“Spurn not the loopy leech with language lurid Annelids have much to teach The anak murid” Christine (my youngest daughter) and I first came to Sarawak in 2008 and knew we were going into the jungle. We purchased those leech guards which protected your ankles and legs from what we thought were vicious biting creatures. […]
An occasional paper related to current research aligned to Borneo Melanu and Numbers The way a society thinks is important in development. When one combines numbers into that thinking the results can be astounding. Suffina Long and Yahutazi in the November issue of the Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities have related how numbers and
Jelly Fish Processing There are three tools used by the fisherman. The seledok is a long handled scoop net. The penchangkok is like a rake with two sharp prongs on the edge of a long wooden pole while the belat is a long drift net. The season is from mid February to April and then
The Tortoise and Mouse DeerTranslated by A.C. HaddonThe tortoise and the mouse deer agreed to steal from a neighbouring garden the fruit known as ‘buah mah”(rambutan in Malay). The mouse deer suggested that the tortoise should climb the tree whilst he would pick up the fruit. The tortoise did so and threw down showers of
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Mammal and Human Migrations An important paper about the migration of mammals and humans was recently published by Julien Louys and Patrick Roberts of Australian National University in Nature. They state the forests of the early Pleistocene had given way to Savannah by the middle Pleistocene in the area between Malaya and Borneo. This led
Earless Monitor Lizard: Water or Land Reptile. The earless monitor lizard has been subject to endless debate about how to classify it. Some scientists think it should be thrown together with other land monitor lizards while others think it deserves its own family.Examination of the lizard began with Mr. Tom Harrisson (again, here we must
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Tree Sparrow Editors note: We thought we would fly out of 2020 and into 2021 leaving the guano behind The Tree Sparrow(Passer montanus) was first spotted in Sandakan in 1964, the next year in Kuching and in Brunei town in 1969-1970. No other bird has so swiftly and successfully populated Borneo Island. The birds seem
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An occasional paper on current research aligned to Borneo New Spider Species A new species of spider has been made known to the western world. Aetius bicuspidatus sp. nov. (Araneae: Corinnidae) was found in the Lambir Hills National Park. It was based on the collection of male and female specimens. Acta Arachnologica, 69 (2): 105–108,
This and That #5Sunda Clouded LeopardThe Sunda Clouded Leopard is the apex predator of Borneo yet little is known of its ecology reports the Journal of Threatened Taxa (vol. 12 No. 16). A ten year camera trap study revealed 11 individuals. (8 males, one female and two with unknown sex) Males remained in the area
