movie and be finished by happy ending where i saw he propose her by offered the Ficus and she accepted it and they shake the branch to show how happy they were.

Once she accepted the proposal, its mean she already choose him as mate for a whole life. Love is in the air. The female was sealed in a tree cavity and remains in confinement during incubation and for a period after hatching of the chick. He was plastered their penthouse with lumps of mud and also brought fruits that included fig (Ficus) that easily found abundantly in forest. These fruits were stored in his gullet, regurgitated and positioned at the tip of his bill before passing them to her. Depending on size, he would deliver 10–50 fruits at a time to make sure their penthouse was perfect. The room service was noticed when the first sign of the bird emerging was the tip of her bill poking out of the cavity. He was delivered figs where it was their favorites food due to rich in calcium. It is possible that during breeding, she needs more calcium than usual. Females are quite sensitive to disturbance during the pre-laying period and may abandon the nest if disturbed. The female and later her chicks defecate through the nest opening and toss remains of food brought by the male out of the cavity. These behaviors help to keep the nest free of infectious materials. A nest of Great hornbill with occupant inside can be seen at Raya Mountain nowadays, and probably can seen he come to his penthouse and feed her by passed the food from his bill to her bill through the small opening of their penthouse. He tried his best to search food for his family everyday to ensure they were safe and comfortable inside. Looks how responsible he is toward his family members.

Maybe some of us not realized that Hornbills are significant interest to field conservationists, as they can be used to indicate the health of a community and because they are seed dispersers, important for forest regeneration but nowadays it been threats to survival where it have been hunted traditionally in India, Indonesia and some part of Malaysia for both food and medicine. And deforestation is the main threat to their survival as it eliminates sites for nesting as well as territory for foraging.

Post By : Daia (Hidayah Husein) – Nature Guide

On 20th January 2012, there was a witness to the killing of an adult Dusky Langur in an area onLangkawi. Thankfully with the power of Facebook, Emmes who is a member of Malaysian Nature Society Langkawi chapter, spread the words around about someone’s encounter with the poachers andrescuing the two baby Dusky Langurs. The casualties were the babies sustaining injuries and they wereimmediately sent to Langkawi Island Animal Clinic at the Bon Ton Resort for treatment. Unfortunatelyone of them did not make it. The surviving one was taken and looked after by Othman Ayub who is a naturalist and an experienced snake-handler.

Othman and his family did their best to nurse the baby Dusky Langur, in which they called it Choki. On March 8th, I was told that Choki died and was succumbed to stomach problem too. Choki was in thecare of this family for less than six weeks. Weaning a baby Dusky Langur is not easy as just giving milkand bananas. Unfortunately there is no expert here on the island who can advise on how to care for one.

I feel that there is nothing to hide and truth must be revealed for the protection of these gentle primates. A journalist from New Straits Times (NST) highlighted this issue and authorities ought to step up quicklyto come out with long term solutions. The future of Langkawi’s eco-tourism is highly dependent on thewildlife and environmental protection, enforcement and the effectiveness of the authorities here.

All credit goes to those names I mentioned here who gave their time and effort in playing a role in rescuing the Dusky Langur.

Here is a sneak preview of the article written by Sharanjit Singh of NST:

“An expatriate, who has made Langkawi his home for many years, related how he had been beenhearing gunshots almost daily and finally decided to check it out one evening in late January.                                                     The foreigner, who wished to be known only as Mike, said he was shocked when he stumbled upon three men, one of whom was armed with a new 16-gauge shotgun, dragging two injured baby langur with tree roots tied around their neck.                                                                            The baby langur were screaming and the men were shocked to see me.”

Read more: Langkawi poachers ‘a threat to leaf monkeys’ – General – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/langkawi-poachers-a-threat-to-leaf-monkeys-1.49739

On the note, when you clicked on the link, you will see a huge human face. His name is Eric Sinaya and heknows nothing about what actually happened. His face is there as a spoke person. The real heroes are the ones I mentioned above. Period.

