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20-559: Danum Valley Conservation Area is a 438 square kilometres tract of relatively undisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah , Malaysia . It has an extensive diversity of tropical flora and fauna, including such species as the rare Bornean orangutans , gibbons , mousedeer , clouded leopards and over 270 bird species. Activities offered are jungle treks, river swimming, bird watching, night jungle tours and excursions to nearby logging sites and timber mills. The area holds unique status in

40-654: A metre wide, making it the world's largest flower. The limestone uplands of the Sangkulirang Peninsula and Sarawak support their own particular plant communities, as do the Labi Hills on the Brunei-Sarawak border. The wildlife of this ecoregion consists of a large number of forest animals ranging from the world's smallest squirrel, the least pygmy squirrel , to the largest land mammal in Asia,

60-650: Is about 82 km away (about a 2 hours drive on mainly logging roads). Danum Valley Field Centre is a research establishment for scientists and education purposes, and a nursery for propagating Dipterocarpus trees by the 100,000s. There are few lodges here for tourists, one of the most established lodges is the Borneo Rainforest Lodge. From here visitors can do guided walks through lowland rainforest trails and night safari walks or drives, and many people go there mainly for bird watching and wildlife sightings. Other lodges include Danum Valley Field Centre and

80-564: Is home to over 15,000 plant species, though 94% of the plants belong to the dipterocarp genus. Other flora seen in the valley are pitcher plants. In 2019, the world's tallest tropical tree, a yellow meranti ( Richetia faguetiana ) called Menara , was discovered in the valley. It was measured at 97.58 m (320.1 ft), which ranks it as the world's tallest known living tropical tree. Borneo lowland rain forests The Borneo lowland rain forests cover an area of 428,438 square kilometers, about 57% of Borneo's land area. They cover most of

100-699: The Asian elephant . It includes the critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros , the endangered and iconic Bornean orangutan , twelve other species of primate, Bornean bearded pigs and Bornean yellow muntjac deer. The primates of Borneo are: three apes (Bornean orangutan, Müller's Bornean gibbon and Bornean white-bearded gibbon ), five langurs , the southern pig-tailed macaque , long-tailed macaque , Horsfield's tarsier ( Tarsius bancanus ), Bornean slow loris ( Nycticebus borneanus ), Kayan slow loris ( Nycticebus kayan ), Philippine slow loris ( Nycticebus menagensis ), Bangka slow loris ( Nycticebus bancanus ), and

120-515: The IUCN Red List reported a 2005 prediction that "forest cover on the island of Borneo, if current deforestation rates continue, is projected to decline from 50% to less than one-third by 2020". 6.267% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. These include: Dipterocarpus palembanicus Dipterocarpus palembanicus is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae . There are 2 subspecies: borneensis and palembanicus . It

140-541: The black-browed babbler ( Malacocincla perspicillata ) and the white-crowned shama ( Copsychus stricklandii ). Among the rich variety of reptiles and amphibians are crocodiles and the earless monitor lizard ( Lanthanotus borneensis ). The sounds of the forest vary from day to night as different combinations of these birds and animals emerge to roam and feed. During the Pleistocene glacial epoch, all of Borneo, Java , Sumatra , and mainland Indochina were part of

160-557: The area are the sun bear and Bornean rhinoceros . The rich insect fauna has been one of the main areas of research in which the Danum Valley Field Centre has been active, and the land snail fauna is also considered one of the richest in the world, with at least 61 species recorded from a 1-km-plot. Flora is primarily that of the Borneo lowland rain forest habitat, with dipterocarp trees predominating. In places

180-462: The dipterocarp genera Hopea and Vatica are common canopy trees. Koompassia excelsa (Fabaceae) is an emergent tree with a distinctive white trunk that can reach up to 85 meters high. Trees from the plant families Burseraceae and Sapotaceae are also common in the canopy. There is an understorey stratum under the canopy, composed of shade-tolerant trees draped with lianas and epiphytic orchids and ferns. Understorey trees are commonly of

200-459: The endangered proboscis monkey ( Nasalis larvatus ). There are no tigers on Borneo; carnivores include the endangered Bornean clouded leopard ( Neofelis diardi borneensis ), the sun bear ( Helarctos malayanus ), the otter civet ( Cynogale bennettii ), and several other mustelids and viverrids . The 380 species of birds include eight hornbills , eighteen woodpeckers and thirteen pittas . There are nine near-endemic and two endemic birds;

