A guide to Sarawak’s nature and wildlife

Back in his day, he was a hit with the ladies – playful and popular. People nicknamed him Casanova. But there was nothing playful about him now as he ripped away the husk of a coconut with his bare teeth. As he did so, he watched my group, scanning for tripods or umbrellas. Something in his past had made him suspicious of long objects like these.  

Once satisfied we weren’t a threat, he shifted his full attention to the coconut, smashing it against a corner of the platform, pouring the milk into his mouth and crunching his way through the rest of the fruit, shell and all. This was Annuar, king of the orangutans at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre in western Sarawak. Semenggoh was established in the 1970s to protect this critically endangered species by rehabilitating individuals rescued from injury or captivity.  

The reserve no longer operates as a rehab facility; it now supports more than 40 orangutans in the 100-hectare lowland forest. Its platforms are stocked with food between March and October, when fruit is scarce on the trees. This is when visitors like me come to viewing areas in the hope of seeing these magnificent apes. But there are no fences or guarantees: these are wild animals, albeit used to humans, and they come and go as they please.  

It was a privilege to watch the alpha male. He looked impressive: 100kg of muscle beneath reddish-brown hair, with a menacing pair of cheek pads – or flanges – framing his face. “He will eat 6kg of food in one sitting,” said Murtadza Othman, the senior park ranger, in a low voice. 

For a moment, Annuar turned away and dropped his head. “He is regurgitating his meal and then eating it again,” explained Murtadza. “Some food is tough to digest, and this helps.” As disgusting as this sounded, it seemed chivalrous of Annuar to shield us from the sight – until he spoilt the moment by breaking wind.  

Murtadza has worked at Semenggoh for more than 20 years and knows each orangutan by look and call. And they know him. “If I am hammering or sawing, they will copy my actions,” chuckled Murtadza. “Once, Baka sat next to me and gently picked an ant off my shoulder.” We shouldn’t be surprised at such bonds, given that great apes share 97% of our DNA. But it’s dangerous to lower your guard.  

Murtadza showed me an angry scar on his calf. “This is where Delima bit me – I couldn’t walk for three months.”Delima’s skeleton lies in the visitor centre. She was killed in a fit of jealousy by Ritchie, the former alpha male, who covered the body with some leaves as though trying to hide his crime. Delima’s young baby was inconsolable, but her elder sister bundled her up and raised her as her own. It’s a touching story, until you learn that this sister later eloped with Ritchie in a plot twist that would have dramatists drooling. Annuar continued feasting while the rest of the colony stayed clear.  

Finally, after 45 minutes, brave Analisa ventured onto a platform nearby. She moved warily, senses heightened, before cramming three potatoes into her mouth and retiring hastily up a rope to eat her spoils in the crook of a tree. Annuar watched on lazily. But he stiffened when Anaku swung into the clearing. Anaku was a young male, his cheek pads starting to flare; he sat 300m from Annuar, taunting him with his presence.  

“They hate each other,” Murtadza told me. “Anaku isn’t big enough to challenge Annuar, but one day he will be.” And then he will dethrone Annuar, just as Annuar dethroned Ritchie in the ever-evolving drama of the colony. The king is dead! Long live the king! 

 1. Orangutan: This charismatic great ape is everyone’s ‘must-see’, swinging languidly through the trees. Aside from Semenggoh, you can find them in the remote Batang Ai National Park.

2. Proboscis monkey: The monkey with a famously bulbous nose is best sought out in Bako National Park (reached via an atmospheric coastal boat ride from near Kuching).  

3. Rhinoceros hornbill: Malaysia’s national bird, with its magnificent orange casque, is believed to bring good luck. It lives in rainforest areas, including Gunung Mulu National Park.  

4. Malayan sun bear: These mammals are nocturnal and shy. The best chance of a sighting is typically on a guided night safari in a protected area like Gunung Mulu National Park. 

