BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-05)

junglesusingnaturalsignpostsfroma very

youngage.

Weleavethesoulfulsingersinpeaceand

moveonto a knownsaltlickfurtheralong

a dustytrackbeforetheheatoftheday

becomestoooverwhelming.We’researching

foranothericonicprimatethatalsocalls

DeramakotForestReserve(DFR)home:the

Borneanorangutan.Descendingfromthe

truck,weclimbto thetopofa ridgewhere

Terancehandsmeanoilydipterocarpseed

withtwo‘wings’andtellsmeto throwit into

thegreenexpansebelow– if it germinates,it

couldreachupto 60mwhenmature.

DFRis predominantlysecondarylowland

rainforest,whichhasa lowerdensityof

largedipterocarptreesbutis anideal

habitatforwildlife– mostofSabah’siconic

speciescanbefoundhere,including

Borneanelephant,slowloris,redleaf

monkey,tarsierandtheelusiveSunda

cloudedleopard.Dipterocarpsarealso

ofmajorimportanceinthetimbertrade.

Located160kmsouth-westofSandakan,

DFRis oneoftheSabahForestry

Department’sflagshipprojects– managed

inaccordancewithsustainableforestry

practicesandcoveringanareaover

55,000ha.It wasfirstcertifiedbythe

ForestryStewardshipCouncil(FSC)in

1997 and,todate,is thelongestcertified

tropicalrainforestintheworld.“Theforest

is veryfragile,”statesTerance.“Ifyoutake

allthetrees,wewillsuffer.”

Qualitynotquantity

TheSabahForestryDepartment(SFD)

managesthecommercialforestreserve

ina waythatminimisestheimpact

onrainforestecologywiththeaimof

producinglowvolume,high-qualityand

high-pricedtimberina sustainablemanner.

I learnthatonetruckoftimberfromDFR

is worthabout40,000MalaysianRinggitt

(£7,400).“Ifyoucutthethroatofthegoose

thatlaysgoldeneggs,youhavenothing,”

saysTerance.

Above,lefttoright:a ladder

is usedbylocalstoharvest

honeyfromnestsina

menggaristree;theBornean

elephantis thesmallest

elephantspeciesintheworld;

thecrestedserpenteagle

feedsmainlyonreptiles.

“ If you cut the throat

of the goose that

lays golden eggs,

you have nothing.”

DERAMAKOT

68 BBC Wildlife May 2020