220-703: The forest canopy reaches a height of over 70 meters. The greatest diversity of Dipterocarpus species occur on Borneo . Species endemic or native to the island include D. acutangulus , D. applanatus , D. borneensis , D. caudatus , D. caudiferus , D. confertus , D. conformis , D. coriaceus , D. costulatus , D. crinitus , D. elongatus , D. eurynchus , D. fusiformis , D. geniculatus , D. glabrigemmatus , D. globosus , D. gracilis , D. grandiflorus , D. hasseltii , D. humeratus , D. kerrii , D. mundus , D. ochraceus , D. palembanicus , D. sarawakensis , D. tempehes , D. validus and D. verrucosus . The valley

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240-497: The island below 1000 meters elevation. Borneo is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, and the lowland rainforests extend into all three countries. Other ecoregions cover portions of lowland Borneo, including the Borneo peat swamp forests , Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests , and Sundaland heath forests . These other lowland ecoregions formed over specific soil conditions, and are home to distinct communities of plants and animals. The Sunda Shelf mangroves fringe

260-485: The island the center of the world's diversity for dipterocarps. Mixed dipterocarp forests, including lowland and hill forests, are the predominant plant community. The forests have a closed canopy 24 to 36 meters high, with emergent trees up to 65 meters tall extending above the canopy. Dipterocarps are the most common emergents, comprising up to 80% of the emergent stratum. The dipterocarp genera Dipterocarpus , Dryobalanops , and Shorea are typically emergents, while

280-403: The island's shores. The highlands of Borneo are home to the Borneo montane rain forests , which are distinct from the lowland forests in both forest structure and species composition. The lowlands are distinguished by climate (as the eastern side of the island is drier) or separated by the large Kapuas River and Barito River , which prevent animals and reptiles from spreading freely around

300-609: The island. Lowland Borneo has a stable tropical wet climate , with monthly rainfall exceeding 200 millimetres (7.9 in) throughout the year, and a temperature that rarely varies by more than 10°C. The lowlands of Borneo are home to the richest rainforest in the world. The climate provides an ideal growing environment for approximately 10,000 species of plant (more than in the whole continent of Africa). Among these are some 2,000 species of orchids and 3,000 species of trees, including 267 species of dipterocarps (family Dipterocarpaceae ), of which 155 are endemic to Borneo. This makes

320-475: The newest one, Kawag Nature Lodge. The valley is bowl-shaped, with a maximum land height of 1093m. The lowland tropical rainforest is home to many birds and mammals. It is the only place where the enigmatic spectacled flowerpecker has been recorded. Bornean orangutans , Müller's Bornean gibbons , and other primates, including Horsfield's tarsier , as well as deer, wild cats and the rare Bornean pygmy elephant may be seen. Other notable species that inhabit

340-927: The past half a century. In 1982–83 and again in 1997–98, forest fires in Kalimantan cleared around 25,000 km (9,700 sq mi) each time for oil palm planting. Further threats in Sabah come from exploration for oil and coal in the Maliau Basin and the draining of the wetlands on the Klias Peninsula . In 2001, the World Wildlife Foundation forecast that "If the current trend of habitat destruction continues, there will be no remaining lowland forests in Borneo by 2010." Although this forecast has not been fulfilled, in 2008

360-400: The plant families Euphorbiaceae , Rubiaceae , Annonaceae , Lauraceae , and Myristicaceae . Cauliflory – trees which bear flowers and fruits on their trunks – is common among understorey trees, including the forest durian ( Durio testudinarius ). Forest floor plants include five species of the strong-smelling parasite Rafflesia , one of which, Rafflesia arnoldii , has flowers over

380-592: The same landmass, called Sundaland . This allowed plants and animals to migrate from one region to the next. Now Borneo is separated from the Malay Peninsula and the islands, but it still shares a lot of the same plant and animal diversity, while Sulawesi has less Borneo wildlife. Logging and conversion of natural forests to rubber, oil palm and industrial timber plantations and for small-scale farming have given rise to significant deforestation in recent decades. Borneo has lost more than half of its rainforests in

400-437: The sense that before it became a conservation area there were no human settlements within the area, meaning that hunting, logging and other human interference was non existent making the area almost unique. It is managed by Yayasan Sabah for conservation, research, education, and habitat restoration training purposes. There have been proposals to nominate the site as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The nearest town, Lahad Datu

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