Post By : Wendy – Nature Guide

The colorful and beautiful creature that I found at Datai Bay in Langkawi measured around 7-10cm. But they can be bigger than this, with sizes that can reach up to more than 30cm depend on the species. Over the world there have about 450 species of mantis shrimp and approximately 30 species of fossil that are known, ranging between carboniferous to Holocene strata or period.  In Langkawi, those who are joining the trip to mangrove cruise can see these creatures at the fish farm cum restaurant and yes they are on the menu.

They were called as mantis shrimp because of the physical characteristic that resemble both the terrestrial praying mantis and the shrimp. That is why they do not seem like the normal shrimps even though they belong to the same phylum and class- crustacean and malacostraca.

Mantis shrimps are predatory creatures that posses a pair of modified forelimbs that have evolved into lethal weapons which are used in the capture of their prey. These large limbs are known as raptorial appendages. What is interesting about these appendages is that they can move to capture the prey by striking at them at incredible speeds. Some species, the striking movement takes between 4 to 8 millisecond, with their appendages moving at velocity of 390 inches per second. Can you imagine how fast that is? This is the fastest movement recorded by science in animal world.

Most species of the mantis shrimps have two mechanisms of how to attack and catch their prey.  First, they like to use a spearing technique in which the last joint of the appendages are modified to be spear- like with between 3 to 17 spines. Hiding in it burrow with only its eyes exposed the mantis shrimp waits in ambush for prey. This technique is used to capture the soft-bodied prey organism like fish.

The second technique that they can use to hunt their prey is smashing. This technique is applied when they try to hunt prey covered with a hard shell for example crabs, mollusks, hermit crabs and others. This high speed smashing technique can stun their prey and then crush its shell. The speed that they used to smashing and spearing their prey is equivalent to the speed of a small-caliber bullet.

Actually these fantastic creatures not only have incredible speed but they also possess an incredibly complex visual system. I will discuss this in the next article.

Post by Shahrizan (Shah) – Nature Guide

I am a city girl and have lived in one for almost 23 years. There are many differences one can notice between a city and a village.

Firstly there are not many trees and virgin forest in a city except for a few green spaces and recreational parks some of which charge a fee for its use.

Concrete buildings and glass towers radiate heat into the surrounding atmosphere increasing the temperature locally and in part contributing to the effects of global warming and the thinning of the ozone layer.

Pollution caused by the release of toxic gasses from motor vehicles especially during peak hours has resulted in an increase in respiratory illnesses among the city folks.

The overcrowded conditions found in cities have resulted in an increase in criminal activities and human to human conflicts.

As the city grows it required more space or infrastructure like roads, buildings, shopping malls, apartment blocks and others.

These expansion have let to the loss of natural habitats like Rainforest, wetland, riparian (river), mangrove which in turn have resulted in the isolation of species, increase  competition for food and lack of shelter among wildlife. This situation has lead to the weakening of gene pool and ultimately in the loss of biodiversity.

Since coming to Langkawi, I have learned to appreciate the island life and its natural beauty. It is totally different compared to city life.

Langkawi is surrounded by the emerald green waters of the Andaman sea. It is covered with mountain and hills some of which more than 500 million years old. From sandstone to limestone, from slate to granite, Langkawi rich geological history has been recognized by Unesco to be of national and global importance and recently conferred as a Unesco Geopark.

There are plenty of wildlife to be found here including 220 species of birds such as Great Hornbill, Brown Winged Kingfisher, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, mammals such as Dusky Leaf Langur, Slow Lorris, Black Giant Squirrel and our fabulous flying five- Flying Lemur, Flying Lizard, Flying Frog, Flying Squirrel and Flying Snake.

Join the Junglewalla team and let us unravel the natural wonders of this island archipelago. We are a team of conservationist made up of marine biologist, wildlife photographers, naturalist, wildlife and birding guides. Our tours are educational journeys with a conservation message, we hope to preserve the island’s natural heritage for the many generations to come.

By : Hidayah Hussein (Daia) – Nature Guide