Kinabatangan River

This little guy was spotted at the Rainforest Discovery Centre

Perry is a wildlife-loving group (it makes sense because we're practically wildlife ourselves). And the last few days on the Kinabatangan River has been the best wildlife viewing we have experienced since the Galapagos. Not only have we seen many creatures that we have never seen before, there are just so many animals.
Between the muddy river water and saltwater crocodiles, we won't be getting in the water here. But there is still plenty to see.

Mangrove snake--only mildly venomous. Tried to climb onto a friend's boat.

Most of the shots here are from the river, but a few are from the Rainforest Discovery Centre near Sandakan, as well as the Sun Bear Conservation Centre--like these Sun Bears.

The smallest species of bear.

We have seen orangutans on the Kinabatangan River, but they were far away. We got better pictures of a mama and baby we spotted at the Rainforest Discovery Centre (which isn't a zoo, just some trails and a canopy walk through the jungle). 

 

 

Mark on a suspension bridge at the RDC (just before he started jumping vigorously).

Three of the pygmy elephants we saw (you can't see the baby to the left).

Another pygmy elephant. They're still pretty hefty.

Proboscis monkeys abound

They jump impressive distances, crash landing into the leaves below

We still don't have a great shot of the giant alpha male nose.

Our friend Isabelle and her cat.

The proboscis monkeys freaked out when they noticed Isabelle's 4-month old kitten. To them, she is a predator and a threat (the kitten, not Isabelle).

Macaques are like pigeons here.

When macaques aren't hanging out in the trees, they're hunting for prawns along the river banks. The naughty monkeys often steal prawns (which by the way are huge here) from the fishing traps. The macaques are seemingly easy picking for the crocodiles, but we haven't seen any casualties yet.

Darter (snakebird), a diving bird called Anahinga in some places

The variety of birds is spectacular, including eight species of horn bills and the crazy looking Bornean bristlehead. It's tough to spot all the different varieties, but the jungle is filled with their songs and we get fleeting glimpses of many birds, some clad in striking colors.