You must be wondering, who is the Dutchman Of Borneo. Someone from Amsterdam ? Dordrecht ? Alkmaar ? Rotterdam ? A Dutchman lost in Borneo ? or is it Robert Alberts (Dutch Coach of Sarawak Football Association) ? He..He...The answer is, None of the above. The Dutchman of Borneo is actually a Primates. Yes, A Primates that can ONLY be found in Borneo. Got it ? Want to know more ? Let me show you some pictures for the start.
This is Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus). How did the Dutchman of Borneo came up ? For locals in Borneo especially in Sabah, Brunei and Sarawak, Proboscis Monkey is known as Orang Belanda or Monyet Belanda. Let me translate:
- Orang Belanda = Dutchman
- Monyet Belanda = Dutch Monkey
The enormous, bloated stomachs and huge, pendulous noses have given rise to one of their less flattering names, and that is Orang Belanda or Monyet Belanda, since the animals reminded the people of Borneo (back then) of Europeans.
Orang Belanda is still the name commonly used especially in Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. In other parts of Borneo Island, a wide range of names used for this animals such as;
- Bekantan
- Bangkatan
- Pika'
- Rasong
Male Proboscis Monkey is very large for tree-dwelling animal and can weighing average 18-20kg. Surely one of the largest monkeys in the world. Second after Orang Utan in Borneo. For female, it is relatively smaller than the male, about half the size of male and can weight around 10kg. Other than body size, male and female Proboscis Monkey can be differentiate by the nose size.
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| Adult Female with Baby |
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| Adult Male |
Another thing about Proboscis Monkey that really fascinates me is their movements on trees. They might have a big stomach, weight in at 10-20kg but they can make spectacular leaps from tree to tree and occasionally leaps across the river. Proboscis Monkeys travels almost entirely in the tree and only occasionally or infrequently, across open grounds.
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| Proboscis Monkey's Spectacular Leap. Notice the Red Lipstick ? he..he.. |
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| Leaps and make big splash.. |
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| ..then swims quietly with doggy paddle technique. |
But not all Proboscis Monkeys makes big splash. One time in Bintuka Wetland in Sabah, while we casting our lures hoping to catch Mangrove Jacks and Barramundi, about 40-50 meter from our boat, an adult male Proboscis Monkey crosses the river without making leaps and splash, it just slides in the water and swims across in single file with no noise or splashing at all. I've never seen a Proboscis Monkey swims so quietly, then our fishing guide explains in heavy local Sabahan dialect..
Understands ? he..he...let me translate in English..
"That's normal, if the Proboscis Monkey swims quietly without making any splash, that's because the monkey can see crocodile and crocodiles attracted to prey by splashing...if the monkey makes splashes in the water, and a croc is around, then the monkey will be a free food for the crocodile.."
Ha..ha...i tried my best to translate. hopefully everyone get's his (Jali, our fishing guide) point, And that is stay away from the water. We've been making lot's of splashes whole day from tryin' to save our precious lures from the snags underwater :p
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Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) Biggest Crocodile Species and the most feared predator in rivers, likely to be the main natural predator for Proboscis Monkey. This voracious killer live in the same site with The Proboscis Monkey. Nobody (as i know) has seen Crocodile eating Proboscis Monkey, but crocodiles kills several people every year and obviously more than capable of taking large Proboscis Monkey.
Now, Where can we found Proboscis Monkey in Borneo Island ? Being restricted mainly to coastal areas, Proboscis Monkey is not easy to found in many of the large. Here's a list of places with links where we can see this Amazing Primates of Borneo;
Distribution of Proboscis Monkey in Borneo (Green)
Sabah
Sarawak
Brunei
Kalimantan
Based on my experience seeing Proboscis Monkey (River Cruise or Fishing Trips), the best time to see them is just After Dawn and Before Dusk. This are the time they are Most Active.
In 2002, The Malaysian Games (SUKMA) was held in Sabah and The Proboscis Monkey is the Games Mascot named 'BAYAU'. For 2014, The Proboscis Monkey yet again became a mascot, not for Malaysian Games but for VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR 2014 official mascot. It's good to know that Proboscis Monkey is getting all the recognition and this helps to promote conservation for them. Good Job Malaysia ! *double thumbs up*
Bayau - The 2002 SUKMA Games Mascot
Visit Malaysia 2014 Bus in London.
Why did choose this topic today ?
It's not just about Proboscis Monkey being endemic to Borneo or to highlight to the world that this animal is the Pride of Borneo, but this particular animal is actually One of The Most Endangered Animal listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. They are thought to be only around 7000 Proboscis Monkeys left in the world. That's NOT good. Let's appreciate and help in conservation of Proboscis Monkey to ensure better future for them and let our generation in future to see them in wild and experience it at Nature's Theme Park, BORNEO ISLAND :)
A Smile from Proboscis Monkey to ALL :)
- ALF -
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