The Tabin Wildlife Reserve ( ms, Taman Hidupan Liar Tabin) is a nature preserve in

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It was created in 1984 to preserve Sabah's disappearing wild animals. Occupying a large part of the peninsula forming the northern headland of

Darvel Bay Darvel Bay or Lahad Datu Bay is a bight (large bay) on the east side of Sabah, Malaysia. It is the largest semi-enclosed bay on the east coast of Borneo and faces the Sulawesi Sea. Administratively, it is within Tawau Division, with Lahad Datu Di ...

, it is located 48 kilometres east of

Lahad Datu Lahad Datu ( ms, Bandar Lahad Datu) is the capital of the Lahad Datu District in the Dent Peninsula on Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 27,887 in 2010. The town is surrounded by stretches of cocoa and ...

. Tabin Wildlife Reserve (TWR or Tabin) comprises a rectangular area of approximately 122,539 ha. in the centre of the

Dent Peninsula The Dent Peninsula ( ms, Semenanjung Dent) is a peninsula in eastern Sabah, Malaysia. It consists of hills and broad coastal areas. The Peninsula is also previously considered as a volcanic arc of the region which have since migrated southward ...

, north-east of

town, south of the lower reaches of the Segama River and north of the

Silabukan Protection Forest Reserve The Silabukan Protection Forest Reserve is located in Sabah, Malaysia. It was established in 1992. This site is . Although 8% of Sabah's land area is included in the system of national parks, most of Sabah's orangutans do not occur in official p ...

. It can be reached via sealed and gravel roads from Lahad Datu in about 40 minutes. The reserve is covered with lowland

dipterocarp Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fru ...

forest.

Fauna

Tabin has been declared a wildlife reserve primarily on account of the large number of animals inhabiting its forests, some of which are highly endangered. The three largest mammals of Sabah – the

Borneo elephant The Borneo elephant, also called the Bornean elephant or the Borneo pygmy elephant, is a subspecies of Asian elephant ''(Elephas maximus)'' that inhabits northeastern Borneo, in Indonesia and Malaysia. Its origin remains the subject of debate. A d ...

Bornean rhinoceros The Bornean rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni''), also known as the eastern Sumatran rhinoceros or eastern hairy rhinoceros, is one of three subspecies of Sumatran rhinoceros. The subspecies may be functionally extinct, with only o ...

(a subspecies of the

Sumatran rhinoceros The Sumatran rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis''), also known as the Sumatran rhino, hairy rhinoceros or Asian two-horned rhinoceros, is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant species of rhinoceros. It is the o ...

) and tembadau (''Bos javanicus''), are all found within the reserve. The elephant population has been estimated to 120-300 animals in 1993. Other ungulate species include sambar,

muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

and

mouse deer Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are known only f ...

. In addition seven of Sabah's eight primate species are present, among them

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

and proboscis monkey. However, these two species occur in relatively low numbers in the reserve. The biggest predator in the reserve is the

Sunda clouded leopard The Sunda clouded leopard (''Neofelis diardi'') is a medium-sized wild cat native to Borneo and Sumatra. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2015, as the total effective population probably consists of fewer than 10,000 mature ...

. There are also several other smaller carnivores in the reserve.Shanthini Dawson: ''Estimating elephant numbers in Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia.'' Gajah, Journal of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group, Number 11, 1993. Of bird species, 42 families representing 220 species have been recorded.

Organisation

The land belongs to the people of Sabah. It is under government ownership and has Reserve status. The Sabah Wildlife Department is the custodian of the animals in the reserve. The

Sabah Forestry Department Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory of L ...

is responsible for the trees in Tabin. In 1998, the Malaysian government privatised ecotourism programmes for Tabin and over the last few years increasing numbers of tourists have been coming to the reserve. Among activities permitted in the reserve are jungle trekking, wildlife viewing, photography and filming. Natural

mud volcano A mud volcano or mud dome is a landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases. Several geological processes may cause the formation of mud volcanoes. Mud volcanoes are not true igneous volcanoes as they do not produce lava ...

es are an important natural attraction for wildlife seeking salt, and these have become a bonus for visitors coming to see wild animals.

References

External links

Tabin Wildlife Reserve website
Wildlife sanctuaries of Malaysia Protected areas of Sabah 1984 establishments in Malaysia {{Sabah-geo-stub

Fauna

Organisation

References

Further reading

External links