The Sabah Forestry Department has entrusted BORA to develop and curate the Sabah Ficus Germplasm Centre at Tabin Wildlife Reserve.
This facility contains about 90 species of native wild fig (Ficus) species, maintained as living plants, and all able to produce materials for planting elsewhere.
BORA and other NGOs are constantly seeking and collecting seeds and cuttings of other native Ficus species, to add to the collection.
Seedlings, cuttings, marcots and bud-grafts of selected species are produced to help restore habitat for orangutans and other wildlife species in Forest Reserves and in oil palm plantations.
BORA is able to offer technical assistance to land managers that are keen to undertake appropriate habitat restoration initiatives. Contact us to discuss how you can support of human-wildlife co-existence and supplementing the food sources of endangered species within important conservation landscapes.
In 2024, BORA received a Conservation Grant from The Habitat Foundation to test the potential for berembang (Sonneratia caseolaris) to be used more widely in the reforestation of abandoned waterlogged sites within oil palm plantations in Sabah’s Kinabatangan floodplain.
Berembang, a mangrove fringe species, produces fruits eaten by wild mammals, birds and fish. In some sections of the river, this species has been observed growing in waterlogged conditions, indicating that some trees have become adapted to flooding. The project, which will be implemented over a span of 18 months will involve harvesting mature berembang fruits, identifying the most effective seed and seedling treatment techniques, and overseeing the growth process in specific field locations.
BORA staff will conduct the study, experimenting with both wildings and vegetative propagation to gauge their suitability for wetland restoration. Key milestones include tracking observed seedling growth and assessing alternative propagation methods.
The Malambabula elephant pasture on the southern perimeter of Tabin Wildlife Reserve was initiated in August 2021 by BORA, the Borneo Rhino Alliance, together with Sabah Forestry Department and Sabah Wildlife Department. Funding was provided by The Hornbill Award of Climate Governance Malaysia, and much in-kind assistance was provided by oil palm grower, KLK. The idea is to provide an attractive and ever-present source of food for the wild elephants that roam in and out of Tabin Wildlife Reserve, as an alternative to oil palms. It is a fact that tall, lush grasses prior to flowering represent the most attractive type of food for elephants. Once elephants realise that they can find this food at specific sites, and always feed undisturbed by humans, they may grow to prefer the pasture to oil palms. An element of training is underway, whereby young elephants learn from their mother to favour grasslands rather than oil palm plantations. And, unlike any other type of plant, grasses grow back again profusely after they have been consumed.
There are two other resources which elephants need, right next to the pasture. One is freshwater, which they source from the Malambabula river. The other is supplementary minerals which are lacking in the simple leafy diet. The minerals – including sodium, calcium, iron and trace elements – are provided in the form of an artificial ‘lick’ of mineral blocks placed into an ironwood tree stump, modified with stones and cement for ease of access.
Elephants visited the Malambabula site periodically starting in November 2021, but the frequency of their visits and the volume of grass eaten was less than initially expected. Then, on 20 June 2023, a herd of some 70 elephants arrived at the site, and stayed until 25 June, feeding on large quantities of the planted grass. Roughly, that means that they consumed over 20 tonnes of grass. Six days in the Malambabula pasture means six days away from human elephant conflict elsewhere.
Perhaps it makes sense to create more such pastures wherever there is human elephant conflict. The general pattern is that the elephants refuge in nearby forest during the daytime, and are in the pasture from late afternoon to about 6 am the following day. The bulk of the plantings are Napier grass, a known favourite food of large mammals, along with small quantities of other grass species, including barau, a species of riversides. After planting, or consumption by elephants, Napier grass grows back to two metres in height within six weeks.
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It is clear that the Malayan seladang is now endangered because the last few remaining small herds lack access to sufficient quantities of two key resources: constantly-growing, productive grasslands and concentrated mineral resources. These are the resources that need to be provided to boost health, reproduction and survival of the species.
Royal Belum State Park represents the single best and logistically most convenient area to implement those interventions. This need will not in any way be negative to the broader biodiversity conservation role of the Park. Less than 0.05% of the Park’s area would need to be modified to create grassland habitat that can ensure survival of the seladang. This could include river banks, treeless sites, scrub and recent alluvium deposited following the Temenggor impoundment. Importantly, some new grasslands need to be created and maintained at sites above the maximum recorded water level.
The preliminary plan also shows how captive herds can and should play a role in seladang conservation. In particular, captive-born seladang can be introduced into the wild through a process of ‘soft release’ as a means to boost numbers of wild seladang and to introduce genetic diversity into the wild remnant herds.