5. Horsfield’s tarsier: The nocturnal tarsier has the cute factor. Join a guide and head for denser vegetation in places like the Kelabit Uplands in northern Sarawak. 

1: Gunung Mulu National Park 

The landscapes of Gunung Mulu are some of the most arresting in South-East Asia. Rows of gunmetal-grey karst pinnacles rupture the rainforest like sharks’ teeth, while the same limestone rock, weathered by millennia of rain and river flow, subsides into a pockmarked network of caves and caverns – one of the most impressive, and most studied, cave systems in the world. For visitors, these imposing landscapes are surprisingly accessible. Easy boardwalk trails lead through the rainforest on the Mulu Botanical Heritage Trail, beginning close to the park headquarters. 

Information boards teach you about the range of tropical plant life you can spot here: carnivorous pitcher plants, parasitic vines, rare orchids, ferns. Slightly more adventurous is the Canopy Walk, where you can spot vibrant hornbills and bristlehead birds from hanging bridges in the treetops. 

However, real adventure awaits in the caves that riddle the karst mountainsides. Intermediate and advanced trips into the depths of the caves are always an option, but you don’t need to be a seasoned caver to explore. Beginners can marvel at the waterfalls that plummet from the roof of Deer Cave (named after the deer who come to lick salt from its rocks), while boat rides take you into the depths of Clearwater, one of the most extensive cave systems in the world, to admire otherworldly rock formations and strange plants like monophyllaea pendula, which consist of just one leaf. 

Many of these tours carry you on a traditional longboat and include visits to the longhouses of the Penan, the local Indigenous people renowned for their highly egalitarian society and deep connection to the rainforest. 

2. Niah National Park 

Sarawak’s other UNESCO-listed national park is Niah, home to swampy forests, dramatic karst formations of many shapes and sizes, and primordial caves containing treasures that tell the story of over 60 millennia of human history. The Niah Caves are the park’s prime attraction, with well-marked and easily navigable footpaths leading to some of the most remarkable caverns in South-East Asia.  

The Great Cave is where the Deep Skull (skeletal fragments dating back 65,000 years) was discovered in the 1950s, while the nearby Painted Cave is so named for its impressive rock art, painted in red hematite and portraying warriors, hunters and other human figures. This cave was also where so-called ‘death ships’ were discovered – images of boats believed to represent passage to the afterlife.  

The Niah Caves are not just a monument to human history, though; they remain alive with activity. Visit in January or June and you might spot Penan harvesters climbing 30 metre wooden poles, collecting swiftlet nests from the cave roofs by candlelight. 

The solidified saliva of the swifts – used to make the nest – is a prized ingredient in bird’s-nest soup. Due to Sarawak’s commitment to sustainability, only licensed harvesters are allowed, and even they can only operate between the months of August and March.  

Other wildlife at the caves includes naked bats, a rare hairless variety that can be seen swooping out of the cave mouths in great numbers at sunset, when they head out to hunt. Boat trips across the Niah River take you to the Niah Museum, where some of the park’s archaeological finds are displayed, while treks through the rainforest offer opportunities to spot colourful birds such as the crested partridge and rhinoceros hornbill. 

3. Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park 

Off the north-east coast of Sarawak lies this protected area of coral reefs, one of the best places to scuba dive in Malaysia. Spy overgrown shipwrecks, staghorn corals and nudibranchs in all colours.  

4. Sarawak Delta Geopark  

So vast is the Sarawak Delta Geopark that it contains all of Bako National Park, Sarawak’s oldest. Indigenous communities such as the Iban, Bidayuh and Malay live in this 3,000 sq km area of rainforest, wetlands and villages, and their cultures are documented at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong. Geological formations include limestone ‘fairy caves’ and the Paku Rock Maze. 

5. Lambir Hills National Park 

With 6,949 hectares of hilly rainforest terrain, 1,200 tree species, 247 bird species, and home to gibbons, tarsiers, and the clouded leopard, this unspoiled national park is a wildlife lover’s dream.