fauna
Throughout the Borneo Lowland Rainforest there is a vast diversity of fauna and particularly mammals (200 species).
The Sunda clouded leopard is the largest feline in Borneo. Little is known about the ways of the Bornean clouded leopards as they are tremendously shy. However, we do know that they are fantastic climbers, they like spending time in the trees, and they hunt a wide diversity of prey including deer, monkeys, bearded pigs, civets, fish and porcupines. |
The Rhinoceros hornbill is one of the largest hornbill species, growing as large as a swan. This bird will eat mainly fruit and insects, however, it will also feed on small reptiles, rodents and sometimes even birds. The female birds make their nest in hollows in tree trunks and while inside they close the entrance off with mud and debris which the males will collect and bring. |
Borneo is one of the two places wild orangutans are found in. They are some of the most introverted out of the great apes and they spend a lot of their time in the trees. They live primarily off fruit but will also eat other plants, insects and bird eggs. Orangutans frequently live to over 30 years of age in the wild. However their lives are no longer lasting as long due to habitat loss within Borneo. |
flora
There are at least 15,000 different plants throughout the rainforest, with 6,000 that aren't found anywhere else in the world.
The Nepenthes is a carnivorous plant. This means it not only get its energy through photosynthesis but also by eating animals and insects. However, they don't just sit and wait for the next animal to fall in, their rims are covered with slippery wax and they are filled of digestive fluid. They use their bright colour, sugar and smell to attract their prey. |
Borneo, for centuries, has provided plants to many places around the world for uses of medicine, food and building material.
The Sarawak shrub is one of these examples. This shrub has been scientifically proven to contain a substance that could kill human cancer cells. |