Kinabatangan River Day 2

Our day started with a misty boat trip on the river to Oxbow Lake, where we were fortunate to see a wild orangutan stretched out high in a tree. We also saw a Brahminy kike (bird of prey), storm stork, Borneo blue flycatcher and blue heron. We returned to the lodge for breakfast and then drove to Gomantong caves, which are the primary site for collecting the nest of cave dwelling swallows, which are used for bird’s nest soup. There is a boardwalk through the forest that leads to the caves and upon approaching, the ammonia smell is overpowering. At the entrance of the caves, we saw many beautiful butterflies, including bright blue ones and white with orange wingtips. Amazingly, right at the cave entrance, there was a second wild orangutan, which was a mother with a small infant clinging to her. She quickly disappeared into the forest and we progressed into the cave. There is a boardwalk around the cave that is coated and slippery with bird and bat guano. The guano is piled in the center of the cave and is crawling with cockroaches and other insects, which are food for the swallows. We carefully picked our way around the boardwalk and tried very hard not to touch anything. The swallows nest very high on the walls of the cave, and after the chicks fledge, the workers climb using bamboo ladders to the top and collect the nests. After removing as much of the guano from our shoes, we returned to the river lodge.
Since we were all very hot, sweaty and sticky, we took showers before lunch. After lunch, a rainstorm moved through, and cooled things off just a little. In the late afternoon, we set off in the boat again down the Menanggul River. We saw two monitor lizards, a dead floating wild boar, and several birds including a fantastic Malaysian blue flycatcher. Amazingly, we had another sighting of a mother orangutan and a younger orangutan, crossing from one tree to a neighboring tree. We saw proboscis monkeys settling in for the night high in trees along the riverside. Unfortunately, it began to rain, but we spotted two kingfishers in the rain. On the way back, we saw several groups of proboscis monkeys again. They live in groups with a single large male, who has a pendulous nose, a thick brown coat on his torso and white fur on the legs, and several females, which have smaller pointed noses. The male has an interesting nasal call.

Interesting Fact: The nose of a male proboscis monkey continues to grow through out its life. The females may leave their group and join another at any point.